This is a very nice state park with lots of hiking & bicycling trails, and 2 lakes. It's one of the few state park campgrounds in PA that is open year round and allows pets. The sites are large and wooded. The parking pad is paved and raised above the rest of the site so you can't really put out your rug or awning too easily. We were in the pets allowed loop, which was completely full. The other loops had spaces available and looked quieter. Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site is a nice trail walk from the campground, and is well worth the visit. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We’ve been to French Creek numerous times and as always this is a very busy and crowded campground, especially on weekends. Campground is set up into 4 loops. The A and D loops are non-electric and the B and C loops have a mix of electric / non-electric sites. C loop also has a limited number of pet sites. Entire campground is located within a very wooded area, most sites are well shaded. Our site had a nice and level asphalt pad for parking, picnic table and fire ring. Be aware, the online reservation site said our campsite was setup to accommodate a 40’ motor home. Once I backed my small 20’ trailer onto the “extremely” narrow pad there was no possible way for me to deploy my awning. The parking pad and barely 2 feet of ground around it suddenly sloped approximately 3’ down into the area of the table and fire ring. The “sitting and cooking” area for our site was over 20’ behind and below our trailer. On some of the adjacent sites this was more like 50’ to 70’ away from your parking pad. In my opinion these sites were setup more like a “walk in” tent site. Someone who likes to “set up shop” under their awning and next to their rig would be completely disappointed with these sites. Rangers patrolled often. Rest rooms were dated, but clean. Only 2 shower per loop required some waiting time on the weekend. Ranger programs were excellent. No trash cans within the camping loops, so a nightly trip to the dumpsters by the registration hut is required. Hiking trails are numerous and very rewarding. We camped here in August and it was very hot, muggy and buggy. This campground is not in the mountains so you don’t get the cooling effect of being in higher elevations. Campground is very close to home and is rather convenient for us. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
Even though I am not a resident of PA, I think it's nice when a state is willing to favor it’s citizens with any discount. Even senior citizens receive a small discount. Too bad my own home state doesn't offer the same perks. French Creek State Park is located about 30 minutes from an outlet mall outside Reading, PA, so that was OUR ulterior reason for choosing this particular park. Over the last two months, we have also decided that state parks generally to fit our camping needs a little better than the private campgrounds. So we were anxious to see how French Creek stacked up against the two state parks we had visited in western New York. Quiet hours are supposed to be from 9pm to 9am with the park divided into four main areas (loops); one loop dedicated to campers with pets. About half of the sites have electricity and none have water or sewer hookups. Despite this, the vast majority of sites are spacious and wooded, making them attractive to both tent campers and RV'ers alike. Judging from the number of hikers spotted and the dense forest around the park, there must be some marvelous trails available. We did not visit the pool or rest rooms so cannot comment of either of these. French Creek State Park is well worth a revisit. The sites are generally shady and can accommodate large rigs, although they just announced a new policy that will allow only one vehicle per site beginning later this month (Aug. 2007). Reservations are strongly recommended, especially if camping on a weekend. Also be sure to follow the directions obtained from the park website. We made the mistake of relying entirely on our GPS and ended up snaking our way thru the countryside. We camped here in a Motorhome.
French Creek is a very nice state park and one that we try to stay at several times a year. Two of the four camping loops have some electric sites and one loop allows pets at a limited number of sites. The pet sites are scattered around the loop with no apparent pattern. There are no sites with water hookup but there are several spigots throughout each loop to get water. The shower houses are reasonably clean although they are a bit dated. The C loop has a family-assist restroom/shower behind the regular shower house. This is somewhat more modern, although whoever designed it really needs a refresher course in ADA compliance. All of the sites have a paved parking pad and most are fairly level. There are some that would be challenging to level anything much longer than a large tent trailer. There are two small (22 and 40 acre) lakes in the park for fishing and boating. The larger lake has at least one active beaver lodge. There is a swimming pool available at extra cost, although there is a discount for registered campers. It's still rather expensive, though. Neither of the lakes or the pool are within walking distance of the campground. There are usually some good ranger-led nature programs on Friday and Saturday. The ranger/naturalist really takes her job seriously and is a great asset to the park. We had contact with one enforcement ranger who seemed to take his power a little too seriously, but every other employee was very professional and friendly. Since last winter quite a few trees have been felled in the campground loops leaving some previously shaded sites almost clear-cut. Some pines have been planted, but as of now, not many. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
A great state park with lots to do. We camped over Fathers day and the park was crowded but no lines for showers (very clean and private) Rangers were around a lot which is fine they want everybody to have a good time but be respectful of the rules. We are already planning next year. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
Very nice CG. Site was very nice, level and very close to playground. French Creek has a lot of biking and hiking trail and a very beautiful lake. Will definitely stay here again, price can't be beat.. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
For the most part, I would recommend this campground to anyone. The price is right and it includes electricity. Pros: A lot of sites are available though there is a limited amount of pet sites. You can't touch the price as it's a state park. All the sites are wooded. The bathrooms were cleaned 11 of the 14 days we stayed. There are grocery stores, laundry facilities and of course Wal-Marts within a 30 - 45 minute drive from the park. Cons: A limited amount of pet sites. During the peak summer season it is hard to find a pet site which is discouraging. I did find one of the park rangers to be a little too "Robo Cop" in his demeanor. On one particular day, he stopped at nearly every site jotting down something, I'm guessing license plate numbers, etc... and about an hour later he returned stopping at several sites. Mine was one such site and we were greeted by his talking down to my in-laws who had parked in a painted spot by the bathrooms. Apparently it's forbidden to park there unless you're using the bathroom. The other rangers we saw and spoke with were very pleasant. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We decided spur of the moment to go camping Father’s Day weekend. Have to say that the Pa. State Park reservation website is an excellent tool in finding campsite availability. Check-in was smooth and painless. All park staff were friendly and courteous. Roads within the park were paved, most seemed wide enough for large class A’s. We were in loop “D” where there were no hook-ups. Our paved site accommodated my pop-up and pick-up truck with room to spare. There was plenty of room next to the pad if an additional tent or screen room were needed. All sites in our loop were heavily shaded. Bring your blocks of wood, as most sites were not very level. Overall we were very happy with our site. Campground was filled to capacity but it sure didn’t seem that way. Our site backed up to loop “C” so we were completely surrounded by occupied sites. Everyone around us practiced proper campground etiquette. No hollering or carrying on whatsoever after dark. Did hear one barking dog in the middle of the night coming from one of the “pet sites”, so keep that in mind if your not a pet owner. Did not swim in the large pool so I can’t comment on it. Hiking trails were wide and well marked. Two lakes are located within the park. Fishing appeared excellent in Scott’s lake. There was a boat ramp there also. Two negatives stick out among all of the positives I’ve mentioned. First, the rest rooms in our loop were somewhat dated and dirty. In the rest room closest to our site no toilet paper by days end and the 2 small showers spilled water out of the stalls and all over the floor. Second, the rest room at Scott’s Lake was absolutely filthy with no working lights. Avoid it. Being the closest state park (with camping) to Philadelphia, French Creek makes a very convenient get away. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
Nice level paved sites in a wooded campground some with 30 amp electric but none with water. We have a 30 ft class A and most of the sites would have been deep enough for us (park map says all sites are 45 ft long but some seemed a bit shorter). We had site C14 and it was spacious and offered some privacy. Pets are allowed in many sites in Loop C. Dumpstation is easy in and out with four dump ports but no potable water for filling your freshwater tank. There are freshwater spigots in the campsite loops. This was a very nice park not too far from Valley Forge National Historic Site. Our nightly rate is for mid-week, non-residents. We camped here in a Motorhome.
Plain and simple but nice! Electric only but water fill stations spaced well. Sites a little on the short side (for 30+) but manageable. Great modern playground (although a bit of a hike). Great off-season CG. Will return. We camped here in a Travel Trailer.
We stayed here this spring. For a state park run campground this place is very nice. Bathrooms are clean and the grounds are ok. The park has a lot of outdoor stuff to do and hiking is great. We will be back. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
This was our first time at this park. The campsites were very nice, paved, and mostly level. All the people that we talked to were very friendly. Great trail system in the park and also a disk golf course. We will be back for sure. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.
One of my favorite parks visited to date. Camping area is clean and was very quiet even though the loop was full. The park has two lakes for boating and fishing, 35 miles of hiking trails, excellent mountain biking trails, two disc golf courses, and an orienteering course. Sites were decent size and well shaded. The bathrooms and showers were clean. Lots to do, will stay here again, and again. We camped here in a Tent Trailer.