Best Glamping near Waynesboro, PA

We stayed in the Bear Branch Loop of the William Houch Camping Area.  This is a lovely area if you're a beginner camper or just looking for the glamping experience.  The sites are small and not very private but are well defined.  It's very clear where to park, set up the tent etc.  The park itself is very scenic with nice hiking trails and a lake to enjoy.  I was there in the fall so didn't go out on the water but can imagine it would be popular during the warmer months.

This campground is huge, and very crowded. We were there in the days leading up to 4th of July, and there was not a single empty site. Our section had mostly pop-ups and mid-size travel trailers, so the sites were all grass and gravel. However, the area with pull-through sites for big rigs was just a huge RV parking lot. All roads were very narrow and winding. We did fine with the pup, but can’t imagine trying to navigate a large motorhome through there. Crowding/space issues aside, this is a really nice (albeit expensive) campground. Almost everything, from the grounds, to rec halls, to pool and laundry, was sparkling clean and beautifully maintained. Bathrooms were reasonably clean as well, although they could certainly use some TLC and updating (most MD state park bathhouses are nicer).Staff was very friendly, as well. Tons of stuff to do here, especially for families: arts & crafts, indoor movie theatre, games, civil war reenactments, wine tastings, etc. We were certainly never bored, and the kids thought they had died and gone to heaven. Our site was extremely close to our neighbor's site, but still surprisingly roomy and decently shaded. We were right next to the pancake hut (free daily pancake breakfast included during the on-season) and playground, and very close to other activities. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park is just a stone's throw away, with great hiking, sight-seeing, and cute little shops.

Overall, this is a really nice place, but much more of a resort than a campground in my opinion. The kids loved it, but I’ll always prefer the wooded seclusion of a state or national park. However, if I was looking for a more action-packed, activities-filled “glamping” experience, I wouldn’t hesitate to return.

We have camped here several times and love the waterfront sites and the yurts.

If tenting, be sure to check tent on reservation request. Some spots are too narrow for tenting. Cabins are mainly across lake from campground. Only 2 yurts. Two day use areas. Two swimming areas- one for day use, one just for campers!

Overall: 3.5

Bathrooms: 1

This state park offered campsites with full amenities (water, electric, sewer), water & electric, water, or primitive. Also had designated areas for camping with or without pets. We had a water site that was an end spot with the lake directly behind us- #316. We have a teardrop trailer (T@G XL). Spot was a quick walk to the bathrooms. 

Campground offers hiking trails, kayaking, boat launches, playground, cabins, and yurts. Lake was beautiful and grounds offered many trails of different distances for both hiking and biking. 

Bathrooms: Had automatic lights that went on at dark. Problem is that it was dark in the bathrooms and there was no way to turn the lights on. Bathrooms were extremely run down. Paint peeling off the ceiling, showers so stained - not sure if dirt or permanent mold. Showers were scary - I am no princess but did not take a shower in there. They received a 1 because it was a flushable toilet. 

Would go back to enjoy the campground but would bring the solar shower. beautiful birds were everywhere and if it wasn’t so cold when we were there (38’ in evening) I am sure we would have seen more wildlife.

We stayed in July on site 235. When we arrived, our first thought was “Wow, these sites are narrow!” Fortunately, backing in was fairly easy. Some sites would’ve been more difficult. Site pads are 25’-55’. Most sites had room for just one vehicle. Overflow parking was in the front of the campground. We had an electric site. The entire campground has non-electric, electric, and full hookup mixed throughout the campground. There are ADA sites in B loop that were a bit close to neighbors and directly across from bathhouse but in direct sunshine. There are designated dog sites in B loop/area. Some sites do have a lake view and possible access, it was hard to tell. The non electric sites had a parking pad and then for many you walked into the woods to the tent and fire pit area. There were cabins and yurts available too. The dump station had 2 dumps and was wide open when we left on a Sunday at 12:00. Surprisingly! Check out time is 3:00pm. Bathhouses had 3-4 shower stalls and 2-3 stalls. Good water pressure and temperature and clean. There are several spread around the loops. There was a Sunday service that was packed full. Check in was easy, there was none. Just drive to your site. Swimming was prohibited due to low water level but kayaks and canoes were allowed. No fishing also due to low water level in the lake. The beach area was very nice with a concession building and large bathhouse. It wasn’t open due to no swimming right now. There was another beach area at a boat launch in one of the loops. There are a lot of boat launches around the lake, which is large. There are several hiking trails; Lakeside, Oak, and Old Farm Trails go through the camp area. They are multi-use (ski, hike, & bike). There is a playground and volleyball pit area. You can also find group camping areas. This campground is open mid-April to late October. We had a great short trip here but are planning to return in the fall months.

Gifford Pinchot is one of the largest state park campgrounds (339 campsites) in PA with a lot of different types of camping available: tent sites, RV sites, group camping, yurts / camping cottages / cabins, and everything in between. We had site 108 which is an electric site along the shore and close to the beach, and it was perfect for our needs. It has a small beach area within the campground loop that we camped in, but the main beach is on the other side of the large Pinchot Lake. The bathhouses / restrooms are clean (about average for PA state park system) and the campground has a very friendly atmosphere - we really enjoyed our stay.

The state park itself has a LOT to offer, especially in the two main day use areas: the Conewago day use area on the south side of the lake and the Quaker Race day use area on the north side of the lake. Both areas have great access for fishing (bring your license! the rangers in this park check), and we caught a handful of bass and an absurd amount of bluegill from shore. Both areas also have their own 18 hole disc golf course, but I will say: BEWARE of poison ivy!! We played the first 10 holes around the Conewago day use area and I was shocked at how much poison ivy we had to dodge all over the prime walking areas through the course. The course in the Conewago area is relatively flat, whereas the Quaker Race course is built into the side of the hill leading into the QR day use area, so it is a lot more wooded and hillier. I took an early morning hike on the 8.5 mile Lakeside Trail that goes around the lake and it was really awesome to see the lake from all different angles. I also hiked / jogged the Quaker Race Trail and that was nice, too, but obviously much less maintained - it was a little confusing at times as it actually crossed the disc golf course in that area multiple times and it was not well blazed. The LARGE beach area in the QR day use area is one of the nicest I've ever seen at a PA state park, with tons of picnic tables with grills, a playground, a volleyball court, and a special fence solution to keep the stupid geese out of the water in the swimming area. There is also a nice concession area to grab some food, ice cream, and drinks that the kids appreciated.

We also did some hiking and fishing nearby in the Boiling Springs / Dillsburg area, and I would recommend checking that area out if you like either. Yellow Breeches is well known among flyfisherman (bring your waders), and TCO Outdoors on the main drag in Boiling Springs has all the fly patterns and knowledge you could want for the area. Before fishing, we hiked the White Rocks Trail a few miles outside of town, and it was a ton of fun with some cool rock scrambles. It hooks up with the AT going through the area if you want to extend the hike. This area (central PA in general) tends to have a lot of rattlesnakes, and we spotted one about 20 feet off the trail in a downed wood pile - cool, but a little terrifying!

Overall, we really loved the campground and this area and will definitely be back.

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).

Nestled in the mountains of Pennsylvania, this gem of a campground.
There is a beautiful lake across the road from camping area, which consists of; a very nice hiking trail the whole way around, boating, fishing,swimming & in season concession stand. Also, many hiking trails.

Campground Review: Cowans Gap State Park was pretty awesome. Off the Pennsylvania Turnpike at Fort Littleton, through Burnt Cabin on Rt522, signage the entire way. A drive through the PA mountain-scape, excellent scenery to be seen.

The dog section is 1-30 and a few cabins are offered for them also. No restrictions for dogs on the trails but they are restricted from the rest of the campground.

Several trails to enjoy with easy to very strenuous climbs. Part of the Allegheny trail passes through the Buchanan State Forest, near the campground. Would be a good place to practice your backpacking craft.

New showerhouse facilities which are energy efficient lighting and heating. The water in the shower never gets very warm but they are very clean and well maintained.

There is plenty of water sports at the lake, watercraft, swimming and fishing.

Product Review: As a Dyrt Ranger I have the opportunity to review some pretty awesome outdoor gear. I received Mishmi Takin hiking boots after winning one of the monthly contests.

I love the color, I’m all about burnt orange. I have large feet and was happy to see that the company offers footwear up to 13.5 in. I ordered an 11, was surprised when they arrived and were a little big on my feet. So you may want to order a 1/2 size down. On the flip side though I put on my thick hiking socks, synched the laces down and they fit fine.

I wore the boots multiple times during our 8 state trip on several different trail types. I was impressed by grip, no slippage on multiple surfaces.

I hate to say it but I have sweaty feet! And wearing thick hiking socks in boots often leaves me with raisinie toes and damp socks/boots at the end of a long hike. I did not experience that problem while wearing the Mishmi Boots though. My feet stayed comfortable and were dry when I pulled the boots off back at camp. I am liking these boots!

Camp next to the president. This park is located next to Camp David where the POTUS used to go for vacations to give there security detail a break unlike our current president who just keeps wasting our tax money flying down to Florida every weekend. Ok enough ranting.......

Great campsite, with a small lake with beach the kids can swim at. Only thing is there is a steep hike back and forth from campsite to beach, we ended up driving to beach area after our first attempt to walk to beach with all our gear, as an excuse we did have a 7 year old with us.

Great easy loop hikes around campsite with a decent waterfall depending on when it last rained. Great local get away only 1 hr away from DC.

This campground is fantastic! Great sites and clean facilities!! If you’re there around Columbus Day weekend, check out Colorfest in the town of Thurmont!!

It rained most of the weekend, but we still had a blast! The trail to the lake is accessible but far enough that you avoid the high day use traffic. The campsites have trees and some privacy.

Several different camping areas with about 150 places. We had a good site near the showers. Well looked after and plenty to do for our 5 year old with evening activities. Picnic bench, fireplace, gravel camp area. Near to the falls though I think walking from the campsite would have been tough with the kid.

I LOVE Catoctin Mountain Park in general!! The trails are well-kept and the scenery remains as natural as possible (I hate it when you go to some parks and it looks forced or man-made).

The Houck area is pretty wide-spread with sites ranging from dispersed walk-in to camping by the lake. There’s pretty much something for everyone.

But, let’s talk about the lake for a sec... Hunting Creek Lake is a 75 acre man-made lake near Cunningham Falls. Ironically, all the streams and creeks in the area couldn’t make a sufficient lake, therefore one was created. It’s labeled as great for boating, kayaking, and fishing. There were even paddle boats available. It’s quite picturesque from the get-go.

But, once we got in, I have to admit I was thoroughly disgusted. I love swimming in natural water features, but this kinda creeped me out. There was all sorts of algae and growth in the water. We would hit pockets of cold and warm water, which felt like you were walking through someone’s urine — there wasn’t much circulation or movement of the water, so it gets stagnant-feeling. Not to mention the abrupt drop-off when you enter into the lake. Nothing natural feeling about this place.

I give the park 5 stars, but the lake only gets 3, if that.

The park was gorgeous and staff were friendly. There are a few spots to get away and do some fishing. The beach was too crowded for my liking.

This was our first trip here. We brought the grandkids out for a few days of relaxing and unwinding in the woods. The 3-yo had no issues on the trails. The volunteer staff were awesome and extremely helpful. Can’t wait to come back!!

My family and I have been coming here every year since I was young and it is my absolute favorite place to camp. Great campsites- whether you have a tent or a big Class A, lots of well- maintained hiking trails of varying difficulty (the Cliff Trail to the falls is short but semi-challenging and beautiful), lots of activities and amenities, there’s just SO much here!

Stayed one night in September and had a nice level gravel site with fire pit, picnic table and bath house. Greeted by a friendly and helpful camp host as we backed into our site for our maiden voyage. Clean bath house and amenities. Stayed in site 25 with water spigot nearby. Dumpsters for garbage not a far drive and dump station as you leave the park was convenient.

We were so excited to come to Cunningham Falls State Park for the first time. It was a short drive from home and heard great things about the park. I do have to say that the location lived up to my expectations! The falls and hiking we’re beautiful and not too intense that my children could complete the hikes along with us. They do have some more difficult hiking that my husband found, which he really enjoyed. Biggest drawback was on arrival to Addison loop we were greeted by Barney Fife himself, the camp host, that made me never want to come back. He was rude, overbearing and visited our site multiple times reprimanding us and constantly barking rules (as reminders not because we were doing anything wrong!) we have years of experience camping and never have I been babysat so closely. Him and his wife were annoying which is not why we travel to the woods to get away.

Bathroom and shower facilities were mediocre large cracks in the fiberglass leaking water but they did provide an area to wash dishes. There are paths to the bathroom through many sites so people walk through your site to get to the bathhouse. Also poison ivy everywhere.

The beach area at the lake was fantastic! My kids loved it plenty of areas to grill and dogs are allowed. Most of the time we did not spend at the campsite so we ended up having a fantastic weekend. 

Second time here. It’s a nice place for families with friendly hosts, lots of other kids running around, decent hikes, good bathrooms, shady sites. The firewood was good (though they ran out of ice this time). We were in the E loop. The lake is nice to wade or swim in though the lakeside gets very crowded on holiday weekends.

We had spot #10 booked from Thursday through Sunday. Unfortunately we arrived Friday evening around dinner time and lost a whole day of our long weekend due to RV issues along the way there, but ended up having a really nice weekend despite the ugly start to it. Nice secure park and really love that there is someone at the gate to check you in until 10pm! Very nice in case you have any issues or concerns. The camp host here is on the ball as well and greeted us upon arrival to make sure we had everything we needed and gave us some extra info. All of our neighbors were super friendly and quiet. I loved our spot for our 32’ CClass. It was very well maintained, level, beautifully shaded and a nice path straight back to the bathhouse. It had a nice fire ring, table and lantern hook. We took the trails Saturday with our six year old to the falls and then from there hiked to the beach where we spent two hours. The water was perfectly warm and our son enjoyed playing there very much. It was nice that there were shady spots to lay in addition to full sun spots. We then hiked back to the campground. It wasn’t the easiest of hikes if you’re not in great shape but we took our time. I would recommend having backpacks filled with plenty of water and snacks if you have kids and wearing the proper footwear! My sons Crocks were a “mom fail”. Really a beautiful hike through the woods, pretty falls where you can cool off if you choose, get in the refreshing lake and have another gorgeous hike back and see some wildlife too!! The weather was not horrible during the day unless you were in full sun and it rained pretty hard at night while we were sleeping. We will be adding this park to our re-visit list for sure. Easy two hour drive from Blair County, Pa.

Took my nephews on their first camp out. Perfect place for introduction.

Absolutely perfect camping spot. Great size pad, large enough for 2 average tents or 1 large tent. All sites have a fire ring and a picnic table. Bathhouse was close by and showers were hot. Amazing hiking trails close by, the falls are a must see.

The sites are very well maintained. Not a fan of kids running around through sites. The Elderberry and Deer Spring loops are no pets, but I’d like to see a no kids policy too. Kidding! In all seriousness, it’s very quiet and really can’t complain. Very well maintained. My only issue is the $9 firewood and the sites being far away from the lake and no trails connected to the campgrounds. Must drive to get to anything worth seeing.