Ricketts Glen State Park Campground
Camping here for many years and still love it here got it all camping trails water fall trail and lake.
3 campgrounds with availability this weekend
Ricketts Glen State Park Campground boasts luxury glamping accommodations with premium yurts and upscale canvas tent options nestled beside Lake Jean. The park's glamping sites feature electricity, comfortable queen-sized beds with linens, and climate-controlled interiors for year-round enjoyment. "Peaceful little campground five minutes from Ricketts Glen State Park. Accommodating and friendly hosts, clean bath house and firewood for sale on site," notes one visitor. Each luxury accommodation includes a private picnic table and fire ring, with several premium sites offering direct lake access views. Nearby Red Rock Mountain Campground provides additional glamping options with their quaint cottages that blend rustic charm with modern comforts, situated conveniently close to the park's famous waterfalls trail.
The 22 scenic waterfalls of Ricketts Glen provide a stunning backdrop for glamping experiences, with the Falls Trail system accessible directly from the glamping area. A recent visitor mentioned, "Awesome water falls, nice hikes, friendly people, clean facilities." Glamping guests can enjoy kayaking and swimming at Lake Jean, with some premium sites allowing guests to launch boats directly from their accommodation. The park's glamping season runs from the second Friday in April through the third Sunday in October, with advance reservations highly recommended due to limited availability of these premium accommodations. Beyond water activities, glamping visitors appreciate wildlife viewing opportunities, stargazing from private decks, and convenient access to the beach and boat rentals without sacrificing resort-style comfort.
"The trails are very well marked. We stayed in the large loop, which is a peninsula on Lake Jean. Many of the sites have lake views. The bathhouse was clean but not adequate for 73 sites."
"we had a wonderful experience. drove our car right up to our site, had a ton of space to set up. a nice picnic bench and fire pit was there and we were sure 61 so the lake was 100 yards from all of this"
Available this weekend
from $15 - $92 / night
"Come with fire pit, parking spot, picnic table, flush toilet, running water. Competitive pricing."
"This is a large campground with a wide array of campsites so be careful attention when you book online, especially if you have a pet because some sites are not pet-friendly."
Available this weekend
from $20 - $72 / night
"There are all these tiny little outdated but cute cottages and a bath house. Very cool. Our site was alright. There wasn't a great place to put our tent but we managed."
"Accommodating and friendly hosts, clean bath house and firewood for sale on site."
"We own some property near this campground and have stayed here a few weekends as a home base while we clean up our property. The owners are just amazingly nice people, always very helpful!"
"We started with a trip in the summer because of their candy bar hunt and heated swimming pool. We try to get the same campsite each year because it is wooded and spacious."
"Knoebels campground is situated next to Knoebels amusement park and offers sites for tent campers and RVs, as well as cabins. There is electricity at every site but not water."
"In fact, none of the surrounding sites looked very level."
from $59 - $160 / night
"Our only complaint was the lack of active enforcement of quiet hours — otherwise there would be no complaints."
"Some are a little close to each other, but others offer plenty of space, including our site (52) on this trip. One of the biggest spots we have ever had. "
Campground full this weekend
Get a text when availablefrom $20 - $90 / night
"The lake is stocked and the fish are always hungry. 10 minutes to Knoebels with the mighty Phoenix. The best wooden coaster on the planet. Always a great time at Lake Glory. "
"Friendly staff. Nice little lake to fish in. Very clean."
from $50 - $80 / night
"There is a general store on site, an arcade, a pool, bathrooms with clean showers, and sinks with potable water. The mauch chunk stream runs through the back of the campground."
"Makes it fun searching for a good position within the site, kinda like roughing it in the actual wild... so not really a complaint. Sites are not very private or secluded."
"This place only gets 4 stars because I thought we were going to have water and electric hook ups. They only have 2 kinds of sites, modern electric (only electric) and primitive."
"Mix of electric and non-electric sites. No water hook ups but a water station is on site. Camp sites are generously size, good spacing between sites and heavily treed. Huge lake to enjoy. "
Available this weekend
from $20 - $43 / night
"They offer cabins and yurts, but have no sites for people to set up tents. The main attraction for this park is their lake, which you can swim in, fish, kayak or drop in a boat."
"Off the beaten path in the middle of “pennsyl-tucky”. No cell service at all unless you drive up to the top of the mountain."
Campground full this weekend
Get a text when availablefrom $49 - $90 / night










Camping here for many years and still love it here got it all camping trails water fall trail and lake.
This is a large campground with a wide array of campsites so be careful attention when you book online, especially if you have a pet because some sites are not pet-friendly. Some are 50-amp full hook-up and some are primitive with no hook-ups.
There is a nice nature center with interesting interpretive exhibits and lots of informational brochures including ones about the hiking trails, bears, scat and tracks of local animals, and fishing. Our site was at the edge of the campground and backed up to Route 534 which resulted in a bit of road noise at our site. Other than the road noise the campground was pretty quiet and was not very crowded when we camped there in October.
Not all sites are level and we happened to book one that was not and we had to live with a slant for our stay. The roads in the park are gravel/dirt and since it rained the day we arrived the roads were a muddy mess which made the roads slippery and there were lots of potholes. Unfortunately, some campers were disrespectful and left bags of trash in the fire pit and scattered around their site which was totally unnecessary because there were dumpsters plenty of dumpsters in the campground. Since we camped at Hickory Run late in the season, there were no camp hosts and the trash never got picked up.
The campground is open from mid-April to mid-December; however, the shower facilities and dump station are not available after the third week of October so plan accordingly. We really like the hiking trails which are of varying degrees of difficulty and lengths. The Hawk Falls is a nice easy walk (1.4 miles round-trip) to a waterfall but is extremely popular so don’t think you will be admiring the falls alone. The parking lot at this trail head fills up fast so you better get there early if you want to get a spot.
You can enter the park from two different directions. If you have a big-rig, it is best to approach from the east side. We made the mistake of coming in from the west side as we dropped down from I-80 and came down 534 and the road was really windy with no shoulder. Luckily, there was very little traffic so we could go 10 mph and safely navigate the roads.
Be aware alcohol is not allowed in PA state parks. This park does allow hunting in certain sections of the park. The no-hunting areas are clearly marked with white no hunting signs on trees and you can also pick up a brochure from the office that designates hunting and no-hunting sections.
What a great campground! We stayed here on a recommendation from a friend after the Overland Expo. Great hiking trails and the falls were absolutely breathtaking. Truly enjoyed our stay and plan to return!
Stayed October 14 without reservations because website showed lots of availability. Office was closed (M-F 8-4) so submitted honor system envelope with cash and stayed at Site 041 on Carpenter loop. Shower building was a short walk and was spacious enough. Water temp didn’t quite reach hot but was warm enough.
Electric kept on tripping breaker.
Gorgeous forested area in the Poconos. We stayed on the Rattlesnake Loop which was lovely. Sites not super private but most nestled in trees. The only bummer was that that Campground Loop didn’t have any direct links to the trail network and was far from it. The other Campground Loop was closer to trails and office. Would return!
Horrible stay brown water Dep had them on boil water went down hill the past 4 yrs
The state park is beautiful. The site was very nice. The park itself is very big with many activities available such as boat rentals and a swimming pool. There's also an amphitheatre which hosts specials. During our stay the only activity we made it to was the pool. The main reason we didn't do more was the distance. We have a motorhome so we didn't have additional vehicles to get to and from places. We walked to the park which according to my Fitbit was 1.5 miles away. That doesn't seem too bad until you realize it's mostly hills in both directions! We are a fairly active young family who has no problem with a bit of a walk but after that experience we decided to just spend the remainder of our trip hanging out at our site. It's a good thing we only stayed 2 nights because our 10 year old might've lost his mind with boredom if we stayed longer. Overall, the site we had was great and I'd recommend it. My husband and I may come back for a couples date weekend.
We were looking for a lakeside campground with a spacious campsite that could comfortably fit two large tents and two vehicles. We chose Tobyhanna State Park, and it turned out to be absolutely wonderful.
We stayed at Site 113, which had plenty of space on the right side of the campsite for two large tents, with enough room to park two vehicles as well. While the campsites are fairly close to one another, most visitors come here to relax and enjoy the peace and quiet, and everyone seemed very respectful of each other’s privacy.
Just a one-minute walk from our campsite, there was a very clean restroom, hot showers, and a laundry facility. Right next to it, there was a volleyball court, as well as easy access to the lake with a boat launch and great spots for fishing.
On our very first day, the park rangers warned us that bears sometimes visit the campground, so they recommended storing all food in the car overnight. We followed their advice and had no issues.
Overall, I would give Tobyhanna State Park a perfect 10 out of 10. We had an amazing experience and will definitely be coming back!
The foliage and trees helps it feel private although there’s someone on both sides and across from you, luckily we were alone for the weekend bc it wasn’t fully booked. Bathrooms and showers were very clean and had potable. Each campground has lake access but it’s very critter heavy so I recommend the main fishing dock area. Caught a bullhead catfish around 11 pm 8 in. Recommend small rods under 6 ft. Staff was very friendly and super easy to extend our stay another day. $50 2 nights out of state res.
Ricketts Glen State Park Campground delivers traditional, straightforward camping with spacious sites and basic amenities within minutes of the park's famous waterfall trail system. The campground sits at approximately 1,300 feet elevation in Pennsylvania's Endless Mountains region, where summer temperatures typically range 70-85°F during daytime hours. Multiple camping loops accommodate different preferences, with some sites offering more seclusion than others depending on seasonal occupancy.
Waterfall hiking options: The Falls Trail system at Ricketts Glen State Park Campground showcases 22 named waterfalls with several difficulty options. "The hike is definitely not for the easily winded people, or anyone with bad knees, the hike down was pretty steep at some points but very well maintained," notes Anne P. Hikers should wear proper footwear with good traction, especially when trails are wet.
Kayaking and fishing: Lake Jean offers multiple access points for kayaking and fishing, with the campground providing convenient water entry locations. "Lake Jean is also right there for boating and recreation," explains Meag F., who recommends exploring "interesting rock formations most likely due to weathering" visible from the water. Campers should check Pennsylvania fishing regulations before arrival.
Boulder field exploration: Hickory Run State Park Campground features an unusual geological formation worth visiting. "The Boulder Fields are one of the coolest places I've ever visited, partially because they were so unexpected," writes Amber A. The field contains thousands of large boulders across several acres, requiring careful footing but offering unique photo opportunities.
Waterfall accessibility: The Falls Trail at Ricketts Glen receives high marks for its maintained paths and dramatic cascades. "Trails & waterfalls can't be beating. Definitely the best," says Brian H. Experienced hikers recommend starting early morning to avoid crowds and allowing 3-4 hours to complete the main loop at a comfortable pace.
Secluded tent sites: Red Rock Mountain Campground offers primitive camping options with more privacy than standard sites. "We camped at Red Rock as couples. We stayed in primitive tent sites which you had to hike into. They were very private," shares Samantha M. These sites require carrying gear a short distance but reward with greater seclusion.
Late season camping: Lackawanna State Park Campground provides year-round options for glamping near Hunlock Creek, Pennsylvania. "The sites in this loop were spacious and more in an open area, but we were along a wooded area which gave us some shade," reports Shirley M. Fall camping offers colorful foliage with fewer crowds and cooler temperatures.
Site spacing variations: Campgrounds in the region have inconsistent site spacing. "The campground is a bit crowded during peak season without much privacy," says Vika Z. about Ricketts Glen. Sites near facilities often have more foot traffic, so request locations farther from bathhouses if privacy matters.
Bear precautions required: The entire region has active black bear populations requiring proper food storage. "Do not leave any food out be sure to lock up everything in car," advises Erik M. from his experience at Tobyhanna State Park Campground. Rangers actively enforce food storage regulations with potential fines for non-compliance.
Water conditions vary: Water access and quality fluctuates seasonally across campgrounds. One Ricketts Glen visitor reported that "the water had been tested earlier in the season and unsafe levels of manganese were detected. All water spigots were shut off and covered." Always check current water status before arrival and bring backup supplies during summer months.
Halloween camping events: Pioneer Campground offers family-friendly seasonal activities. "We started with a trip in the summer because of their candy bar hunt and heated swimming pool. We try to get the same campsite each year because it is wooded and spacious," recommends Gayle B., who returns for Halloween events. These themed weekends typically run late September through October with advance reservations required.
Playgrounds and recreation fields: Multiple campgrounds feature dedicated children's areas. Hickory Run visitor Jennifer D. notes, "Nice and clean and lots of trails. Not much of a playground. All in all a pretty Park." Consider bringing portable games and activities for younger children at campgrounds with limited play equipment.
Amusement park camping: Knoebels Campground combines camping with direct amusement park access. "Connected to the park, a great way to visit! If you're an early to bed kinda person it'll be tough, the roller coasters are right there!" explains Joe B. The park offers free admission with pay-per-ride options, making it budget-friendly for families.
Limited hookup options: Full-hookup glamping opportunities near Hunlock Creek are limited at state parks. James S. from Ricketts Glen notes, "Our full hookup site was large with table and fire ring, and required some leveling. Not much shade in the full hookup loop, so was happy to have electricity for A/C." Arrive with fresh water tanks filled during peak summer months.
Leveling challenges: Many campgrounds in the mountainous terrain require proper leveling equipment. "The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is because our site wasn't level and it took hours to get it right," shares Angie G. about Jim Thorpe Camping Resort. Pack extra leveling blocks, especially for larger rigs.
Seasonal restrictions: Most campgrounds in the region close for winter. Hickory Run operates "2nd Fri April to 3rd Sun October" with similar schedules at other parks. Year-round glamping near Hunlock Creek, Pennsylvania requires careful planning, with only select private campgrounds remaining open through winter months.
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According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular glamping campground near Hunlock Creek, PA is Ricketts Glen State Park Campground with a 4.6-star rating from 70 reviews.
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