French Creek State Park

The Park's description of this site is totally wrong. It is NOT suitable for a trailer, which I have, or even a van. It is so unlevel that I wondered if it was safe. It is very narrow and the picnic table was so far away that it was unusable. They state that the tent site is on grass but it's on dirt and rocks. A number of the dry sites in A loop are not suitable for anything other than a tent. Even then they are not very nice. The full-hookup sites were in good condition. The bathroom is clean and modern but is situated near the people who are in self-contained RVs and a good walk for the people in dry sites who need it. I was happy to leave.

We stayed in loop A, site 10 for 5 nights. It is pet -friendly and has full hookups. The showers/bathrooms are new and very nice. After talking to locals, I found out this loop was all redone a couple years ago. The pads have nice asphalt, and the sites are good -sized with some trees for privacy between them. Our only cons were that our pad was not level and it appears quite a few are not. However with blocks we were able to get leveled. There is only a weak cell signal and no WiFi. With our cell booster we are able to get some signal.

Man three sites down stole my electric cord and surge protector when I left for a few hours during my stay. Camp host and park rangers (three 20 year olds) allowed the man to stay. No rangers at the entrance at any time during my five days, anyone can come in at any time. Lucky to get one bar cell service, cannot dial out if an emergency. I did not feel safe at this campground. Holes in the ceiling above the women’s showers are suspect. Bathroom was not clean. My site was on a slant.

PROS
Reserved 328 days prior to arriving
$13.50 senior discount
Immediately greeted by Loop C camp host who was extremely friendly and helpful
Site C3 parking pad level asphalt
Metal frame wooden picnic table that was moveable
One hook lantern pole
Metal fire pit which was cleaned out upon our arrival
Some vegetation between sites provided a bit of privacy from neighbors sites
Park is 21 miles from Valley Forge National Historical Park. Catch National Park Service 90 minute trolley tour at the Visitor Center.
Shady Maple Smorgasbord...authentic Pennsylvania Dutch cooking…largest buffet in the USA…16 miles from French Creek SP

CONS
$6.50 reservation fee for making my own on-line reservation
Horrible signage along PA-345. Never saw very small sign when we where intensely searching
Pitiful low water pressure in Loop C
Site sewer connection is high; needs to be knocked down to ground level
Such a large overall park, but camping loop sites are jammed together
Short length of site caused creative tow vehicle parking
Loop C women’s toilet/shower building a big nasty mess Saturday
Trash dumpsters are on the main road near the campground check-in station (not walkable)
Noisy campground; 9pm quiet hour not enforced
Lots of barking dogs
No wood sales in park
No WiFi
1 bar Verizon

I arrived about 15 minutes before my husband did with our truck and 37’ 5th wheel trailer. I parked across the street from our site to await his arrival to help him try to back into our site. The site was unoccupied and not reserved. Our site was listed as a 50’ site. Less than 5 min. after my arrival, the camp hosts told me I could not park there. I explained that I was awaiting my husband and would park on our site after he parked our camper. My husband arrived shortly thereafter and he had huge issues getting our trailer to fit on this site because it was shorter than it was advertised to be. We had to park with our rear dual wheels past the concrete block, 15’ past the end of the asphalt. As it was, our truck had to be parked crossways to be on the asphalt as directed by the less than friendly camp hosts, and our campfire pit was 5’ from our trailer. They told me I could park my car in the overflow lot that is approximately 1/4 mi. down a hill. These camp hosts had a 37’ long Solitude. I asked them how they fit their camper on their asphalt pad and they snipped that they were parked in a handicapped site which was double the width and longer. Since they were so insistent on my car being moved, I moved it next to our site on sticks and leaves, no grass. The park police came along and said I had to park my car in the overflow lot or pay $5/night to park on our site but that wasn’t possible as our trailer and truck could not even fit on the asphalt I noted to him that the site right next to ours had a car parked on the grass and he hadn’t stopped at their campsite. We ended up parking my car in the overflow lot, so anytime we wanted to use our car, my husband had to walk down the hill and retrieve it and come back up and pick me up. He was scolded several times by the rude cap hosts for the short period of time he had to wait for me. One night he was walking down the hill again to the overflow lot, with our dog, to get the car and our dog pooped. My husband forgot a poop bag but saw 2 park police with their truck and the camp host with his golf cart, and he went and asked if anyone had a waste bag so he could clean up after our dog. The park police were very polite and helpful and got him a bag while the camp host stood there scolding my husband “that’ll teach you to walk your dog without a poop bag again.” We found the camp hosts to be very rude, our site was not 50’ as noted on the reservation site, and in general this was an awful stay. We will not be returning. Our advice to other campers with big rigs…go elsewhere.

We really enjoyed our stay at French Creek State Park. It is adjacent to Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site and near the National Road (Cumberland Road). It was very convenient to the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

While the sites were will spaced, providing privacy, our site C35, was difficult to back in and tree prevent the use of our awning. Each loop had a group of sites near the start of the loop offering full hookups with grassy areas between the sites. Farther down the loops are electric only sites nestled in the trees. We prefer the more wooded campsites even though it means fewer hookups. A convienant water fill station and dump station is located at the entrance to the campground.

This is a sweet state park. Our site was not very private, but we have a big RV and the smaller sites on our loop had more privacy. The site was flat and we had full hookups. We took a long walk along several of the trails. The paths were wide enough for us to walk side by side which we like. We worried a little when we saw signs on the trails saying that the area allowed hunters and we should wear bright orange. But we didn't hear any shots anywhere. There is a map showing which areas allow hunters, but the hiking trails go through those areas as well as areas they are not allowed. There appeared to be an infenstation of stink bugs in the area. Everytime we opened the door, it was covered with the bugs and we had to be careful not to let any inside but they are easy to catch and toss outside. They didn't bother us at all when we were outside, they seem to like our RV more than they like us. :) It is about a 50 min drive from Lancaster with gorgeous farmland all around.

In our video uploaded here on Campendium, we provide you a walking tour of the French Creek State Park Campground, yurts, picnic and day use areas, pool, boat and kayak rentals, and Hopewell Lake. In addition, we show you the best campsites at the French Creek State Park Campground, a popular RV and tent camping destination in southeast Pennsylvania. Verizon cellular service clocked in at 4.87 Mbps download speed and 0.43 Mbps upload speed. AT&T cellular service clocked in at 71.2 Mbps download speed and 4.14 Mbps upload speed. T-Mobile cellular service clocked in at 2.44 Mbps download speed and 0.67 Mbps upload speed.

Have camped French Creek for years. Plenty to keep busy with hiking trails, 2 lakes (one trout stocked, both can boat on and one has boat rentals), huge pool, small playground near camp sites and larger one with baseball field near the big lake and within 15 minutes of dollar store/dining and a Wawa. Bummer is that the pool is closed for season and they notified us 2 hrs before arrival hence the 4 stars. Loop C can have pets and Loop A is under extensive construction to add a bunch more full hookup sites to the campground.