Dingmans Campground — Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

I was warned about this place and told not to go here, gave it a chance anyways and biggest regret. Spent$300 on 2 sites and for extra people to come which is ridiculous to begin with but did it anyways. They seemed laid back as a person was drinking a beer in the office. So im not sure why there were rangers stalking us in the woods... right after my fiance proposed getting down on 1 knee the rangers come running to ticket us for having a celebratory drink!! Completely ruined our entire weekend and engagement. Got a ticket minutes after our engagement!!! Never had an experience like this camping out of 100 camping trips we've done!! Worst place we have ever been to. Let alone u can't swim even swim at the riverfront sites. The water is 1 foot deep the entire river across. IF YOU WANT TO CAMP AT A GREAT RIVER CAMPGROUND GO TO WORTHINGTON NJ!!! RANGERS AND STAFF WILL NEVER RUIN YOUR NIGHT AND THE CHANNEL IS RIGHT AT YOUR SITE SO CAN SWIM!!! ONLY$25 A NIGHT!!!!:D Only 20 min from this rough campground Go to Worthington you won't regret it, you'll regret it at dingmans

We’ve camped along the Delaware several times before and it’s always been hit or miss with all of the different campgrounds. Dingman’s Campground was by far the best. The reservations and check in went as smooth as can be, staff are super helpful and friendly. At check in you get a lot of area information which was a big help. The camp sites are nicely separated overall. Picnic table and fire ring at every site. Wood is available at the general store but it’s expensive at $8 for a small bundle. The bathrooms / showers are the cleanest we’ve ever seen at any campground. They are newly built or refurbished and spotless. Noticed lots of tent sites that have electric and water for small pop ups or RVs. Dogs allowed. Dingman’s is federal property and patrolled by federal park rangers. By day they cruise around in their SUVs and by night on foot. They are no joke so it helped keep the noise down from the larger groups as well as offering some security. Highly recommended and we even booked another stay while checking out of this past one! Hard to even come up with a negative comment.

No WIfi or cell service anywhere in campground but about 5 min down the road you can find it.

Waterfall in pic was a 5 min drive from the campground and then a 40 hike. Worth it!

I read some reviews before and after we made the reservations. The more recent reviews had me an anxious mess but, we were pleasantly surprised! We stayed in the last walk-in river site (little bit of a hike with all your stuff but worth it!), had views of the river, shade, and the water and port-o-potties a short walk away. I would definitely recommend the walk-in sites as it keeps you secluded from the madness of a Saturday campground fill-up. Most sites we saw were large and very well cleared and shaded (at least the river sites). Ours didnt offer too much privacy from the site next door so plan accordingly or, it would be an amazing spot for a larger group needing both sites. It is definitely a family campground with lots of big groups. Tons to do within short drives of the campground. Only downside was being sold wet wood on our first night and port-o-potties filling up after a busy Saturday night. If you enjoy hiking, gorgeous views, and good old fashion outdoor downtime, definitely book the trip!

Went for a 3 day weekend with my boyfriend, dog, & cat who thinks he is a dog. We have a teardrop camper and found that even though the campground was 80% full, sites had many trees that gave you privacy from your neighbors as well as shade. Site we stayed at had electric, water, fire pit, and picnic table. Had a very cute general store that sold basic needs as well as snacks. 

We were near the southern bathrooms which looked recently built. Womens' bathroom had 3 stalls - 2 which were out of order the entire time we were there. That left one stall and it was dirty most of time - most likely from being overused. The showers were clean - the most amazing water pressure I have had at a campsite and hot water. Felt like I was home. My boyfriend said his bathroom was clean so maybe it was just the fact that they had one stall but really should have fixed it asap. Also had a family bathroom that had a toilet and handicap shower. That one seemed to always have an inch of dirty water on the floor. 

The campground offered a service to drive us up to Milford Beach to launch our kayak. They also rented canoes or kayaks if you needed one. The staff was very friendly helping us load our kayak. The kayak trip down the Delaware River was beautiful! Saw about 6 bald eagles! When we got back to the campsite we had to go get our truck to bring our kayak back to the site. The campsite has a beach on the river that you can go swimming in. 

One thing that we really haven't encountered at other sites (and we camp a lot) was people having no clue about camping etiquette. Constantly people were walking right through our campsite to go to the bathroom. Our site was not much of a shortcut to the bathrooms and there was an empty site a little way down if they were to lazy to walk around. And I mean right through - seriously less than a foot from the teardrop. Peeked in on what we were making for breakfast. Thank goodness I have a very friendly dog. Other sites had dogs going crazy every time people walked through their sites but the people were oblivious. Maybe it was just the group there that weekend? Or maybe you could add it to your rules that you have us review?

We also hiked Tumbling Falls which was a beautiful shady hike with water falls. Check out our Instagram for more pics - @pawsfuradventure

Our layout for this trip - May 31 - June 2 - Tent camping with 3 kids ages 12, 10, and 8. 2 other tent campers and 6 RVs

The Good

1. Location - beautiful set right up against the Delaware river. You can paddle it right from the campgrounds personal launch or start up river and land at their launch. Wooded sites are just as pretty sans the water views. Near some amazing hiking, biking and kayaking.

2. Facilities - the bathrooms seem to be brand new, if they're not they are kept in immaculate order. EVEN THE PORTAPOTTIES were cleaner than most other campgrounds bathrooms.

3. Hookups and plenty of them - very RV friendly

4. Wide open spaces - volleyball nets, horseshoe pits, big open fields. Bring your own equipment though. Footballs, baseballs...whatever. Plenty of room!

5. Friendly - the people that run the check in and store are very friendly. Also the campground is within national park limits so it is policed by the park police. When a group of teens arrived on our last night there the police were down there several times just driving by to maintain their presence. It was good to see.

The bad

1. Price - We normally camp at national park run campgrounds which makes our camping pretty cheap, but at $52 dollars a night along the river it was a bit expensive. With that said this will still be a regular place for us. ( they honor the NPS senior pass and also the access pass, which get you 50% off your stay)