The Best Philadelphia Campgrounds

Throughout the country, you can come across a large number of private, commercial campgrounds that offer a fun, affordable vacation. As campgrounds become more popular, there are more and more commercial grounds popping up in our area. It is now common to find visitors using campgrounds instead of hotels or motels. While commercial and government campgrounds charge a small amount to cover expenses, independent campgrounds do so to make profits. If you live in the Philadelphia area or wish to visit the region, there are plenty of campgrounds available for your enjoyment.

Among the best campgrounds to be found in the Philadelphia area are: Thousand Trails Regional, KOA (Kampgrounds of America), Camden Baseball LLC, Timberlane Campgrounds, Ramah Day Camp, Burn Brae Day Camp of Creative Arts, College Settlement Camp, Twin Spring Farm Day Camp, Camp Green Lane, and Lake Kandle Swim Club.
Apart from these, there are some annual events and festivals that offer camping facilities. These include Philadelphia Folk Festival, Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival, Pennsic Wars, and Spring Gulch Folk Festival.

Established in 1969, Thousand Trails is one of the most successful private camping clubs in the United States. If you become a member, you will be able to enjoy the luxury of over 50 membership-based campgrounds. Thousand Trails offers clean, safe and affordable high quality private camping. It allows members using its campgrounds to bring their own recreational vehicles (RV), tents, or other sleeping equipment. Their parks feature campsites with electrical, water, and sewer connections for RVs, restroom and shower facilities, and recreational amenities. Additionally, they hire security to monitor each of their campgrounds.

KOA provides a rural setting along the banks of the Brandywine River. A special Philadelphia tour is created for campers visiting KOA. The guides accompany you as you explore places like Lancaster’s Pennsylvania Dutch Country and Longwood Gardens, Winterthur Museum & Country Estate, Hagley Museum and Library, and Nemours Mansion and Gardens. Furthermore, you can fish from your tent site or KOA’s landing, or rent a canoe. On summer weekends, there is live entertainment, flashlight lollipop hunts, ice cream socials and pancake breakfasts for you. KOA campgrounds offer hot showers and clean bathrooms, laundry facilities, and campground stores.

The privately owned Timberlane campground covers 20 acres, with both open and wooded sites. It also boasts a beautiful fishing pond with ducks, swans and other wildlife. It is an ideal place for families; it obtains a game room, playground, batting cage, and several swimming pools. It provides campers clean, modern bathrooms with hot showers. Timberlane also offers laundry facilities and LP gas on the grounds.

The Ramah Day Camp’s Jewish summer program provides children in kindergarten through fifth grades with an active fun-filled experience. Campers here take part in a Red Cross instructional swimming program along with daily recreational sports, arts and crafts, music, drama, nature, cooking and much more. The camp’s program lays emphasis on Hebrew, informal learning, prayer and Shabbat experiences that are learned through interactive, hands-on activities.
Burn Brae Day Camp of Creative Arts, designed for children ages 3 through 14, stimulates and encourages creative interests in theatre, art, voice, musical instruments, dance, creative writing, video production, circus arts, magic, and more. Its swim and sports program lays more emphasis on instruction than competition

Lake Kandle can be visited by renting sites for the season or at transient RV pull through, tent and pop-up sites. Lake Kandle does pose some restrictions on campers. It bans pets of any kind, does not allow alcoholic beverages on the premises, and no person under the age of 21 is allowed to make a reservation or camp without adult supervision. Maximum capacity per campsite is six people.

Camp Green Lane is located in the rural, pristine surroundings of eastern Pennsylvania. Thousands of families make Green Lane their home for the entire summer season.

The College Settlement Camp offers overnight camping to economically needy children from the five county Philadelphia areas. Children come for a two-week session of residential camp.

There are also annual festivals and events in the Philadelphia vicinity that has camping facilities. Philadelphia Folk Festival is a three-day extravaganza of traditional and contemporary folk music, dance, crafts, camping and campfire sings, storytelling, juggling, and special children’s activities. Nearly 5,000 people camp at the festival for the weekend.
Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival is a family event that allows recreational vehicles and tent camping on the grounds. Top bluegrass musicians perform at the festival.

The Spring Gulch Folk Festival is a family event in Pennsylvania Dutch Country that offers campers fantastic music, sing-a-long campfires, workshops, dancing, and crafts.
It is apparent that there are numerous options for campers in the Philadelphia area. Lancaster and the Poconos are two of the most popular camping areas available and you will certainly have an enjoyable time at any of these campgrounds.