french creek state park

For either tent or RV camping only a hour away from Philadelphia, French Creek State Park is a great place to escape to. Most sites have electric, and water bibs are located conveniently through the campground. For a young family, get a cool yurt or cabin rental - they are close to the modern playground. During July and August, check in with the rangers to see what activities they have planned for kids. It can be anything from cool informative nature walks, kayak and canoe paddles on Hopewell lake, to a slideshow and interactive chat or "show and tell" at the outdoor amphitheater just steps from your campsite.Hiking trails are well marked and can take you on various adventures. Some trails pass right by the campground for easy access. We've been here numerous times for over twenty years - our girls have grown up checking out this state park. Bonus is that it is next to Historic Hopewell Village, a National Historic Site. This restored town surrounds Hopewell Furnace, which was a Iron smelting works from the 1700s. Various demonstrations take place, from sheep shearing to working the water wheel, and colliering - making charcoal for the furnace. Some weekends there are actors in period dress. In the fall you can pick heritage apples at the orchard located by the great visitors center of Hopewell Village.Only downside for campers is the pool is a short drive from the campground (or a medium hike) But for a respite from the noise and craziness of the city - this state park is great for a day-trip or weekend with your family.

While the overall State Park is expansive and not conducive to walking to all activities, the multitude of things to do are excellent. From hiking to fishing (2 lakes), great fun for all. Whether the cabin or tenting (we tented this past summer), the sites are clean and wonderful. Enjoy!!

Great well kept campground. Very peaceful and quiet at night. Bathrooms were clean and very well kept for a campground. We wanted to rent a boat but they weren't open Thursday or Friday. There isn't a camp store. Pool and lake are far from the campground itself.

We liked our stay at French Creek State Park and will return next summer season! We stayed in the loop that allows dogs, loop C, in site #19. The site that we stayed at was nice and the bathrooms were relatively clean. I think we had the farthest walk to the bathrooms from our site, so check out the site map before reserving a site. One thing about C19 in particular is that the picnic table provided is really falling apart. It would be nice if they could be replaced, we really tried not to use it much (dry rot attracted lots of bugs!). We did notice that some of the other campsites had newer picnic tables. The site was relatively private and we really enjoyed our weekend camping!

We enjoyed our picnic here. The park was quaint, quiet and so pretty. Not busy at all during the week. It was just a lovely place to enjoy nature

We just stayed here with a group of Cub Scouts - on Group Site 13. This is not the best (nor the worst) site at French Creek. Here are the cons - it is on a slope...so during the night we felt like we were sliding downhill. It's also a bit cramped - it is a larger site but for 6 tents it felt cramped in. And the knats are insane. Bring your bug repellant. The pros - good location. Creek right behind you - little trail to it. What we didn't know until we left is that there is a lake right behind you too! It looks like it would have been a quick walk too. The port-a-potty was clean - they clean it early Saturday morning...so Friday night might not have been so good. And the fresh drinking water pump was right in front of our site - so not a long walk with our huge cooler.If you can - group site 14 looked better to us as it was more flat and still close to the fresh drinking water pump. I didn't go on the ride but my husband and kids went to check out group site 11 and said that was the best. It's a beautiful park - we hiked to Hopewell Furnace and toured around there and had a picnic lunch. We didn't go in the pool - but I went there to the concession stand for a bag of ice. Looks nice and large. Lake looked nice too - but I don't understand the whole no swimming thing...but they do have paddleboarding as well as other boats for rent.It was nice - I would definitely go back.

We stayed here in our 32' motorhome in the middle of April, 2014. It was our first camping trip of the season, and my spouse, our 8 year old daughter and 2 dogs all had a good time. Vegetation hadn't yet grown in after our long, cold winter, so the sites had no privacy and felt smaller than they probably are. There seemed to be quite a few "squatters," including some folks who came to campsites adjacent to ours (which were reserved by friends of ours who, at the last minute, couldn't take the trip - but the sites were still reserved and not marked as available), parked in their two sites, had a VERY noise campfire, and finally left after midnight. We didn't see many park rangers, and it seemed like people may have known this...at least two other campsites next to us had folks come in after dark who stayed up most of the night drinking and making quite a bit of noise. Since they cleared out at around dawn the next morning, I assumed they may have been "squatting" too. The playground was great, and our daughter had a wonderful time riding her new little razor scooter around the loop. This was a nice park for a quick getaway, and now that one of the loops has full RV hookups, I would like to go back during the summer or fall when there are more natural barriers between campsites.

We have never stayed overnight, as we live very close. We also have never used the pool. We have hiked just about all the trails--very clean and well marked. We have used the lake to canoe and had several picnics. The park is very clean. There are 2 lakes and plenty of parking. Right next door to the Hopewell Furnace National Park.

Went on a 6/20/14 a Friday afternoon. Not crowded. Used grill to cook out. Guys fished. Park was very clean. Plenty of parking and enough picnic tables and grills. Bathrooms are accessible and clean but didn't have any hand soap so bring sani wipes. Canoe and kayak rentals close to early. Park rangers clear park as soon and dusk approaches. The park is very beautiful and relaxing. Not sure if it is overcrowded on weekends. Biking is for mountain bikes, not for cruisers.

Stopped in on a day trip and found this park to be very picturesque and quite. Looks like a great place for a picnic and some hiking or ideal if you have a boat. Nice get away even if you just want to walk around in a peaceful area for an hour or two or you certainly could stay much longer!

I have has the privilege of visiting French Creek in every season. My last trip was with 12 middle schoolers. We stayed in cabins which were great. We enjoyed sailing, frisbee golf, and orienteering. We were late for the pool and canoe rentals since we went after Labor Day. Going at that time allowed us to rent four cabins. There are many places to enjoy the quiet serenity in the fall.

Great place to hang out with the family, nice play ground, plenty of places to walk around, good disc golf course. Stop by for some peace and quite with nature.

It has taken me 2 months to decide if I wanted to write this review but I feel like I have to send it out. Please be aware that the CABINS ARE INFESTED WITH BEDBUGS. I have rented the cabins before and have never had an issue but it seems like it was just luck that I haven't run into the bedbugs until this time. I was awakened to find very large bedbugs biting me and crawling on my children. We quickly packed a few items and sought alternative lodging at 2 am. My youngest child had dozens of bites on him that took weeks to heal. We called the Manager on Duty and he did not seem surprised at all that I was complaining of the bedbugs. He stated that this is an ongoing issue with the cabins. We threw all of our bedding and the clothing that we wore to bed out ( I couldn't imagine ever using it again after what we went through). We were told that we could file a claim to help us reclaim some of the costs of our sleeping bags, pillows pajamas etc. but we were denied stating that we could not file a claim against the State of PA. (apparently there is some very old law that states the State of PA is protected of such claims). What upset us the most is that the person that denied us stated that he would never tell anyone to stay at any of the PA state Parks because they are all infested with bedbugs - WHAT??? One of the other Park Rangers that spoke with us stated that he would like to see the state burn the cabins to the ground. Why are they still renting the cabins if this is a persistent issue? Is this really a way to manage a state park?After speaking with some other people, they have had the same issues with the cabins - one of which just had an issue this week. Please be aware of this ongoing issue and think twice before renting one of the cabins.

If you are used to a privately owned campground with beautiful facilities don't camp here. I knew what to expect so I was very satisfied with my accommodations. There is no sewer or water hookup so you are forced to used the camp's public restrooms which aren't the cleanest, but we only paid $19 per night. Since we were traveling with two large dogs, I could live with that. My children LOVED fishing on the lake. We cooked on the grills provided at the lake for our dinner. I would definitely stay here again.

We have been coming to French Creek for many years. It started as an annual camping trip with about a dozen friends and family and has become a twice a year event with over 25 campers! The camp sites are very wooded, clean and the the place is usually filled with nice people. The bathrooms are usually very clean - only one time were they dirty. There are great hiking and biking trails, a lake with fishing and kayak rentals and a wonderful pool in the summer time. You can rent cabins, yurts or tent camp. One of the most beautiful settings for a camping trip.