Best Cabin Camping near Dornsife, PA

Site Details: We stayed in the Dragonfly camping cottage (quick weekend trip without the husband, and I’m not quite up for towing and setting up the popup by myself with 3 kids!). It was a standard rustic-type state park cabin, with one double bed, one single twin bunk, and one regular set of bunk beds, so it sleeps 5-6 comfortably. There was also a sturdy dining room table with chairs and an oscillating fan inside. Electricity/lights and heat, but no AC. Very clean inside. The cabin also had a really nice front porch, picnic table, and fire ring, and was situated with a beautiful lake view. The area we were in contained both rustic cabins and yurts (which looked really neat).

Facilities/Overall Park: Multiple bath houses were scattered among various loops, and each one we visited was very old, dim and drab, but they were also spacious and reasonably clean. Showers all had old rust and water stains. However, it was nice that there were so many of them, because this is a very large state park with multiple camping loops. Most tent and basic RV sites were shaded and private, while the newer FHU sites were more open (but still nicely spaced). Hosts and rangers were nice, but not very helpful or proactive when they needed to correct a reservation mistake they made (but it worked out in the end). There is a beautiful lake with a really nice day area in the center of the park, with a great playground and concession stand. The lake is popular for fishing and swimming, although there is oddly no sand beach; swimmers just entered the water straight from the grass.

Surrounding Area/Attractions: Not much going on in the immediate vicinity, but Harrisburg, Amish country, and Hershey are all doable day trips from the park. We were here just for the Hershey RV show, and it was an easy 40-minute drive.

Overall, this was a very pretty park with site options for every type of camper, but certain elements are in need of updating. I don’t think I’d go out of my way to make this park a destination, but it’s a nice option as a base camp for visiting the RV show or other attractions (with a much cheaper price tag than the private CGs closer to the action).

My girlfriends and I just stayed in the yurts for annual glamping trip. We reserved 3 of 4 yurts for first weekend in June...non peak season. Peak season requires minimum 5 day reservation, I believe. Yurts have 2 sets of bunk beds with one set having full size mattress on bottom. Yurts have heat and fans. Full size refrigerator, stove and microwave. No water but directly across from facilities with basin sinks outside for cleaning dishes, etc. Each yurt has a huge deck, 2 picnic tables and fire pit. Restrooms and showers are a hop, skip and jump from yurts and well maintained. Also each yurt comes with a moor skip to keep kayaks, paddleboards or canoes at lake. Beautiful lake surrounded by trails and includes beach area and playground. Dogs are allowed in the park but not in campgrounds (yurts and cabins). There is no tent camping here but is available at Locust Lake State Park, just a few miles away. Alcohol is prohibited. Must park in overnight lot after unloading.

Large campground with electric RV/camper sites as well as non-electric tent sites. Several bathroom and shower facilities. Lake-side sites are available and each site comes equipped with a picnic table, fire ring, and parking spot. Friendly staff, decently maintained. There were several planks missing from our picnic table and the parking spot was a mud hole. Some pet friendly sites are available as well. A snapping turtle stopped by for a visit at our campsite and ended up laying eggs! Quite a sight to see, there is plenty of wildlife around to enjoy during your stay.

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. There are fill stations throughout the campgrounds. Most sites are level and shaded. There are nice sturdy wooden platforms for tent campers.

The bath houses are clean and well maintained. There are outside sinks with mirrors, laundry facilities, shower stalls, and toilet stalls. Or if you prefer there are also traditional bathrooms with showers.

Quiet hours are enforced between 10p and 8a.

Each site has a fire ring and picnic table. Wood is available by the bucket near the check in building. Sites are inexpensive and are all a short walk, or free shuttle ride, to the park!.

Camping here is a delight.  Its a secluded,  public campground that has been owned and ran by the same family for generations. 

They have almost 400 sites, ranging from tent sites, to pop ups, 5th wheels, rv's and even 5 rental cabins. You can stay a weekend, or a month...   Every site has a fire pit, picnic table and a trash can provided.  Back that up with every site has electric, water, as well as basic cable.  Every site means exactly that, even your tent site will have full amenities.

There is a pool with a smaller children's pool as well as a bath house. Clean, nice hot/cold showers, general store, coin laundry, private pond (occasionally stocked), badminton, horseshoes, golf cart friendly, A large pavilion with a large flatscreen display and community firepit is there for general use or for rental,  There is wifi by store and surrounding area, non denominational services.

Many campers are here"semi-permanently" and have landscaped their sites even including custom decks, some people I met have been coming here faithfully over 30 years. Its a a very friendly, know your neighbor type of camping. There has been structured entertainment,(bingo, shuffleboard, etc) in the past as well as dj's and bands on occasion.

Literally in the middle of nowhere, but 10 minutes from town, 15 from a Walmart and fast food, as well as 2 local hospitals. Local you can find multiple state parks, Historical sites, and other local attractions.

Open from the 2nd week of April until the 3rd week of October, weather permitting. All guests must be signed in,

Nice, clean, friendly/accommodating staff and the prices were reasonable for the accommodations. My Outdoor Adventure Algorithm is:(Drink+Fire+Lean-To)-(Rules+Regulations+Fees)/(Crowd-Privacy)*(Isolation*Acceptability of loud, primal, Forest-Man behavior)=Camping. While you won't mistake yourself for a member of the Donner Party, you'll also be comfortable, watching Dish, cooking on a gas stove or microwave inside(fire-ring out), with cold food/drinks and ice from the'big' mini-fridge. Bunk room had 2 bunk beds, each with a full size mattress AND room to move, plus good natural light. Living/dining area is large with a wall-mounted tv, rustic wood dining set, storage room and hooks/hangers, good natural light, as well as sufficient artificial direct and ambient lighting.Comfortable couch pulls out into a comfortable bed. Large covered front porch with again more lighting and a hanging swing. Parking is driveway-close, and they're pretty mellow about blazing conflagrations(IF it's under control) so you can get a REAL bed of coals to properly cook.They also have used/re-purposed camping/RV/tailgating items for sale( some free). It would even make a good event-specific yard-sale trip. Overall, a damned nice hotel in the woods. Not a survivalist challenge or hXc camping experience; just a clean, safe getaway for a game, Arts Fest, or just a time-out

The first time we decided to visit Knoebels resort, we decided to camp at the nearby Lake Glory Campground/Knoebels Campground. We rented a cabin and a family we were traveling with, also rented a cabin.

The cabins were clean, as was the bathhouse, but the cabins were right on top of each other, with NO division at all. It was more like a neighborhood on a quiet street. In some ways, it was nice that all of the children in the area where able to play together and all of the adults could watch them- but there was just NO privacy or feelings of seperation at all.

The fire rings seemed old, and you could hear every single cough, laugh, etc from your neighbor. It was also a fairly decent walk to the bathhouse- though the bathhouses were large and well kept.

While we didn't stay in the tent or RV sites, it looked like a fairly similar sense of privacy in those sites. It basically looked like tents were just randomly placed in open spaces of grass.

Firewood was for sale at the entrance, and it was "fill a bucket for $5". So basically, whatever you could fit and carry on of their metal pails, cost you $5. If you take your time, you can get a good amount of wood for that.

The insides of the cabins had a large queen size bed and then a loft bunk. There was a nice built in shelf with electric and even a good amount of hooks and cubbies for storage. Of the camping cabins we have stayed in, this was the largest and most functional. That said, there was a ceiling fan for air circulation at the top and it was LOUD. I had to sleep up top, since my sensory-senstive child couldn't handle it- just a head's up, in case you have a similar issue.

Overall, if you're looking for a dirt cheap way to stay near the local amusement park, this will do. Personally, when we returned this year, we just rented a hotel. We didn't enjoy the "camping" experience here at all.

This park has no tent camping. 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. There is a playground for kids to play in that is well maintained. There are hiking trails in the back side of the park, from the main entrance. The visitor center is only open during the week. The cabins and yurts have electricity and running water. They are great if you want the outdoor experience while getting the option of a bed. If you want tent camping, check out locust lake state park which isn't far away.

I don’t know if the Amish camp, but regardless, if you’d like to experience what it’s like to go camping in Amish country then Thousand Trails PA Dutch Country RV Resort has you covered. First of all, whenever I see that word ‘resort’ I always wonder – is it really a resort? And, well, while we're on that particular question, what makes a place a resort in the first place? In my estimation, a resort has to have a pool and likely some of those splash pools, probably gated or requires some sort of secure admittance, full of recreation options, is a restful respite and (very probably) features a Tiki Hut or some version of an outdoor bar that is serving up delicious libations. Apart from that very last amenity, this particular RV campground destination ticks most of the boxes.

So, should you be looking for an authentic Quaker environ to enjoy some of the best of what the great Keystone State has to offer, then you might want to give PA Dutch Country RV Resort some consideration, but before you do, you’ll need to secure a membership with Thousand Trails in order to access this, and indeed the other 250 or so other campgrounds this camping conglomerate has throughout the US. The biggest downside to this particular campground is its very close proximity to the PA Turnpike, which while convenient, might detract a bit from the peace & quiet you might be expecting when here at your new-found camping ‘resort.’ That said, as the PA Dutch Country RV Resort rests at a slightly higher elevation than the turnpike, I have to admit, we really didn’t notice much of any noise coming from the highway and what’s more, this campground is completely surrounded by a fairly dense forest, which likely is what blocks any irritable sound and most certainly blocks any highway or traffic visibility.

Should you decide to leave ‘the reservation’ for any reason, you’ll be engulfed by the incredibly rich, verdant countryside populated by incredibly rural residents who’s ancestors settled this vast rich farmland a few hundred years ago. Today, the Pennsylvania Dutch countryside (of which my Irish ancestors intermingled with a long time ago) is a combination of rolling hills in a plush countryside punctuated by massive rolled bays of hay in the surrounding fields, covered wooden bridges and the occasional quaint New England well-preserved charming towns that you will be sure to encounter. So, if you have camping on your mind, discovering a spot like PA Dutch Country RV Resort places you in the heart of one of the most picturesque natural landscapes anywhere in the Keystone State.

Should you need directions to this campground, it’s just off Exit 44 of PA Turnpike or Exit 60 & 60A off of I78. Here at PA Dutch Country RV Resort you’ll encounter a destination offering up 267 back-in and pull-through slots with full hook-ups (30 / 50 amp electric, water and sewage) for RVs in the midst of a fairly decent wooded surrounding with about 6 tent sites offering 15 amp electric and running water. You will discover that no matter where you look on this property, you will have to contend with sloping land as this campground appears to be situated right on the side of a heavily wooded hill. That said, we didn’t have any problems laying out our campsite that came with the standard-issued picnic table and in-ground fold-up fire ring. Don’t have an RV, 5th Wheeler or Tent? Not a problem, as the good folks here at PA Dutch Country RV Resort will rent you one of their 3 cottages for the night.

As previously mentioned, with the term ‘resort’ there should be a ton of amenities that one conjures up and PA Dutch Country RV Resort does not disappoint with plenty of amenities, inclusive of: 3 fairly massive restroom & shower facilities, Wi-Fi service (at a cost), trading post / camp store, swimming pool, walking paths, clubhouse/ office, playing card room, church service, crafts & arts, family bingo, community library, mini golf course, basketball court, horseshoe pits, kids playgrounds, fire pit, designated picnic & BBQ areas, ranger station, recreation hall, cornhole, basketball court, designated dump stations, water stations, ice for sale, propane refueling station, RV storage, Laundry-O-Mat and pet friendly.

Insider’s tips? Here’s a few: (1) If you are an RVer or 5th Wheeler, the best sites IMHO are those that back up to the periphery and are northernmost up the slight embankment as you’ll have greater privacy and less noise being furthest away from all of the action in the center of this campground resort – these sites include: #C1– C5, #D9– D17 and #E44– E49; (2) Should you grow weary of trying to conjure up that next meal from the depths of your Cordova roto-molded cooler or from the confines of your onboard mini-fridge, while there’s not a ton of restaurants around these parts, there are a few and they are pretty amazing, including favorites Brick Tavern Inn and The West End, McCoole’s @ The Historic Red Lion Inn and Sage Alley Brewery; (3) In the event that you need to replenish any of your supplies, rest assured as in nearby Quakertown, there’s a Giant & Aldi’s grocery store as well as a local Target, Walmart, TJMaxx, Kohl’s and Link Beverages to stock up on the 21+ liquid refreshment; (4) Should you be towing your canoe or kayak with you and are eager to get the beak of your waterbird wet, then head on over due east of Quakertown Campground to Nockamixon SP where there’s a sizeable, yet skinny lake just begging for you to navigate it and get some good, hard oaring in; and (5) As a tent camper, while there are only 6 or so spots to choose from, you’ll be happy to know that these are also located on the periphery, with #L1& L2 being southernmost, which I would avoid altogether as this places you too close to the highway) and #T9– T12, which are located northernmost and are the best tent campsites to book.

Happy Camping!