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Help selecting East Coast location with lots of variables...

kfp673
Explorer II
Explorer II
Hello Folks!

This group has helped me select our last 3 vacations so I figured I'd come back for more ๐Ÿ˜‰ BUT.. This one is a challenge for me to figure out. Here is the situation...

We are looking for a location for next summer to spend a week vacation (unlike most trips where we plan 3 weeks in advance.. Ha!). However.. This year my extended family is interested in coming including my parents, brother, sister, and all of their kids. So it would be 6-8 adults and 5-7 kids ranging from 3-12 years old. The problem is we are the only camper / RV'ers. We need to find a location that has cabins or rental trailers for the rest. The challenge I am finding is trying to keep the cost down. This vacation is shifting from a family owned house in Ocean City NJ (Where the family spends multiple other trips over the summer) to wherever we pick to change it up and try something different. However, my family is not interested in spending $3-500 per night.

Me and my immediate family have been camping and RV'ing now for many years. I am fully aware that most private parks have full accommodation trailers or cabins available, and that many state parks have rustic cabins. What I am looking for is opinion on 1- A good location to take a larger group like this where everyone will enjoy 2- where it will not be super expensive for my family to stay (we will be bringing our trailer) and 3- no further drive than about 3-4 hours from the Philadelphia area. Although if you have a thought about somewhere else east coast that might be 6-10 hour drive, please share that as well as I may be able to convince them.. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Ideally the RV park / Campground would have plenty to do so that we could easily spend some days just in the park (pools, fishing, playgrounds, etc), however we also like to get out and see things, so near by attractions are desired as well.

Please share your thoughts and experiences. I appreciate it!
22 REPLIES 22

RGar974417
Explorer
Explorer
Pipestem State Resort Park in West Virginia meets all your needs. They have a nice campground, they also have cabins and a hotel. In addition they have 2 pools,2 restaurants,nature walks, horseback riding,archery,golf,mini golf, tennis and a lot more. Very reasonable rates.

sptddog
Explorer
Explorer
Might also be worth looking at a few of these: Lake George area (Lake George RV park and/or Moose something or other); Watkins Glen; Bush Kill Falls Areas/Delaware Water Gap KOA; Lake in Wood, Lancaster, PA; Gettysburg KOA, Drummerboy or Artillery Ridge; Harper's Ferry KOA; Castaways (Ocean City, MD) and Massey's Landing (DE) - though both are pricey for cabins; Trap Pond State Park (I believe they have cabins); PA Grand Canyon Area (I can't remember campground names, but most have cabins); Ohiopyle, PA area - there is a Jellystone there w/ cabins....

We really liked Luray, VA's Jellystone - that's about 5 hours. Also loved a small campground near WV - Candy Hill, but can't recall if they have cabins. Cherrystone and Bethpage are awesome, but cabins won't be cheap.

ETA - there is a new campground at the inlet bridge in Delaware - that might be worth checking - I believe it's a state park, but not sure about cabins. Assateague National Park is also awesome, but not sure about cabins.
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mdcamping
Explorer
Explorer
dblr wrote:
I would second the Knoebels suggestion but more towards their Lake Glory campground, they have full hook up sites for you and also have cambins, plus I believe they allow around 10 people per site. The cabins I think are rustic meaning a place to sleep and electric but the bath house is close.


X3 when it comes to complete value, we go every year at Knoebel's campground:

No charge for extra people at your campsite, NO admission charge to amusement park. You can bring your pets into the amusement park also. Lots of cabin rentals. Campground Bus stops that pick you up every 15 minutes... no walking.
Clean family campground. Hope I don't sound like a ad! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Mike
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Bob806
Explorer III
Explorer III
Merrykalia wrote:
I'll give you a completely different idea...a state park. Virginia State Park has got lots and lots of campgrounds and they have cabins. The cabins vary from pretty primitive to absolutely fabulous cabin style homes.

Our local campground, Natural Tunnel SP, which is in the far western part of the state offers lots of outdoor activities, a huge pool, playgrounds, caving, canoeing, kayaking for the whole family.

Their cabins (14 of them) are houses with Tempurpedic queen beds, bunk beds in other bedrooms. They have 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom and even a 6 bedroom house that can accommodate 16. They have heat/air, wood floors, gas fireplace in the living room, and full bathrooms. They are NOT roughing it and rent for $120-$375 per night, according to their size.

There are two campgrounds in the park: LOVER'S LEAP, which of offers a new bathhouse with individual shower rooms and a laundry, large back-in sites up to 85' long with pea gravel, 30 and 50 amp, fire ring and picnic table and COVE VIEW, which offers an older bathhouse with old-style shower stalls in the bathrooms, all pull-thru sites with 20 and 30 amp, fire ring and picnic table. These sites have grass yards. These rent for $40 per night for out-of-state guests.

Video of cabins, inside and out


Pictures of campground and other activities


Agree, Natural Tunnel is great. We camped at Hungry Mother this summer, absolutely loved that one too. Close to the Virginia Creeper Trail, which is awesome.

dpgllg
Explorer
Explorer
If you want to be close to a beach then take a look at Willowtree RV Resort in Longs SC. It is in the North Myrtle Beach area off of Route 9. About 20 minutes from Cherry Grove Beach.

Willowtree

They have very nice cottages both one and two bedroom. In peak season the one bedroom is $137 a day and the 2 bedroom is $197.

Very nice park quiet nice pool hot tub and walking trails. Sites are spacious as well.

Good luck!

Dave
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cruising_spud
Explorer
Explorer
Lake-In_Woods in the Lancaster area.
Kathy

RGar974417
Explorer
Explorer
Pipestem State Park in southern West Virginia has everything you want and more. They have modern cabins, a campground with hookups, a hotel, 2 restaurants, horseback riding,archery,nature walks a lake for fishing,tennis,golf,mini golf etc.

dblr
Explorer
Explorer
I would second the Knoebels suggestion but more towards their Lake Glory campground, they have full hook up sites for you and also have cambins, plus I believe they allow around 10 people per site. The cabins I think are rustic meaning a place to sleep and electric but the bath house is close.
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leggy
Explorer
Explorer
Jellystone in Lancaster area. Large water area for kids. Day trip all stuff Lancaster area offers.

kfp673
Explorer II
Explorer II
Wow! Less than 24 hours and 2 pages of fantastic options. Thanks everyone! We will begin reviewing your suggestions.

NoVa_RT
Explorer
Explorer
I second the Virginia State Parks suggestion. Seems to be in the right price range, not too far away, and lots of Parks with cabins.
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Merrykalia
Explorer
Explorer
I'll give you a completely different idea...a state park. Virginia State Park has got lots and lots of campgrounds and they have cabins. The cabins vary from pretty primitive to absolutely fabulous cabin style homes.

Our local campground, Natural Tunnel SP, which is in the far western part of the state offers lots of outdoor activities, a huge pool, playgrounds, caving, canoeing, kayaking for the whole family.

Their cabins (14 of them) are houses with Tempurpedic queen beds, bunk beds in other bedrooms. They have 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom and even a 6 bedroom house that can accommodate 16. They have heat/air, wood floors, gas fireplace in the living room, and full bathrooms. They are NOT roughing it and rent for $120-$375 per night, according to their size.

There are two campgrounds in the park: LOVER'S LEAP, which of offers a new bathhouse with individual shower rooms and a laundry, large back-in sites up to 85' long with pea gravel, 30 and 50 amp, fire ring and picnic table and COVE VIEW, which offers an older bathhouse with old-style shower stalls in the bathrooms, all pull-thru sites with 20 and 30 amp, fire ring and picnic table. These sites have grass yards. These rent for $40 per night for out-of-state guests.

Video of cabins, inside and out


Pictures of campground and other activities
2017 Ford F350 Crew Cab 6.7L 4x4 DRW

Busskipper
Explorer
Explorer
kfp673 wrote:
Hello Folks!

This group has helped me select our last 3 vacations so I figured I'd come back for more ๐Ÿ˜‰ BUT.. This one is a challenge for me to figure out. Here is the situation...

We are looking for a location for next summer to spend a week vacation (unlike most trips where we plan 3 weeks in advance.. Ha!). However.. This year my extended family is interested in coming including my parents, brother, sister, and all of their kids. So it would be 6-8 adults and 5-7 kids ranging from 3-12 years old. The problem is we are the only camper / RV'ers. We need to find a location that has cabins or rental trailers for the rest. The challenge I am finding is trying to keep the cost down. This vacation is shifting from a family owned house in Ocean City NJ (Where the family spends multiple other trips over the summer) to wherever we pick to change it up and try something different. However, my family is not interested in spending $3-500 per night.

Me and my immediate family have been camping and RV'ing now for many years. I am fully aware that most private parks have full accommodation trailers or cabins available, and that many state parks have rustic cabins. What I am looking for is opinion on 1- A good location to take a larger group like this where everyone will enjoy 2- where it will not be super expensive for my family to stay (we will be bringing our trailer) and 3- no further drive than about 3-4 hours from the Philadelphia area. Although if you have a thought about somewhere else east coast that might be 6-10 hour drive, please share that as well as I may be able to convince them.. ๐Ÿ˜‰

Ideally the RV park / Campground would have plenty to do so that we could easily spend some days just in the park (pools, fishing, playgrounds, etc), however we also like to get out and see things, so near by attractions are desired as well.

Please share your thoughts and experiences. I appreciate it!


Using your list, this might/likely makes this next to Impossible - BUT - might just work with Williamsburg area - we have never rented cabins so I can't be of no help there. Other than the Beach there are few areas that allow you to have daily activities "CHEAP", Williamsburg has much to do and will certainly keep everyone Busy but is not "Cheap" if you do some of the less expensive historical tours - combined with Bush Gardens and I think there might be even more parks close, you can have fun but again this is a Pay to Play area.

We have been doing a Family reunion for over 40 years in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware and while every now and then we discuss trying someplace different no one has ever found a place that all might love, so 15 years ago we finally Built a Family Compound there and while large we still need to rent another house and two of us bring our Campers.

So other than everyone flying out West or SouthWest there are few areas in the East that will meet your qualifications, So I will follow this post to see what is decided, as this will not be easy.

IMHO, you will not find anyplace other than something very similar to what you have now on the Jersey Shore, and my Advice would be to just continue to stay in your comfort zone, as the likelihood of finding something better is slim, and if you fail even a little the Egg will only be on Your Face.

Best of Luck,
Busskipper
Maryland/Colorado
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schlep1967
Nomad
Nomad
Knoebels Grove Campground They actually have two campgrounds. Lake Glory is off site but they provide a shuttle to get you to the Amusement Park. Or the onsite campground is a nice walk or they even provide a shuttle that runs through the campground down to the park.
Free entrance to the park for those not interested in riding rides. There is a deer farm in the area to visit and a coal mine tour. A short drive down the road you can catch a glimpse of Centralia, or whats left of it.

If you are interested call immediately to get reservations.
If you can't get in there, there are some other private campgrounds in the area.
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