Elk Crossing 555

This year 2022 was the second time we stayed at this campground and I must say I was very disappointed. Grass was not mowed. Walking in flip flops in the morning feet got wet with the dew on the grass. This is very disrespectful to the campers in my opinion. When we checked in they told us that the WiFi was not working so they wouldn't even give us the WiFi password but the owner was on their cell phone talking to someone. No cell service at all but they had to have been using WiFi calling.

We just felt very disrespected so we will not be staying here anymore. 2 other campsites very close by so we will be checking those out. We plan on coming to Benezette every year so we would like a nich campground that cares about their campers.

We averaged $37 / night for E50. This is a very basic campground in a beautiful area of PA. The site was spacious, sunny, grass back in and very level. Roads within the campground were easy to navigate. There is water available to fill your tank when entering and a dump station as you exit. The plug on our electric hookup was broken as it appears a recent user of the site pulled out without unplugging. It is over priced for an electric only grass site but is very convenient to Benezette.

We were in the area to see the elk in rut. They are wonderful animals, especially the males with huge racks. The best time to see them is two hours before sunset and two hours after sunrise. The best viewing is not at the designated viewing sites but rather open fields along the road.

We averaged $37 / night for E50. This is a very basic campground in a beautiful area of PA. The site was spacious, sunny, grass back in and very level. Roads within the campground were easy to navigate. There is water available to fill your tank when entering and a dump station as you exit. The plug on our electric hookup was broken as it appears a recent user of the site pulled out without unplugging. It is over priced for an electric only grass site but is very convenient to Benezette.

We were in the area to see the elk in rut. They are wonderful animals, especially the males with huge racks. The best time to see them is two hours before sunset and two hours after sunrise. The best viewing is not at the designated viewing sites but rather open fields along the road.

We stayed here because it was closest to the Visitor Center and what we wanted to see. I was very disappointed that no one ever showed up to clean the restrooms and showers, not mowed, no dumpsters for trash. Sign said to take trash to store but everyone basically left what didn't burn in their fire ring. Restrooms and Showers looked like they have never been cleaned, everyone needs to be aware of this especially during this Coronovirus. We were able to be self contained so made it work for us and scenery and isolation was great, Loved the little pavilions over the new picnic tables. Wish they would put some time into leveling the drive and sites as lots of puddles when it rained. If you want cell service go to the Benezette Hotel or Winslow Hill Viewing area.

This campground is very basic. We almost didn't book because of the only other review but I'm so glad we did. We had a great time and would definitely go back, but, a few things.

*There is no potable water, bring your own. The website states 'includes dump station, water, and electric' -- which it does, but the water is not potable.

*We didn't use the dump station--there was a huge line so we skipped it.

*We did have minor electrical issues, our motorhome is brand new and I think we were pulling too much. Our surge protector kept indicating that we weren't getting enough voltage.

*The bathhouse was basic but clean

*You have to take all garbage up the road to the store, this is to prevent bears from getting into it down at the campground.

*There is no cell coverage, at all, in the whole town. The little cafes in town have free wi-fi.

You are not paying for amenities here, but, you are getting a GREAT location. It's a short drive to the Elk Visitor Center and other elk viewing spots and the views are AMAZING.

It was Memorial Day Weekend and the campground was not crowded, plenty of spots available. Our kiddo could cruise on his bike, very little vehicle traffic. It was quiet and relaxing and a very nice weekend.

The spots are all grass, dirt road, very rustic. Each site does have a permanent little gazebo-type thing. Very nice for keeping things dry in the non-stop western PA spring rain this year.

Be VERY prepared and BRING ALL your self-contained or all camping needs with you, especially bathroom needs in your own camper, plus wet muddy boot and clothing wear. And BRING all potable water and buy firewood in the area around town, if you can find it. Neither is NOT available on-site, nor at the store up the road from campground!
1st, Location and elk. ONLY thing this campground has is positive in our opinion. Its beautiful surroundings only and closest RV or campground to Benezette, with many elk sightings within campground and few miles of all elk visitor center and roads for viewings. You are paying to be close to elk ONLY. The excitement ended there on this campground fast.

2nd. Campground map online is very wrong & old, not updated and actual numbers on all sites were all switched up and do not match! So just arriving you do not know suddenly which road to take, poorly marked, where you are going to be or how to find your site without many questions to the store ladies (which are not on-site, up the road a drive, and no cell-phone coverage) or ask and disturb fellow campers. You have to hunt for your site, just like you have to hunt for the elk we suppose!

3rd. Campsites are all grass and all uneven, some good slopes, very muddy, with tons of ruts and tons of huge potholes everywhere in every road at campground. No care or minimal maintenance is done on campground roads nor on each sites to care about any of the campers and our families. BRING extra leveling blocks and all of your needs to be extra self-contained. Trash has to be taken up the road to the store or take home with you. Tables are not cleaned and food & trash is left on sites in grasses, hill-sides and muddy mess to walk around. Then to clean or cook anything, NO potable nor clean water available to fill up on-site, nor even at the store except to buy it and buying only very small containers. We had to ask to find fresh spring water sites and also find our own firewood to buy up the road. So then we had to travel with loads of water and firewood back and forth in our car with our containers we went and purchased 40 mins away. Online campground website information is not up to date and plain wrong. Thankfully, we could travel to get our needs and yet we hated to spend our vac time leaving the campground to transport and fill up water and go to look for firewood elsewhere up the road in the town somewhere (the store ladies didn't even know where firewood could be purchased? wow.) . Our vacation time was few and precious to camp and relax to go now to do all the extra tasks for filling many gallons of water and finding firewood around the town to bring that back after water deliveries. Had we been warned online with information or in booking our reservations, we could have planned for these things as necessary and had more time allotted.

4th. Electric is possibly available at your site, but not dependable. More than one camper around us had issues with electric on their posts we observed and found out sharing info. We couldn't use ours all of our 5 days and our motorhome is a newer well-maintained unit. No excuse for this and for campers to have to try to share the same electric post to get service we all pay dearly for this in our cost. Messing with electric issues in very wet and muddy, soaked low water filled grassy sites and conditions is so dangerous and risky as well.

5th. This should have been 2nd! Bathrooms are NOT updated, or at least not to any decent standard. They were stinky, filthy dirty and falling apart. Outhouses we have used in farmhouses have been cleaner. Campground bathrooms were NOT cleaned or maintained for the 5 days that we stayed. Fellow campers told us that previous years the bathrooms were even worse situations. I don't want to imagine. Thankfully, we had our own self-contained motorhome but any backups (if we needed) were only available if you drive up the road to the store. Which to our thinking, if the campground is not even cleaned and possibly maintained the same as the store, who knows what is truly available driving up the road for a bathroom or shower?

Nearby campers had been to this campground many many times over the years and said they had seen the bathrooms and campground areas there much worse on previous years and multiple stays. Everyone seemed to just tolerate this owner(s) disrespect and neglect in order to be able to see some beautiful elk closeby. Although, everyone agreed the mud and campsites were really mixed up and a mess and NO ONE warned us when booking or reserving that we needed to be prepared more for basic camping needs they do not include with their costs. The owner(s) only wanted their money we all agreed.

6th. The camping grass sites and the campground roads were barely cared for many campers shared stories while shaking heads. Poor maintenance is inexcusable for such a small and inexpensive grass and dirt road campground. If it weren't for elk nor location, they wouldn't camp there either.

Several others actually truth talked & shared disgusting disappointment as we all had to take our own toilet paper and towels to dry off hands, showers falling apart, not sanitary nor usable.

7th. NO potable water on site NOR trash collection on-site. The dump station is there, but even the flushing water hose hook up available was surely leaking and was a broken, old hose with only 1 end and shake my head. So also BRING your own flushing sewer hoses.

There is no excuse for the minimal care needed and maintenance that should be done on this small campground routinely to take decent good care of it, and MORE IMPORTANTLY to show you actually care for the families and ppl traveling to live on this campground for 1 or more days. In our opinion and others expressed, it was very clear that the money coming in regularly was the only goal of this campground owner(s) as sites were constantly booked and full for several wkends and weeks in Sept/Oct that we and others shared we tried to reserve over the past years.
Lastly, we are not truly even high maintenance people at all. And with an extra wet summer, we can all try to understand some unexpected extra wet and muddy areas and such. But other conditions at this campground, lots of deep holes in roads and poor or no dependable amenities which are possibly electric and dump station on-site only.

AT very least clean and decent bathrooms and showers for all campers and families with children are never too much to expect, especially when requiring $37/cash - $40/credit per night for each campsite. There are plenty campers coming and going every day and every weekend to help this campground get its costs to keep it well-maintained.

We would camp here again in the way off future, only after trying others much further away first...and then still hoping will have more attentive and new caring future owners of this campground to fix it all up right & decently and maintain this "could-be" such a sweet campground for all families to come and frequent the town's businesses and view the beautiful elk and other wildlife & woods. We will only come soon again if desperate to get a campsite close and making sure that we have the extra supplies and the time, and bringing our self-contained motorhome and plan on extra help to find and fill up water sources and firewood up the road somewhere away from the store or our own campground. Still shaking our heads.

Although, we are definitely going to be trying to find other lodges or rentals, closer places to stay in the area now and may even consider now keeping our motorhome at home or drive from further away from the only closest state park which is about 40 mins away. Isn't that a shame!

We will consider both options now as this campground was a muddy, filthy disgusting bathroom and major disappointment overall for what we had to pay. It should be shameful to the owner/owners or campground guardians whomever you are these days. And I would gladly explain this to you in the most uncomplaining and decent manner if I would have met you. We don't know...possibly you are too old or not able to see the lack of attention and care your campground is getting daily?? I hate to think you do know and it's just about the money coming in that matters.

The elk and many sightings in our travels in the area, thankfully, were always memorable in the best ways!