Best RV Parks & Resorts near Mercer, PA

Kenisee Lake RV Resort Thousand Trails in Jefferson, Ohio is a another great Thousand Trails park! This park is very large and has a park-like setting with 2 lakes. There is fishing on the lakes and the campground has rowboats available to use. They have all the amenities a family could want such as swimming pool, playground, mini-golf, and more! The staff is friendly and very accommodating. Kenisee Lake has 30 and 50 amp FHU back-in and pull-through sites. The only downside is the internet which is lacking in this area. We have really enjoyed our stay here and will be returning! 👍🏻😬

For videos on this campground and others, check out our YouTube channel: Jeff & Steff’s Excellent Adventure.

This campground is deceptively big! The nightly RV sites are close to the park entrance and are relatively flat. The campground hosts themed events, game nights and arts& crafts. There is a swimming pool and playground for the kids. It also has a small café that sells baked goods and coffee. On Saturdays they sell amazing Armish Donuts! 

Further into the campground the sites turn to more permanent sites. Further up the hill are more cottages and camping. This campground is steep in parts and too large to walk efficiently. There is a fenced dog run area and a beautiful lake. All sites have fire rings. There is an onsite laundry, WIFI, onsite dump station and propane refill station. 

You can also buy ice and firewood. The campground is gated. Lots to do at the campground and lots to do in the surrounding area. They welcome all furry friends!

This state park has a lot to offer with the highlight being a large 2,650-lake that appeals to fishermen, boaters, and swimmers. The park is over 5,000 acres and not only has camping but hiking, volleyball, fishing, playgrounds, picnicking, hunting, horseback riding, and more.

The campground is divided into three loops with nearly 200 sites. Campsites include those with full hook-up (50 amp), electric only (50 amp), and some with no electric. This campground is suitable for everything from large RVs to tents. Sites and roads are paved and each site has a picnic table and fire pit. In loops where there is no water directly at the site, water spigots are scattered throughout. The restroom/bathhouses in our loop were really nice, modern, clean, and had laundry facilities which is a real plus at a state park campground. Campsites can be reserved online up to six months in advance. Since we were here in April, the campground was practically empty and getting a site was no problem. But, if you want one of the 29 full hook-up sites in the summer, you better book early.

We really enjoyed the hiking trails and being able to leave our campsite and be right on the trails. There are approximately 12 miles of hiking trails and an additional 20 miles that are open to horses and snowmobiles. (Be aware that hunting is permitted in certain areas.)

The park is about 15 miles from Cuyahoga Valley National Park which is a fantastic place to explore with a lot going on for the whole family! If you are interested in football, the National Football Hall of Fame is just down the road in Canton. The town of Hudson has a pretty, historic downtown with a fun old soda fountain.

We would definitely stay at this campground again. It was a perfect place to stay while visiting family in the nearby town of Hudson. Loved having a paved site with full hook-ups especially since there was a lot of rain while we were there. The lake was perfect for kayaking and had we been able to stay longer we would have spent more time on the water.

There was not a real address to set our RV GPS. Waze and Google maps will pull up directions by entering Tionesta Recreation Area. We came in from the west on US-6 to PA-66, and up PA-36. From I-80, take the exit for PA-36 then follow the signs to Tionesta and once you get near you'll see the Tionesta Recreation Area Signs. There are signs to the boat launch area so pay attention and follow the camping signs; the campground(CG) is on the right. If you come in from Tionesta, once you clear the town the CG area is to the left. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon around 3:00 PM and the COE entrance building was not manned, so we took a picture of the CG map and proceeded to back-in site 100 with 50 AMP FHUs. There were no obstacles so our back-in was one and done. The site was just long enough for our 39’ fifth wheel(recreation.gov stated max length 48 ft RV) and we had to park our F450 diagonally in front. We noticed that the site post already had our names and dates of stay. The utilities were about 3/4 the way to the back of the site so no problems with sewer, water, or electric cord lengths. The water pressure was okay at about 42 psi. We did not receive any OTA channels but this site and several others back up to a huge berm so you can get satellite. Most of the sites in the CG have mature trees so the satellite is iffy. We got 2 bars on Verizon. The site lengths vary in the CG and the lengths from the reservation site seemed to be fairly correct. There were quite a few larger rigs here. Most if not all of the sites in this CG are full hookups. We noticed that some were 30/20 AMP. Sites closer to the front of the CG, especially along the river, tend to be close to each other. We found that the 90s- 100s area has the best site spacing with site 100 being one of the most spacious sites. After watching a 40’ 5th wheel struggle to back into site 113, we decided this site is not a good choice for rigs over 35 feet or for someone with below-average backing abilities due to the obstacles getting into the site. The pad angles at 90 degrees, there’s a ditch across the road from the site making it difficult to swing the tow vehicle, and there are trees to avoid. We enjoyed walking our dogs through the CG and watching the groundhogs in the rocks behind our site. We noted during our 4-day stay towards the end of June that restaurants and other sights such as museums may be closed Monday, Tuesday, and/or Wednesday. Get out and explore PA Route 666, which includes the Nebraska bridge, Tall Oaks Gift Shop, and Frog rock.

After getting off I80, our RV GPS wanted to take us on a wonky route, so we followed Waze and the campground’s(CG) web instructions that took us across the causeway on N. Hermitage Rd, then a right turn off on Birchwood Rd, which led us to take a left turn back across N. Hermitage Rd to get back to the Shenango Rec Area turn. Once we got to the CG, check in was quick and very easy. Just happened, our next door neighbor/camp host checked us in and told us we could get water off their site so we proceeded straight to site 199 that’s a back in with electric(50/30 AMP) only plus one of the better spaced sites in the CG. We had to maneuver a couple of times to get into the 90 degree site but the road was wide with no obstacles to prevent swinging into the site. We quickly found out that our 50 AMP connection had issues and after reporting it, a maintenance crew came within 20 minutes and fixed a bad breaker. We got 3 bars on Verizon and a handful of OTA channels. Due to the amount of mature trees, satellite would be iffy depending on your site. There are no FHU sites(camp host sites have electric& water). Electric sites are centrally grouped within the loops and spaced closer together than most COEs. The majority of the sites within this CG are dry camping and they too are fairly close together. The sites right on the lake were all dry camping. With all the dry camping sites in this CG, its nice that they allow generator use during non quiet hours. Quiet hours here are 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM. There are water spigots periodically located within the loops and the CG map identifies where they are. There’s also a two-lane dump station located near the entrance but there is no potable water. There are signs stating no alcohol in the park, but people were openly drinking. We also noted that the contractors who clean the restroom/shower facilities start early in the morning and close the facility while cleaning, which was inconvenient for the dry campers just waking up. If we were to stay at this CG again, we’d come during the week and get a dry camping site on the water.

3 Immaculate bath houses all with laundry facilities, all sites have electric (no f-ing generators) and many have have water and sewer hook ups. There is no WiFi and barely one bar of cell service; your best internet access is at the nice public library 7 miles away in Ravenna Sand beach is an easy walk from all camp sites and boat trailers can be parked on your camp site Boat launch has a big trailer parking lot, too. There are hiking, equestrian and mountain biking trails in the park and launching off paddle boards is ok at the boat launch or the nearby beach Friendly staff and camp hosts!

Beautiful level sites, spaced nicely apart, full hook ups, with big picnic tables and fire rings with multi-tiered grate. We had sites #46 and 48 right above the creek surrounded by tall trees. Incredibly quiet. Great for those traveling with dogs. We had a bluegrass quintet playing two sites down from ours and it was amazing! Within a 30 min drive of Cook Forest State Park, where we did some terrific hiking on well marked trails. A farm stand in the open-air market right by the campground rounded out our dinner with fresh zucchini and tomatoes. Can’t comment on the bathhouses bc we didn’t use them.