Best RV Parks & Resorts near Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, PA

We stayed here on a Thursday night in September prior to taking off backpacking. The campground was clean and quiet. RV hook-ups, tent platforms, and rustic tent sites were available. Our rustic tent site had a few good options for pitching a tent, as well as picnic table and fire ring.

Ranger said that during summer weekends the grounds fill up and can be quite noisy, but mid-week during the off-season it was great. Expect to purchase firewood, although scrounging for kindling was possible. Facilities were clean and what you'd expect from a campground.

Would definitely return!!

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.

Dingmans is in the heart of the Delaware Water Gap national recreation area. There are 2 kayak launches to access the Delaware river. Camping sites are the largest I’ve seen around the area. Bathrooms are new and fairly maintained

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.

We stayed at site 15 for 5 days. The sites are nicely wooded, very well spaced, fairly level with 50A service and water hookup. Although the water spigots were shared between sites, they provide hose caddies that should reach most RV hookups. No sewer hookup, but there is a convenient dump station. There are no fire rings in the RV section, only raised grills. We had the place pretty much to ourselves during the week, but the weekend did get busy. AT&T had ok data connection with 1-2 bars most of the time. There is no satellite coverage due to the heavy tree canopy. OTA TV was very inconsistent using an external omni antenna. There is no WiFi. There is a very nice network of trails in the reservation, most if not all were leashed dog friendly. There is a very nice restaurant, Stone Water, less than 10 miles away and is right on lake Hopatcong.

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!

Look, I know that it takes all types… but this place is a no go.. Falsely advertised full hook ups to find out the sites are electric/water only. The facilities are completely trashed and moldy with no sign of up keep… They make you wear these ridiculous are bands that get you nothing… They just mark you separate as a camper vs the people coming for water sports… This place is marketed toward tent campers so there are minimal spots for RVers, and yet they allow tent campers to set up in the few RV sites. First night we had a family of 10 show up at 10:40pm to start setting up their tent campsites in an rv spot, and they partied way into the wee hours of morning… Second day was a Friday and it just became significantly worse. No one holds campers accountable to quiet times here, and please don’t take it the wrong way because my husband and I love to have fun, but at 2 am, it’s a little excessive… every site is completely trashed when everyone leaves and they’ve only got one real employee that seems to be busting his butt around the campground… my last complaint would have to be that the park services and EMS kept showing up to try and apprehend these fanboat people in the river. Otherwise it has the potential to be one of the most beautiful parks we have stayed this far.

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.

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.

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.

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!

The campsite in this review has two major points to express beyond the actual review.

First, this site is only accessible by canoes or kayaks. There is no public road access to the campsite. Secondly, the site is maintained by the NPS, (National Park Service) within the DWGNRA, (Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area). People found camping at this site that are not on a river trip or camped at the site for longer than one day can expect to receive hefty fines from the NPS.

This site is a primitive campsite. There is a fire ring suitable for cooking on as well as allowing you a small fire. You will also have access to a privy style toilet a short distance in the woods behind your site.

This site is a riverside site that will hold 2-3 smaller tents. It is well maintained by the NPS and had no litter or garbage on site. It is very secluded and tucked into the forest between the Delaware River and the McDade Trail.

To reach this site you can put boats in the water at two locations, Dingman's Ferry and Eshback Access. If you start at Dingman's Ferry, you really should go for a hike first. If you hike about 30 minutes each way you will be able to see two very impressive waterfalls. Silverthread Falls and Dingman's Falls are right up the road from the river access point and well worth the walk. There are also tons of hiking trails a matter of minutes from your camp leading to minor waterfalls, overlooks and historic cemeteries. The trails are all well marked and easy hiking.

Nightfall is great. Once the darkness sets in you easily forget your closeness to civilization. No traffic noise, usually there are no other campers close by, which allows you to just sit and enjoy the sounds of the river and the wildlife around you.

Morning sun comes right in on the tent sites making the morning start off on a great note as well. It is definitely worth the stop if your paddling down the river.

We always prefer parks to private RV parks. That being said, camp sites are very close together. I could hear the neighbors conversation, and they weren’t being all that loud. Definitely a pretty park though

Campground Review

Stokes State Forest has four campgrounds. The Steam Mill Camping Area is tucked out the of the way and is the most primitive. It is the smallest of the campgrounds with 27 sites only suitable for tents or small trailers/campervans. No pets or alcohol allowed.

The campground has a pit toilet and a well. Each large campsite has a picnic table, fire pit, and lantern hook. Some sites also have a tent platform. Many sites are a bit rocky.

We selected site T219. It was a solid choice: private but close to the toilet and water. Some sites located around the opposite side of the ring back up to a babbling brook. The rushing water will soothe you to sleep.

Remember, this is bear country so proper food storage is a must. Bear lockers are not provided. The area also has ticks and rattlesnakes.

Outdoor activities in the area abound. Go fishing, hiking, biking, horseback riding, kayaking, and more. There are 21 marked trails that cover over 63 miles within the boundaries of Stokes State Forest. Twelve miles are part of the Appalachian Trail. Pick up a hiking map at the park office or download the Avenza Maps app.

This visit we hiked the Tillman Ravine trail (tip: make the trail a loop and visit both the ravine and the nearby old cemetery).

You can also drive or hike to Sunset Mountain Scenic Overlook for a view of High Point Monument. High Point Monument is the highest elevation in New Jersey and is located in High Point State Park which borders Stokes State Forest on the north. High Point State Park also offers camping, hiking, sightseeing opportunities. And, on the western border of Stokes State Forest is the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. So, there is lots of outdoors to get out and explore!

Product Review

We camped at the Steam Mill Camping Area in Stokes State Forest in our campervan over a chilly autumn weekend. We had the opportunity to cook some soup on our stovetop and chill out by the campfire. And, as Rangers for The Dyrt, we get products to test from time to time so we were psyched to try out some new dinnerware and cutlery. This included the FlexiBowl and GoBites from humangear.

What made these humangear products pretty awesome? Well, the fun colors to start. I mean, seriously, my orange bowl rules. The FlexiBowl also has some neat features: it’s flexible - just like the name suggests - and foldable. The bowl can be squished and stuffed anywhere. And, the top section can be folded down to create a smaller bowl. The FlexiBowl is versatile yet durable. It held my hearty, warm soup just perfectly.

I paired the FlexiBowl with one of the GoBites utensils (the Uno model). The Uno model is my favorite - it has a fork on one side and a spoon on the other side. Very simple and convenient. The other GoBites models include the Duo (separate fork and spoon that can snap together) and the Trio (a fork, spoon, and knife - with bottle opener - in a case).

PRO TIP: I keep the Trio GoBites model in my travel pack at all times. It recently came in handy on a (non-camping) trip to Sardinia. The knife on the Trio allowed me to slice some delicious local cheese to pair with bread, jam, and wine that was purchased from the grocery store. YUM.