RV Campground Review – Gettysburg RV Park, Gettysburg, PA

June 12, 2017 by libertatemamo 8 Comments

A pleasant private park in the perfect location to explore Gettysburg in south-central PA

Link to park here: Gettysburg RV Park, Gettysburg, PA
Link to map location here: Gettysburg RV Park, Gettysburg, PA

1. Site quality = 2.5/5
   Decent sites here with a few specific dings. The entire campground is on the rustic side with gravel roads and coarse gravel sites in a mostly forested setting. Majority of sites are back-in with a few select pull-throughs. All sites have picnic table and a fire ring. The main ding here is the variation in site quality and arrangement. There is a huge range of sites from very small/unlevel to larger/level some of which are rather tight together whereas others have decent separation. Also most sites are side-by-side but there are some areas of the campground where RV’s are arranged end-to-end which forces you to share a “sitting area” with you neighbor (an arrangement we don’t like). Also there are 3 different “tiers” of sites with very different feels:
   • Basic RV Sites – These are very forested 30A/water sites in the rear of the RV park, probably best-suited for smaller rigs although a few sites can accept a larger size. The positives is that they are very shaded (good in summer), quiet and with a very natural feel. The negatives are that the sites are quite “rough” both in size and levelness. Sites are separated only by painted lines, some are quite tight, and some are definitely larger than others. Also some sites are quite bumpy.  Sites here cost anywhere from $43-$62/night depending on when you book*.
   • Standard/Deluxe RV Sites – These are 30A/water/sewer (full hookup) plus cable TV sites which are scattered around the creek and the two sides of the campground. These are suitable for medium to larger-size rigs, depending on the site. Sites on the left-hand-side of the campground are mostly shaded/forested whereas sites on the right-hand-side are mostly sunny/open. The creek-side sites are the nicest offering a lovely view of the creek out the back. The only sites we really didn’t like were #60-63, #72-79B since RV’s park end-to-end along this section of the park (so you share your pedestal on one side and your “sitting area” on the other side with another rig). Sites here cost anywhere from $49-$67/night depending on when you book*.
   • Premium RV Sites – These are the only 50A/water/sewer (full-hookup) plus cable TV sites in the campground and there are only ~43 of them. IMO these are the nicest/most-spacious sites in the campground especially if you are able to snag one of the sites on the left-side (#1-13) or by the creek (#183, #184, #206-210). Again, the only sites we really didn’t like here were the ones in the sunny right-hand-side of the campground (#64-71) since RV’s park end-to-end along this section of the park (so you share both your pedestal on one side & your “sitting area” on the other). Sites here cost anywhere from $52-$72/night depending on when you book*.
   • *NOTE1 – Site Prices: The site pricing is a little complicated at this park since there is mid-week pricing (cheaper), week-end pricing (more expensive), holiday pricing (most expensive) and weekly pricing (cheapest). You can save money here by staying mid-week, choosing a longer stay and using a discount (10% off for Good Sams, AAA, active military etc.). See latest rates HERE.
   • NOTE2 – Tenting Area: There is a also a very nice tenting area in a separate section along the creek-side in the far back of the camground. Sites here cost $35-$48/night.
   • NOTE3 – Cabins/Cottages: There are also 6 rentable cabins/cottages which looked quite nice. Great if you want to invite non-RV family to stay with you in the area. See rates HERE.
2. Facilities = 3/5
   Decent facilities. There are flush toilets and showers here. The showers are walk-in with a separate bench area for your clothes and were pretty dated, but water pressure/temp was good and they were impeccably clean while we were here.
3. Amenities = 5/5
   Excellent set of amenities here, especially for a smaller park. There is a main campground store, game room (billiards, video arcade), nice on-site pool, book swap, horse-shoes, large recreation hall, playground, basketball area, shuffle-board and mini-golf. There is also an RV Repair facility on-site (quite a nice touch) and a HUGE green field in the middle of the campground where events (re-enactments etc.) are often held during the summer. There is also a nice laundromat ($2 per wash) and on-site dump station. Lastly there was FREE on-site WiFi which worked decently well while we were here (mid-week with park mostly empty), but would likely overload with a fuller park.
4. Location = 5/5
   Awesome location to explore Gettysburg! You are only 3 miles from downtown here and within easy reach of everything there is to see at Gettysburg National Military Park, both the museum and the auto-tour around the park itself. There is an incredible amount to to see and learn here with the history of the famous Battle of Gettysburg and a lovely little downtown with lots of charm, eateries, food, breweries etc. We REALLY enjoyed this area!
5. Pet friendliness = 4.5/5
   Great place for doggie. There are 2 large on-site grassy fields, including one near the entrance just for doggies. Also plenty of poo bags on-site and easy access to dog-friendly hiking trails (short drive) in Gettysburg proper. Only slight ding? No off-leash area for pooches to run around free.

Overall rating = 4
BONUS ALERT = Camp just ~3 miles from Gettysburg, PA!

Video Overview: Want to see it in living color? Check out our ~13 min overview here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1wg_-gNbyQ

Summary: We chose this park as a base to explore the famous Battle of Gettysburg and it turned out to be a great choice. There are around 6 different private parks around Gettysburg proper, all in similar price-ranges (from ~$45/night and up) and from online reviews this one seemed to be one of the more intimate and better-rated. From a location point of view it was perfect. The park is just 3 miles from downtown with super easy access to the amazing Gettysburg National Military Park and everything there is to explore in this area. It’s a mid-sized private park of ~260 sites with a mix of back-in (mostly) and pull-throughs (some) arranged around a large, grassy field. The sites themselves are decent albeit with a rather varying mix of quality. They are all on the rustic side with coarse gravel base, picnic table, fire-ring and lots of greenery. Main variation is that sites are of varying size (some are quite small/unlevel whereas others are larger/flatter) plus there is a wide range of sites from very forested basic RV sites (water/30A only), oddly-arranged sunny end-to-end sites (#60-79B -> we didn’t like these as you are forced to share your “sitting area” with another rig), quite nice creek-side standard sites (30A full hookup -> creek-side is lovely) to very nice premium sites (50A full hookup -> these are the nicest in the park IMO). Sizing & separation is variable so it can be a bit hit or miss how nice your site is. On positive side the check-in people were wonderful (very friendly, very helpful) and the amenities were great offering a huge array of items from on-site pool, on-site RV repair (yes, really!), playground, mini-golf, game room, laundromat and more. We had a lovely site (#9), really liked the green/natural feel of the campground and really appreciated the two large grassy fields for walking Polly. But the best part of all was the location! If you’re interested in the Civil War and want to see and learn about one of the most famous battles of the time you’ll need at least 2-3 full days (up to a week) of exploring , and the closer you are to the “action” the better. Our site was only 3 miles from Gettysburg, an easy drive to everything we wanted to see, plus just a hop and a skip from downtown which is a charming little place with lots of nice eateries, breweries and distilleries. Being right “in the middle” of it all really made the difference. We only stayed a few days (mid-week), but we liked our site and truly enjoyed learning about the area and the history of Gettysburg. A highly recommended stop!

Extra Info: FREE on-site WiFi which worked decently well the whole time we were here (mid-week with park mostly empty -> I suspect it might get overloaded with fuller occupancy). Good, solid cell signal (Verizon 4 bars LTE, ATT 3 bars LTE and T-Mobile worked great). Sites vary from basic RV (30A/water only) $43-$62/night, to standard RV (30A/water/sewer plus cable TV) $49-$67/night, and premium RV (50A/water/sewer plus cable TV) $52-$72/night. Prices are cheapest mid-week and higher on week-ends and holidays. Good Sams, AAA, active military discounts also offered. See latest rates HERE.

Extra, Extra Info: OTHER CAMPING? There are several other private campgrounds around Gettysburg (see reviews HERE and HERE) all of which are similar in price-range (from ~$45/night and up). In addition if you are willing to drive a little further, there are several State Parks within ~20 miles of Gettysburg which are quite a bit cheaper (~$30/night) and rate very well indeed (see reviews of Codorus State Park HERE).