Best Campgrounds near Hesston, PA

This was a great park! Very clean and quiet. The facilities were clean and felt safe. Some of the sites were a little close together but very large and well maintained

In the middle of the woods vibe. The sites had good privacy and it was just a pretty area. Neighbors were respectful and relatively quiet.. There was zero cell service at this campground. Bathrooms were clean.

We've stayed here at least a half-dozen times with a popup. The smaller B loop is nicer, but no electricity. Pets allowed only on a certain portion of the A loop. The bathrooms are clean, the lake is small but pretty, and the hikes around the lake, and up the mountain on the ridge, are as easy or as challenging as you want. Cell service is pretty much nonexistent so you definitely get unplugged.

We stayed in the smaller camping area B, which we enjoyed. Even on Labor Day weekend, it didn’t feel busy because of how few sites are in this section. Our site was level and sizable. The bathroom was clean and there was access to the very pleasant hiking trail going around the lake. We had no cell service with Cricket or Verizon.

We stayed during Bigfoot weekend. It was super fun as our family likes bigfoot fun. We started out Friday night getting the offered $12 bbq plate that included pork burnt ends, beans and potato salad that were "oh it's so good". On Saturday was rock painting and then bingo and ended the night with a DJ dance party. The pavilion where all those activities happened were right next to our site (22 with the doggie den). Then Sunday we had pancakes and later a visit from RayCEP which is an education program that PA DNCR provides talking about various outdoorsy type things. This is primarily for kids, but we sat and listened too and our 17 year old helped out with the craft.

After the weekend though, all the activity slows down. There are seasonal campers that stay around, and they're constantly working on improving and fixing up sites during the week. Expect lots of quiet time just relaxing during the week. There's the pool, dog park, bounce pillow, playground, but not tons to do which if you're looking for is great. Raystown Lake has multiple access areas that are probably 15-20 minutes away - we fished at Tautman Run and Aitch - both were accessible and had lots of bluegill to steal our worms.

Now to the site description: Site 22 is a deluxe patio back in site with a patio, 4 nice Adirondack chairs, a double glider, a weber propane grill and built in fire pit AND a dog fence just for that site that was maybe 6 ft x 6ft. it was big enough for our 2 labs to fit into when we fed them. The site wasn't hard to level our RV but overall the sites are hilly and in fact the whole park is on a hill.

The owners and workers were friendly and great hosts! We love what they're doing there.

One last tip: if traveling from the Altoona area, go out through Martinsburg over Cove Mountain Rd - it saves you 30 minutes to an hour.

Nice creek running through. Pool. Appalachian trail runs right by it. About 20 minute drive to Gettysburg

Would go back here again! Very primitive, only 2 sites with electric and no playground (but 4 swings), however the creek is beautiful and the kids were so happy to play in it. We had site 108 and had a site path right to the creek. I wouldn't recommend big campers as most of the spots would be a pain to back into. But if you're looking for a quiet campground in the woods, this is it!

Our first time at Cowans Gap and we loved it. 5 nights, 6 days with no cell or wifi to stress us out. Biking, Hiking, sitting around a campfire, very nice. Site 14 was ok, small. Weekend kids were noisy. Bathrooms and showers very clean. Firewood always available. Easy access to dump station. Coming back in July to a site we scout out. Looking forward to our next visit.

We had a great time visiting the park! We stayed in site 28 which was a walk-in site, this was perfect for us since we wanted to be further away from people and the light from the bathroom/shower facility. The site was not far from our parking spot, maybe a hundred yards but there was a slight hill. There are even more isolated campsites further up the hill.

The park itself is definitely on the smaller side but packs in a lot. Lots of great trails and the beach would be great( close due to bacteria overgrowth) the michaux forest is 30 minutes away and has a lot more outdoor activities.

Will stay here again in the future.

The drive in was exciting. Lots of sheepish hills and turns. As long as you go slow, you'll be fine. Leaving on the other hand was terrifying. Being the down hill version of the drive in.

A note on cell service. There is none. NONE. No AT&T, no Verizon, no TMoblie. They campground doesn't have WiFi either.

If you were planning on going out to do stuff off the state park, there's nothing nearby.

We brought our kayaks and had a nice day paddling around the lake.

This place is as advertised. Very well maintained and friendly staff. I would give my site an 8. It would be a 10 if the utilities were closer to the back of the site. We had to move the coach forward 5 feet to make our 50-foot power cord reach.

As a rule we always try to stay in parks if possible. Really like the layout here, and the k9s love it. We couldn’t see the lake from the camper, but in the woods we could see the lake and the camper from the same spot.

Driving in I got a little worried I was getting lost, but I drove on. I arrived on a Wednesday evening. I had my pick of campsites, because I was the only person there!

The water was off, but I was prepared to wilderness camp later in my trip so, that was no big deal.

It was so secluded, I heard nothing but nature for over an hour before a plane flew over. 

If you have a trailer, I do not recommend this spot. there is a very tight hairpin turn on the way in. My six foot long trailer barely made the turn!

We loved the swimming and fishing in this park. Awesome Sandy swim beach and roped off area in the water made it great for keeping an eye on the kids while they swam. We had site 59 and are tent campers. This site was on an incline so the cots we brought were pretty miserable to sleep on. This spot was in its own little wooded cubby hole so it gave us a little more privacy but we thought that a lot of these sites were much too close together. We plan to scope out other sites to find a more level and more private option. Overall we really loved the park itself and will be back!

This was a great trip for the most part.  Lots of neat things around.  We went to a winery and an ice cream place as well as did some other fun things.  There is a pool there and the area is fantastic.  As for the site, I took one of the last ones that was available in the full hookups.  Wouldn't book that site again for our unit.  It was on a slope and our sewage wouldn't drain correctly as it was uphill from the campsite.  That also caused issues when we went to clean our tank out upon leaving as we couldn't get it all out.  We then stopped at the dump station and that ended up being an issue too.  Not enough to keep us from not going back.  We will be there over the Fourth of July weekend.  Sites are not huge, however the bathhouse is new and nice and overall it was a great weekend!

Perfectly located for a 100% relaxing experience. Great infrastructure and great sites. Will definitely be back

We camped in on of the cabins overnight on a recent road trip. Cabins are nice and spacious, bath facilities are some of the best I've seen. We didn't;t get to explore since we were traveling, but there's plenty to do in the area.

We showed up after dark and it was a bit hard to find our way to our site—advise arriving during the day! Great little campground. Very quiet. Nestled between a hillside and a stream with a great sound of running water. Several walking/hiking trails directly from the campground. Clean and convenient restrooms. Large sites.