Best RV Parks & Resorts near Palmerton, PA

First, as a Thousand Trails member, I didn't have to pay. So far, after visiting 6 rv parks, I do have to say, this one is on the bottom of my list of nice campgrounds.

First the good: there are lots of sites here and the grounds range from being near neighbors to more spread out in the valley. There are lots of trees and the roads are paved which makes it perfect to ride your bicycle. The playground is great for the kids. They have a nice pool.

Now the bad: it's a run down campground. It doesn't look like they have not done any maintenance to the place. The bathrooms look like standard park bathrooms, the general store barely has any items. The kids arcade and activity center has 4 arcade games and barely anything to do but the ball center. The main activity center is closed down. The building that used to hold the water park is abandoned and clutter everywhere. The lake and gazebo have been vandalized.

Also note, if you want peace and quiet, stay away from the tent area. Those who stay there are more of the NY crowd and are very festive.

All in all, we had a nice time. No problems at all.

First time using our complementary 1 year Thousand trails pass. It’s a find your own site park. Some are a bit narrow, but I found a nice pull thru. Only real activities here for kids are pool and shuffleboard. Very quite here which I hear is opposite from the North park right up the road. Staff is nice. Would come back

This was the first campground we stayed in with our Thousand Trails membership and, because sites are first come first serve, we weren't sure what to expect. Thankfully, there were many sites available and they were all good sizes. The campground is well laid out- very roomy. It was May and an extremely cool, rainy weekend, so we didn't get to do much in the area, but I would definitely recommend it. As I understand it, we could have accessed the water park at Timothy Lake North, as well.

Check-in was quick and easy in spite of Covid precautions. This is a first-come, first-serve park in the Thousand Trails system so we had to drive around looking for a spot. The check-in process alerted us to the sites that had issues such as no water or cable(there were 5 or 6 of them). No issues navigating my 32' coach through the roads. There were a number of spots that could have easily fit our rig(although a few would have been too tight). The site was level with good power and water. Camp was pretty well maintained and very full. Campers were polite and friendly and probably about 50% or more of them fulltime or seasonal. The amenities were all closed so can't comment on those. A big HOWEVER, though: the cell service for most providers is practically non-existent. I understand this is not the park's fault and some would say that this is"real" camping-- try telling that to the two millennials that were staying with us. I would definitely return except for that.

This place is a serious dump with very rude full time campers squatting here. We were pelted by sticks and stones on the 4th of July by the workers attempting to weedwack the stone areas. The full time squatters places are a ramshackle mess, they like to ride through blaring awful music all hours of the day and night…including midnight and 1am. Other squatters think everyone should like their music and play it from their cars while parked at ridiculous levels. No policies are enforced including dogs on leashes, picking up your dog’s poop, or the speed limits. We had to ask ourselves multiple times if we were in the poconos or ghettos. Also, spots are very small and most had no fire rings unless the people before you built one out of rocks from the wooded area nearby. Very sad disgrace of a campground to be part of the Thousand Trails community.

Promised Land has several campgrounds, but Pickerel Point is our favorite. Some sites are right on the lake, just put the kayak on the shore, and you're ready for an early morning paddle. Another nice feature is the beach at the end of the peninsula - no need to drive to the crowded day use area. Bathrooms are the nicest I've ever seen in a campground. Available sites range from walk-in to RV hookups. There's plenty of hiking and fishing in the park, and even more to do not far away. It just isn't summer unless we spend some time at our favorite home away from home!

biking, kayaking, hiking. some full hook up sites. one of my favorite places. old CCC museum and ranger programs. great place for a long weekend.

Stayed one night in C-loop in the Fall and it was excellent!!  Weather was great, the lack of people was perfect, and the facilities were more than comfortable.  Sites ranging from level with asphalt and sidewalks to the fire pit to near-natural for that full tent camping experience.  Plenty of full hook-ups interspersed with electric only and no services.  Something for everyone.  

The state park has numerous hiking and biking opportunities and probably some fishing as well.  The lake and pool facilities were closed but the scenery was still in full effect.

Back to Nature, Baby!   We’ve been to so many campgrounds of all different types that we’ve come to expect that State Parks almost fall into the same category as RV Resorts. 

With their amenities, immaculately groomed landscaping and higher prices, we’ve almost come to think of them less like parks and more like golf courses. However, Hickory Run is taking a different approach and letting the woods and campground be just that.  Lots of space between sites and a ton of privacy.  Completely natural setting, yet bathrooms were updated, immaculate, and spacious...and the showers were hot.

We only spent a night here on our way to Hershey PA, but the list of hiking options was impressive, check out the Shades of Death Trail?  Don’t know what that’s about, but sounds intriguing!  We'll be back the next time we pass through...

We've started here many times. It's a nice family run campground with spaces from full hook-up, to clamping, to small cabins. There is a swimming pond and a nice hike takes you to the deleware river. Recommend it fully.

I would start with the good if there happened to be any.

I’ll start with pulling into the campground. First of all you have to find your own site as there are no assigned sites available. This had us pulling our 33ft camper around the whole campground until we came across our site we settled for. Now this brings up the site situation. Very rocky and I don’t mean crushed stone, nope just rocks all over the site. Then come to find out no fire ring was available. So we took all the rocks around our site and made our own. So the rocks ended up coming in hand after all…..

Now for the campground itself. This is a thousand trails campground. The website had a list of amenities from arcade to mini golf, laundry facilities and a camp store to name a few. Yeah none of this was available. The arcade and camp store looked like it had been vacant for years. None of the buildings on the campground were open and it was Memorial Day weekend! You had a year to renovate due to COVID!

This campground wasn’t a campground at all! The only thing available for the kids was a playground! Everything was done online as there wasn’t even a office to visit!

Bring your bikes and kayaks. Camped here numerous times. Some sites full hook up, and some more private than others. Nice bike loop around lake, many hiking trails, beach to swim and watch sunset. Does get crowded because it is popular. Lower lake campground is less crowded but sites close together and not as nice a view.

We stopped for 1 night on our way from MA to VA. Easy to access from the the interstate 81. The office has a lighthouse built on top of it, looks nice. There are gardens with walkways to walk to the pool or the office. Our site 24B was a pull through with full hook up.  We had cable and WI-FI. There wasn't any shade yet were only here one night. After driving most of the day I had to use the restroom and they won't let you use theirs due to covid. It's the first place in 3 months that wouldn't let you use the restroom. I believe it gives people an excuse to not let you use the restroom. 

The pool is big and no one in it. It had a zero entry which is nice for us older people. There was a playground, volleyball and basketball.

There are some seasonal sites. it was very quiet.

As we left heading back to interstate 81 there is a gas station and a Burger King so a easy morning.

This is a nicely laid out campground with 4 loops and many site choices - non-electric, electric and full hookup sites (water, sewer and electricity); a couple yurts; and 3 camping cottages. (There are cabins elsewhere in the park.) We just showed up on a Wednesday in early October but I'm sure you'd need a reservation on a weekend.

Activities

• See the photo that shows 35 miles of hiking trails. It's an excellent brochure! Some trails are hiking only; others allow mountain biking in addition to hiking, and there are equestrian trails.

• Boating and fishing

• Swimming pool by Hopewell Lake

• Disc golf

• Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site is on your way to the campground.

The Sites

• See photo of the campground map along with typical site photos.

• 4 loops: no electricity in A and D, mix of electric and non-electric sites in B, and a mix of full hookups, electric and non-electric sites in C. Loop C is the only loop open all year with no guarantee of access in the winter.

• Asphalt pads are all supposed to be 45 feet.

• The sites looked level but many of the pads in Loop A were just a bit downhill as you back in. That means our heads are downhill for sleeping unless we turn our teardrop trailer, so we just looked until we found a level site. If you're into leveling a camper, it's not a big deal. We can adjust our back end, but we don't mess around with anything else. It is what it is!

• There are water spigots around the loops and recycling/trash disposal and a dump station on your way in/out.

• Site map shows some ADA accessible sites.

New Restrooms Are Worth Noting

• See photos.

• Push button showers. You can't adjust the temperature and you have to keep pushing the button every 30 seconds or so. I guess this saves water.

• Two utility sinks outside the restrooms are a good addition.

Pet Owners: Pets are only allowed in loop C.

A Couple Warnings

• PA state parks do not allow alcoholic beverages at all. That's what they say.

• Hunting is permitted in most of the state park. That would put a real damper on my hiking at certain times of the year because the hiking trails run right through these areas.