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Best Tent Camping near Tunkhannock, PA

562 Reviews
CAMPER SUMMARY PRESENTED BYFord

Tent camping options around Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania include diverse sites along the Susquehanna River and in nearby state forests. Oh! Pear Orchards offers secluded tent sites situated next to a beautiful stream, while Manny Gordon Recreation Area in Pinchot State Forest provides more developed tent camping opportunities within 30 miles of Tunkhannock. Several of these campgrounds maintain walk-in tent sites that provide greater privacy and natural settings.

Most tent campgrounds in the region feature basic amenities, with fire pits being common at nearly all locations. Several sites require campers to carry their gear short distances from parking areas to reach designated tent spots. At Oh! Pear Orchards, campers access sites via a short walk with cart assistance available. A visitor commented, "There is a cart provided which made it pretty easy. The hosts also offer valet service to your site." Water access varies significantly between campgrounds, with some providing drinking water while others require campers to bring their own supply.

Tent sites in this region often feature spacious layouts with natural buffers between neighboring campers. Sites typically include established fire rings, and many are positioned near water features such as creeks or the Susquehanna River. According to feedback on The Dyrt, "Campsites next to a beautiful stream, the best fire pits, quiet and peaceful, just enough shade to stay cool." The area's tent campgrounds offer good access to regional hiking trails and outdoor activities in nearby state parks including Lackawanna and Salt Springs. Seasonal considerations are important when planning a tent camping trip here, as some campgrounds operate only during warmer months, while others maintain year-round accessibility but may have limited services during winter.

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Best Tent Sites Near Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania (23)

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Tent Camping Reviews near Tunkhannock, PA

562 Reviews of 23 Tunkhannock Campgrounds

  • Janet R.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 29, 2024

    Salt Springs State Park Campground

    Unique park with unique natural features

    This park is technically a “state park” because the land for it was donated to the state for public use. However, once the state became the official stewards, there werent funds in the state budget to maintain it as a park. A lical group, the Friends of Salt Springs, stepped up and offered to maintain the park with funds raised by their group. The result is a small but unique property open to the public for day use (picnicking and hiking and fishing) along with 2 small rustic campgrounds. One campground has a large open mowed grassy meadow with level sites for car camping or small campers, no hookups are available but each site has a fire ring and picnic table. On the other side of the parks trout stream are seven secluded primitive hike-in tent sites along with three basic camper cabins. The Friends of Salt Springs makes a good effort to maintain these two rustic campgrounds, however it seems there isnt a ranger on site at night so a camper said the meadow campground can get a little noisy some nights. The hike in sites are relatively quiet and secluded though, and are positioned nicely along the stream, one site actually adjacent to a good swimming hole.

    The camper cabins are basic with bunks, bring all your own gear. They are fairly new and have electricity but no water or heat.

    On the grounds in the day use area are picnic spits, a pavilion, and an activity barn. When I was there, the barn was featuring a local quilt show.

    The special aspect of this park are the hiking trails through old growth hemlock forest, said to be the largest hemlocks in Pennsylvania. The trout stream also cascades through some some waterfalls, and there are gorges with unique geology.

    There is a village nearby with limited supplies, you may want to stock up on groceries before heading out to this somewhat remote park. There is, however, a local brewery, plus an odd coffee shop featuring both donuts and ammo, an unusual combination…..

  • D
    Jul. 5, 2020

    Tobyhanna State Park Campground

    Good campground for families.

    My dog and I stayed for 2 nights in the rustic tenting area. We were the only campers Wednesday & Thursday. The family camp area features spaces (small areas for either RV campers or tents and cars) with a picnic table and fire ring and water (some have electricity). They also have shared facilities such as bathrooms and showers. However, they seemed a little too cramped fir me and I wasn’t looking for opportunities to socialize, so the remote tent site was my choice. The tent sites do not have water or electric, but do have picnic tables, a fire ring and share one large outhouse with clean pit toilets. There are 5 sites and they can accommodate (shared) multiple tent set ups. Also you need to park your vehicle in a designated lot which is very close to the sites. There are multiple easy hiking and biking trails that are well marked. A lake for fishing and a small sandy beach with a picnic area for families (unfortunately no dogs are allowed on the beach). There are 2 boat launch areas (one for the campers, and another for gen. public) which also has a boat rental business (dogs are allowed). There are black bears in the park so do not leave food out and dispose of all trash in the appropriate dumpsters.

  • Angel A.
    Aug. 20, 2018

    Lower Lake Campground Northwoods Area — Promised Land State Park

    Northwoods Campground

    Big sites with 30 amp service available for RVs and trailers. Each site has a large picnic table and a fire ring with an adjustable grate. The pull-through sites don’t offer much in the way of privacy, but that’s the trade off for convenience. There are two potable water spigots in the campground. The bathhouse offers warm showers, 2 dishwashing sinks, and a coin-operated washer and dryer. The facilities are kept very clean. On the weekends it can get pretty crowded, so it tends to be louder at night then, but the camp hosts and the rangers do a good job of enforcing quiet hours. Access points to several trails are very near the campground. As with all PA state parks, alcohol is prohibited. The park doesn’t have a camp store, however, there is a small general store on Route 390 (The Lake Store) just north of the park that would have any essentials you may have forgotten, as well as ice for your cooler.

  • Alaina Z.
    Oct. 13, 2020

    Pickerel Point Campground — Promised Land State Park

    Beautiful facilities, rocky sites

    Pros: -beautiful new bathrooms -private lakeside walk-in sites -beavers! Far away but exciting nonetheless -the Conservation Walk on the island is short, easy, and beautiful. Well-marked.

    Cons: -chunky bluestone gravel on the sites, so bring a sleeping pad! -has a beach but it's not much to look at -sites have nice sizable fire pits, but they are very tall. It's difficult to cook over them, and sitting around the campfire in the evening is a much less visually appealing experience than I'd like

    We stayed in site 157. Accessible via a path from the designated parking space to the site about 2 minute walk. Lakeside, but visibility not great due to vegetation. All sites have little trails down to the water.

    Site 174 by the road and less private, but prettily overhung by evergreens.

    The cabins look very nice inside.

  • Amy R.
    Jul. 16, 2019

    Pine Cradle Lake Family Campground

    RV/tent campground in a beautiful setting

    This is a gated campground that we stayed at 6/30/19-7/04/19. We are NOT an RV. We own a Napier tent that hooks to our truck so that we can sleep up in the bed. However, due to it being a holiday week, the tent sites were completely booked and they only have 4(which also have water& electric). The tent sites are located in the back of the campground behind the sports field within the trees. I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to see them but they have them pictured on their website. They let us book an RV site and it was rough setting up on a gravel RV site but we understood that we were not within a normal tent element and placed an extra tarp under the tent. The campground is located at the top of some beautiful and scenic driving through farmland in Pennsylvania and you will be 30 minutes from anything like shopping or small town amenities(we drove to Walmart after setting up to get our perishables since we drive up from Virginia). Our site had water and electric, was a drive through spot for a typical RV with a section to the side of the drive through for the fire pit and picnic table. We were located right next to the shower/bathrooms/playground and had some tree coverage and shade. A lot of the RVs in the campground are permanent sites and our neighbors never showed so we had a quiet buffer but it was not a noisy campground. It appeared that they cleaned the bathrooms twice daily and we were impressed with the cleanliness of the bathroom/showers. There were 4 in the building so we never had to wait. The staff were friendly and helpful. They had a store right next to the pool area that offered common items and RV'er might need with a small grocery area as well which included bundles of wood($6 honor system after hours) and Ice($1.78 per bag). We were allowed to run an account which we paid at the end of our stay. Our campsite was required to be paid at check in. The campground is 18 acres with gravel roads, a sports field, fishing, horse shoes, bocce ball, multiple playgrounds, a rec center with some games, claw machines etc. a splash pad and salt water pool. You will be doing a lot of walking or bring your bicycles like we did. They offer scheduled activities for holidays etc and various weekend activities. You can rent non electric boats and they offer catch& release fishing without a PA license in the lake. My son caught 2 sunfish :) They have guidelines for visitors and quiet hours(my cousin came to visit us in the evenings as she lived close by). We enjoyed camping here even if we were on an RV site. We booked site 211 which had the little bit of tree coverage and was located right next to the showers/bathrooms/playground with a quick walk to the lake for fishing. Most of the other available sites in the road ahead of us had no tree coverage but closer to the lake had more trees and shade. OR, just get an actual tent site :) but they are all the way at the back of the campground, furthest from the lake so I actually preferred our site.

  • T
    Aug. 18, 2022

    Ricketts Glen State Park Campground

    Impromptu trip that we don’t regret!

    This trip was a bit impromptu so we assume most of the good sites were picked over. The site we stayed at was the perfect size for two people, not the biggest site in the campground but we had a bit of a buffer between our neighbors so we weren’t on top of other people. We were located at a bit heavily trafficked area because we were near the entrance of the campground and the restrooms. The state park was beautiful and had a lot of things to do. I recommend doing the Falls trail and to get onto Lake Jean. They have a concessions by Lake Jean that doesn’t only sell food and drinks but some ice and bundle of wood. Definitely bring a hammer because it’s near impossible to stake down your tent by hand because the turf is hard. Would definitely come again and do the primitive group camp option if I can. No cell service (Verizon) but if you drive 10 miles north up towards Lopez we were able to get a signal. This was a nice way to end summer!

  • Lee D.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 17, 2019

    Ricketts Glen State Park Campground

    Waterfalls!!

    The biggest draw to this state park (which no one in Pennsylvania I spoke with seemed to know about) is the 22 waterfalls! We saw 18 of them on a four-mile moderate hike, but if you want to see the additional four, you could make it a seven-mile hike. The trails are very well marked. 

    We stayed in the large loop, which is a peninsula on Lake Jean. Many of the sites have lake views. The bathhouse was clean but not adequate for 73 sites. The campground was about ¾ full and there was often a wait in the bathroom. Showers looked reasonable but I did not use them.

    There were many tent campers in this loop, which does not allow pets (the other, smaller loop does allow pets). There are no hookups at all in the park. The water had been tested earlier in the season and unsafe levels of manganese were detected. All water spigots were shut off and covered but we were told it was safe to wash our dishes and brush our teeth. However, the water for the dishwashing sink was turned off as well as the water in the restroom at the trailhead. Since we had a reservation, we received a phone call in advance of our stay letting us know about this.

    There are trails to the beach, but we woke to rain the next morning, so we did not explore this. 

    One trash/recycle area a distance away from the campsites which seems typical for PA state parks. Alcohol is strictly forbidden– we were warned that if a ranger saw any alcohol outside of our vehicle, we would be cited. Quiet hours are 9 pm– 8 am, which is more restrictive than other state parks, however, some did not observe these quiet hours (a guitar-playing singing camper thought he was talented, but I disagree!)

  • Jackie F.
    Aug. 22, 2021

    Frances Slocum State Park Campground

    Good stay, great site!

    The goods: We had site 44 in the Stony Point loop and it was by far the largest campsite on the property. We had a thick covered wooded area to our right and a huge grassy area to the left. Was also an easy back in site as there’s an adjacent road (to parking and the amphitheater) right in front of it. All sites only have electric and only certain allow pets. Dump station had easy access and bathrooms, weren’t great but wasn’t the worst I’ve seen either.

    The not so good: mosquitoes and ticks can ruin a good trip, come prepared! Others in the campground were not honoring the quiet hours rules or the no alcohol rules. Some guy walked right in front of our site and threw up in a wooded area close by. Around the lake people leave their fishing bait and tackle on the ground so please be careful with your pups! Also, DO NOT take your pups to the water. There is a weird bacteria or algae currently growing in the lake, it’s completely visible. There are advisories around about it too.

  • Heather G.
    Jul. 20, 2018

    Hickory Run State Park Campground

    Campground and More

    I love everything the campground and state park has to offer. Bolder field is a great way to spend the day, and the campground has a great price for the sites. Showers and bathrooms are close by to the basic tent campgrounds, and the sites are large and easy to set up.

Guide to Tunkhannock

Tent camping options near Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania include several riverside sites and forest-based campgrounds within Sullivan and Lackawanna counties. The region sits at the confluence of Tunkhannock Creek and the North Branch of the Susquehanna River, with elevations ranging from 600 to 1,200 feet above sea level. Winter temperatures can drop well below freezing, making most tent camping seasonal between April and October.

What to do

**Rafting adventures: 40 miles south of Tunkhannock on the Lehigh River offers exciting outdoor experiences. According to a camper at Whitewater Challengers Adventure Center, "Rafting on the Lehigh with whitewater challengers was amazing. The campground is definitely great for Girl Scout or school groups."

Paddleboarding on Mauch Chunk Lake: Located about an hour from Tunkhannock, this clear water lake provides excellent paddling opportunities. As one visitor noted, "I like that I can launch my paddle board from my sight and the water is so clean and clear."

Hiking nearby state forests: Within 30 miles of Tunkhannock, several state forests offer hiking trails. A camper at Manny Gordon Recreation Area in Pinchot State Forest mentioned, "Very open, plenty of space. most campgrounds have previously stocked wood from other people, makes setting up very convenient. lots of ticks tho so get your spray."

What campers like

Privacy between sites: Several campgrounds provide good separation between campsites. At Mauch Chunk Lake Park, a camper reported, "The campground was spacious and while it was likely full, it still felt secluded. Beautiful lake beach and canoe and kayak rentals."

Riverside camping spots: Camping along the Susquehanna offers peaceful water views. A visitor to Riverside Acres Campground shared, "Riverside Acres is a modest sized campground in a great spot. The river in front of first row sites is 200 m broad. Eagles fish here. You can too."

Flat tent pads: For comfortable tent camping near Tunkhannock, some sites offer level ground. As one camper at Mauch Chunk Lake Park stated, "I believe it is a great spot to go with people who haven't camped much before. It has flat tent spaces, generally clean bathrooms, and access to tons of things to do."

What you should know

Site accessibility challenges: Some campgrounds require carrying gear from parking areas. The terrain can be challenging at certain locations, as one visitor noted about Belden Hill Campgrounds, "Easy access off I-88 friendly owner, friendly seasonal people. Pull thru full hookup, level, spacious."

Seasonal considerations: Many campgrounds near Tunkhannock operate seasonally. Belden Hill Campgrounds specifies their season as "Apr 1 - Oct 30," making advance planning essential for spring through fall camping trips.

Noise levels vary: Some campgrounds maintain a quieter atmosphere while others have organized activities. A camper at Whitewater Challengers mentioned, "There was a movie shown at night, as well as music played late into the night," indicating this might not be ideal for those seeking silence.

Tips for camping with families

Beach activities: Some camping areas include swimming beaches perfect for kids. A Mauch Chunk Lake Park visitor shared, "Nice beach area and lake to kayak!"

Group-friendly sites: Certain campgrounds accommodate larger family gatherings. A camper at Scrub Mountain Retreat rated it highly, noting the campground has just two sites but offers amenities like showers and toilets.

Entertainment options: Consider campgrounds with structured activities for children. "There's much to explore in the town Jim Thorpe and beautiful hiking close by," reported a Mauch Chunk Lake Park visitor, mentioning off-site attractions that can entertain families during their stay.

Tips from RVers

Hookup availability: RV campers should confirm utilities before booking. A visitor to Belden Hill Campgrounds shared, "Good working utilities on nice sites. The views from the campground are great."

Internet access: Connectivity varies significantly between campgrounds. A recent Belden Hill camper reported, "Full hook ups and wifi but wifi wasn't working too well. Good enough for web surfing on phone but no streaming on TV. Great at&t service."

Seasonal RV communities: Many campgrounds near Tunkhannock have permanent seasonal residents. As one visitor noted, "Very nice couple, mostly older campers in year round RV's. Very quiet, good showers, very clean."

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Tunkhannock, PA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Tunkhannock, PA is Half Baked Homestead with a 0-star rating from 0 reviews.

What is the best site to find tent camping near Tunkhannock, PA?

TheDyrt.com has all 23 tent camping locations near Tunkhannock, PA, with real photos and reviews from campers.

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