Stargazing

Hickory Hill Camping Resort

130 RV Sites, 9 Cabins, 4 Tent Sites, 6 Cottages, 5 Lodges

Hickory Hill Camping Resort in Bath, New York, offers 130 RV sites, 20 cabin, cottage, and lodge units, and four tent sites in the Finger Lakes Southern Tier, with 30 and 50-amp full hookups, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 60 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout. A dedicated Big Rig back-in category joins premium sites, alongside a splash pad, mini-golf, and fitness center. One hundred thirty sites span 30/50-amp back-in, 50-amp back-in, premium back-in, and Big Rig back-in categories, all carrying water, sewer, and electric with cable TV, sized to 60 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. The dedicated Big Rig category removes the guesswork for large coaches. Twenty cabins, cottages, and lodges and four tent sites round out the lodging. A general store, laundry, propane fills, dump station, restrooms, showers, firewood, and a concierge handle the practical side. Reach the resort at [email protected] or 607-776-4345. A splash pad and outdoor pool anchor the summer, with mini-golf, a disc golf course, fitness center, recreation center, craft room, sports courts, basketball, bocce ball, shuffleboard, horseshoes, and a jumping pillow filling the grounds. A lake, pond, and creek support fishing, with walking trails, hiking, golf cart rentals, a pavilion, and community fire pit besides. Live music and planned activities run through the season, and the resort operates as a wedding venue. Watkins Glen, the Corning Museum of Glass, and the Finger Lakes wine trails are all close. Summer and fall foliage drive demand. Reserve well ahead.

from $55 $48/night

Wake in the Woods Aquapark & Campground

Wake in the Woods Aquapark & Campground in Lake Ariel, Pennsylvania, offers camping and cabin rentals on a private seven-acre lake with an inflatable aqua park on the water, behind a gated entrance in the Pocono Mountains. Boat docks, boat rentals, a bar, and food trucks serve families and group events on historic Lake Genero. Tent sites and cabin rentals make up the accommodations, with corporate retreat and group event infrastructure on site. A general store, boutique shop, propane fills and exchange, restrooms, showers, and firewood handle the practical side, with WiFi throughout and a gated entrance controlling access. The inflatable aqua park is the signature. These are large floating structures with water slides, obstacles, and climbing features, designed to give swimmers a safe, genuinely demanding play area on open water — considerably more engaging than a pool, and the reason most families book. Boat docks, boat rentals, swimming, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and boating fill out the water recreation, with sports courts, basketball, volleyball, horseshoes, corn hole, walking trails, hiking, a playground, pavilion, and community fire pit on land. A bar and visiting food trucks handle evenings, and the property also serves as a wedding venue. Stargazing and birding are strong across the forested acreage. Pets are welcome. Lake Ariel sits in Wayne County in the northeastern Pennsylvania lake district, where private lakes, state forest land, and ridge-and-valley terrain built the Pocono resort region's identity for Philadelphians from the nineteenth century onward. Summer is decisively the season for the aqua park. Reserve well ahead.

Glendale Valley Campground

19 RV Sites, 7 Tent Sites

Glendale Valley Campground in Fallentimber, Pennsylvania, offers 17 full-hookup RV sites and seven tent sites at the edge of the Allegheny Plateau, with 30 and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 42 feet behind a gated entrance. Pull-through and standard categories join EV charging, a beach, boat ramp, recreation center, and sports courts. Seventeen sites run in pull-through standard and standard categories, both carrying water, sewer, and electric with site WiFi, sized to 42 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. Two straightforward categories keep booking simple. Seven tent sites round out the lodging. A general store, laundry, propane fills, restrooms, showers, firewood, and EV charging handle the practical side — charging is still uncommon at campgrounds this size and worth knowing about if you tow with an electric vehicle. A beach and boat ramp open the water for boating, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, and swimming, with a recreation center, sports courts, volleyball, gaga ball, walking trails, hiking, biking, mountain biking, and a playground filling the rest. Live music and planned activities run through the season, and the mountain sky makes for good stargazing. The campground sits two miles from Prince Gallitzin State Park — Pennsylvania's third most visited — which protects 1,635-acre Glendale Lake and 26 miles of forested shoreline. DelGrosso's Amusement Park, Tytoona Cave, the Ghost Town Trail, Rock Run Recreation Park, and Altoona Curve baseball are all close. Summer and fall foliage drive demand in the Alleghenies. Reserve ahead for holiday weekends and peak October color.

from $39/night

Sun Retreats Lancaster County

67 RV Sites, 26 Cabins, 24 Tent Sites, 1 Glamping Site, 1 Yurt, 2 Motel Rooms, 1 Tipi, 1 House, 1 Wagon

Sun Retreats Lancaster County in Narvon, Pennsylvania, offers 67 RV sites, 29 cabin, house, and motel-room units, 24 tent sites, and four glamping, tipi, wagon, and yurt accommodations around a six-acre lake, with 30 and 50-amp full hookups, cable TV, and rigs accepted to 45 feet. Red Carpet categories join standard full-hookup sites behind a gated entrance. Sixty-seven sites span 30-amp and 50-amp full hookup, Red Carpet 50-amp full hookup, and Red Carpet pull-through categories, carrying water, sewer, and electric with cable TV and site WiFi, sized to 45 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. The lodging range is exceptional — 29 cabins, houses, and motel rooms, plus tipi, wagon, and yurt options and 24 tent sites. A general store, boutique shop, laundry, propane exchange, dump station, restrooms, showers, and firewood handle the practical side. The property was formerly Lake in Wood Camping Resort. The six-acre lake anchors the recreation, with boat rentals, boat docks, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and boating from the shoreline. An outdoor pool and splash pad, hot tub and sauna, mini-golf, a game room, arcade, recreation center, fitness center, and clubhouse cover the rest, with sports courts, volleyball, basketball, horseshoes, and shuffleboard outdoors. Golf cart rentals, walking trails, a dog park, barn, and on-site dining round it out, with live music and planned activities through the season. Pets are welcome. Narvon sits in the working Amish farmland of eastern Lancaster County, in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Summer is decisively the season. Reserve well ahead.

from $46/night

Nature's Getaway RV Park

30 RV Sites, 3 Tent Sites

Nature's Getaway RV Park in Schellsburg, Pennsylvania, offers 30 RV sites and three tent sites seven miles west of Bedford on Route 30, with 20, 30, and 50-amp water-and-electric service and rigs accepted to 45 feet. Back-in categories at both amperages join a 30-amp pull-through tier, with an outdoor pool, game room, ball field, and general store. Thirty sites span back-in water-and-electric 30-amp, back-in water-and-electric 50-amp, and pull-thru water-and-electric 30-amp categories, carrying water and electric with site WiFi, sized to 45 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. Plan around the hookups — sites carry water and electric but not sewer, so manage tank capacity and use the dump station. Three tent sites and cabins round out the lodging. A general store, laundry, dump station, restrooms, and firewood handle the practical side. An outdoor pool anchors the summer, with a game room, arcade, ball field, billiards, shuffleboard, volleyball, horseshoes, a playground, and swimming filling the rest. A state park is nearby, and the dark rural sky makes for genuinely good stargazing. Pets are welcome. Bedford County sits where the Allegheny Mountain ridges meet Shawnee State Park's forested plateau, and the old Lincoln Highway corridor has carried travelers past this spot since the road was built. Historic Bedford's preserved downtown, the Flight 93 National Memorial, and Blue Knob's skiing are all within reach, with the Pennsylvania Turnpike close. Summer and fall foliage drive the heaviest demand in the Alleghenies. Reserve ahead for holiday weekends and peak October color.

from $35/night

Sparrow Pond Campground

84 RV Sites, 12 Cabins, 3 Tent Sites

Sparrow Pond Campground in Waterford, Pennsylvania, offers 84 RV sites, 12 cabins, and three tent sites in Erie County, with 20, 30, and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 45 feet. Pondside, valley view, and shaded back-in categories join full-hookup and water-and-electric tiers, with an outdoor pool, recreation center, and clubhouse. Eighty-four sites span back-in, back-in water-and-electric, pondside back-in, shaded back-in, valley view back-in, and pull-thru categories, carrying water, sewer, and electric where noted, sized to 45 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. Naming categories by outlook — pondside, valley view, shaded — tells you exactly what you are booking. Confirm your tier, as the water-and-electric category does not carry sewer at the site. Twelve cabins and three tent sites round out the lodging. A general store, laundry, propane fills, dump station, restrooms, and showers handle the practical side. An outdoor pool anchors the summer, with a pond supporting fishing, and a recreation center, clubhouse, game room, sports courts, basketball, volleyball, walking trails, hiking, a playground, and pavilion filling the grounds. Live music and planned activities run through the season, stargazing is good under the rural sky, and the property operates as a wedding venue. A state park, casino, and boating are nearby. Presque Isle State Park's Lake Erie beaches and the lakefront vineyard corridor running west toward Ohio are both within practical range. Summer is the season in the Lake Erie lowlands, with fall harvest drawing wine-country traffic. Reserve ahead.

from $64/night

HTR Adirondacks Campground

51 RV Sites, 18 Cabins, 20 Tent Sites, 1 Glamping Site

HTR Adirondacks Campground in Old Forge, New York, offers 51 RV sites, 18 cabins, 20 tent sites, and a glamping site at the gateway to the Adirondack Park's southwestern wilderness, with 20, 30, and 50-amp service and rigs accepted to 50 feet on a big-rig-friendly layout, behind a gated entrance. Waterfront and waterview back-in categories join 50-amp and water-and-electric tiers, with a pool, beach, and tennis. Fifty-one sites span back-in 30-amp water-and-electric, back-in 50-amp, pull-thru 30-amp water-and-electric, waterfront back-in 30-amp, waterfront back-in 50-amp, and waterview categories, carrying water, sewer, and electric where noted, sized to 50 feet, with fire pits and picnic tables. The waterfront categories are worth requesting early; confirm your tier, as the water-and-electric options do not carry sewer. Eighteen cabins, 20 tent sites, and a glamping site round out the lodging. A laundry, dump station, restrooms, showers, recycling, and on-site dining handle the practical side. An outdoor pool and beach anchor the summer, with boating, canoeing, kayaking, swimming, and fishing on the water. Sports courts, tennis, pickleball, basketball, walking trails, and a playground fill the grounds, with strong birding and stargazing besides. The Fulton Chain of Lakes' eight interconnected waters make Old Forge one of the Adirondacks' most beloved four-season communities. Summer and fall foliage drive demand. Reserve well ahead.

from $24/night