Best Campgrounds near Ligonier, PA

I just returned from a 2-night tent camping solo trip with my dog.  This was my first time at Rocky Gap and I found some strong pros and cons.

Pros

Large camp sites, with decent space for tents. The descriptions on the State Park site seem very accurate. Mid week (Sunday and Monday nights) the campground was less than a third full, and the folks who were there were spread out so it felt more spacious than it was. There are some great trails for hiking, and the dog beach was perfect. You can rent kayaks, canoes, and SUPs, or bring your own for no launch fee.

Cons

It was very noisy at night due to traffic on I-68 and even the campground road, which despite a 15 mph posting has no speed bumps and seems to have a poplar straightaway for cars with loud mufflers who like to open it up. I don't know if the I68 traffic just sounds louder at night because everything else is quiet, or if the sound carries farther at night. But sleeping my tent, I was woken up many times by the sound of trucks down shifting and braking.

Another noise -- during the day I heard what sounded like the world's largest circular saw, only to discover that there is a large saw mill about 2 miles north. Fortunately that noise stopped by about 6 pm.

And finally, although there were only a few occupied sites in Dogwood loop, some were with very large groups with either no self awareness or no consideration for others. No fault of the park, and people did basically follow quiet hours, but 8:30am blasting music, and hooping and hollering into the night. Just. know that it is a popular park for large groups.

Based on other reviews here saying that it was quiet, I'm willing to give it another try in a different loop. Or, not in a tent but in a camper van which is my other option.

This was the worst experience I have ever had camping. We always do a huge family aging trip which we end up booking multiple sites. Every site was paid in full before arrival. One family checked in and had to pay extra when they checked in while the others did not. Camp sites where not mowed and unpresentable. Picnic tables where falling apart and one was not even usable because the bolt rusted on the bench seats and the boards where falling off. The roads are full of potholes going back to the sites. The staff are extremely rude and ignorant. When I was on the gulf cart going up to pick up my family from the pool, the one staff member stepped out in front of me blockkng me from going to pick up my family who was standing by the office steps. Told me I had to go park in the grass. Anytime you left the camp ground we where one, they watched us like Hawks. We had visitors that came and went to get a visitors pass and was treated like crap in the office and they actually told our visitors they where being dishonest. The playground area is unsafe. The wood on the playsets are falling apart and splintering. I had to pull alot of splinters out of my childs hands and feet. In the guys and girls restrooms, toilets where make closed and some of the knobs where broken off in the shower rooms. The wifi is terrible. You can't even use your cellphone on the wifi, let alone trying to stream TV. The pool water is terrible. Its so filled with salt that when you get out your skin is extremely dry and your lips shrivel up. You have to pay to go fishing but yet their ponds are scummy. Driving around we noticed that one Campsite was completely under water and it hasn't rain enough for a site to be flooded, another site the freshwater connection was held down by raquet straps to keep it together, another site there was a pile of shale and a mini excavator sitting in the lot with campers there. There was a band at the pavillion and there was a moonshine tent and staff was at it doing taste testing. I feel that drinking on the job is inappropriate. We use to go once a year here for the last 25 years and since the new owners took over, we will no longer camper there. Overall our trip was more frustrating than enjoyable. They need to find new staff that are customer friendly and not tyrants.

We stayed in cabin 170 in Fir loop and the site was incredibly spacious, heavily shaded, close to the bath house, path to the beach, and well distanced from other sites. There are only 2 cabins on this loop and this one is the best positioned. The bath house was kept very clean, even though the campground was full. We brought paddle boards and the lake was perfect for paddle boarding. Note that you cannot swim anywhere outside of the roped swim areas. It was a hot day and we found a great shallow area and decided to take a dip and the lifeguards came out on boat and kindly told us we could not swim. We will definitely be back here to camp again soon.

This is a lovely army corps of engineers campground. The sites are gravel and level. Most only have 30 amp electric hookup but water can be filled at the “gatehouse” (for lack of better description). There are 3-4 full hookup and a few 50 amp. It is well-maintained— lawns mowed, bathrooms cleaned, sites tidy. Bath house isn’t modern but showers are hot and have great pressure. Campground filled up on the weekend. The sites are a bit close to each other and are mostly sunny but it was quiet anyway. Lots of people fishing on the river—access right from the campground. Great Allegheny Passage trail also accessed from the campground. Boating on the lake too.