roadtripper467949

Typical KOA (in my experience) being clean, well maintained, and fairly level. Lots of gravel and good Verizon and AT&T signal. Incredible WiFi speed and signal strength. Under construction. Friendly staff. We're being chased by C19 lock downs so we're not seeing much of the campground or area.

We had to pull in here because the pass required chains today, and we don't carry them.

As of 4/1/20, there are only a few reviews of this campground available on the web, and they are all pretty much negative. However, we were desperate to be near family and this provided us with a 90 minute travel time, so we were willing to risk it.

I made a month-stay reservation with a full payment about 5 days before we were to show up. The day before we showed up I discovered that WV had closed it's private parks to new arrivals. I got on the phone and after some back and forth, explaining we were not going to risk arrest or eviction, that we had to cancel. I was a bit miffed when the news report claimed the order was in place BEFORE I made the reservation, and that she took our money anyway.

I'm still waiting for my refund and am about to call my CC company to lodge a challenge to the charge. I'm sorry, but I would not consider staying there for any reason considering my experience with the person on the other end of the phone.

Update: I finally got my money back, but had to place a claim through Cap1 to get them to return my call.

First, let me remind everyone that I lived next to the I-95/I-64 interchange... literally a stone's throw from it. For 15 years I lived next to one of the busier stretches of road south of DC and learned how to live with it. That said, I'll simply say that this campground needs a good sound barrier as it reminded me of living in our sticks-and-bricks. If you are looking for a quiet location, this ain't it. While my wife and I had absolutely no problems sleeping, many will run away screaming because of the highway noise.

I'm going to pretend that the highway does not exist and tell you about the campground.

Nice. No, really nice. Easy to get to and just a short jog off of I-81. It's a bypass so we didn't even have to backtrack to get back onto I-81. Plenty of retail within a few miles.

We got one of the premium sites and not only did it have FHU and a nice level cement pad, but it had an outdoor furniture set (table, 4 chairs, 2 chase), and a really nice grill. There was a decent dog park, not huge, but bigger than many campgrounds we visit.

Well maintained sites and a good camp store. Didn't have any problems with the management or workers, but didn't have more than a couple of interactions. However, they led us to our site, which is something I always appreciate.

The campground roads are paved and very nice, though not extremely wide. We did not have a problem with our 43' fifthwheel because the corners all seemed to be well thought out. Some of the sites seemed a little tight, but nothing unreasonable. Lots of trees and grass. We could definitely see ourselves spending time there, if we had a reason to stay.

Verizon was quite good as was AT&T. OTA TV had an OK amount of channels.

I mooch-docked nearby and we drove through the campground to take a look for future use when we're in the area. It's a cute little campground were everything is neat and clean. Most of the rigs look like full-timers living here, and where not run-down. There are big-rig sites but a couple of the corners are a bit tight, so take them slow and careful.

Does not appear to be any sewer hookups for many sites, but they do have a dump station.

Central Wisconsin has an occasional mosquito problem, so like everyplace else in the area and depending on the time of year, you gets what you gets. The area is very popular with deer hunters during the fall.

Location? It's Central Wisconsin... everything is at least 30 minutes away and there's not a ton to do unless you are into outdoors stuff, which could keep you going for months. There's a huge public hunting grounds bordering the campground.

The obligatory rail-road tracks are nearby and a train comes through a few times a day. The highway noise is not terrible except for the very occasional trucker coming up 173 and using their jake-brakes at the stop sign.

My T-Mobile iPad seems to be using AT&T towers, but my T-Mobile hotspot has no service. Verizon and AT&T devices are very happy and providing enough bandwidth to stream anything. Sprint has a signal but I didn't take time to play with it.

Heading out to parts unknown in the area or going to town? Expect numerous areas with no cell service. However, if you're on the side of the road, there are plenty of people who will stop to see if you need help; it just may take a while for someone to pass by unless you're on a main road. TAKE REPELLENT when traveling the area!

Typical KOA (in my experience) being clean, well maintained, and fairly level. Lots of gravel and good Verizon signal. Has a larger dog run than many KOAs we've visited. Friendly staff. We're being chased by C19 lock downs so we're not seeing much of the campground or area.

UPDATE: 09/10/2022
The campground has been improving it's sites and now has a small cafe that serves decent burgers and fries. If you like riding bikes, the main roads in the area have very wide shoulders and there are bike trails that are worth the effort.

Due to COVID, supply chain issues, and labor issues, the Divine Swine has shut down. Everyone in the area is heartbroken and for good reason. That was the best BBQ north of the Mason Dixon line and better than most below it.

VERIZON, on the other hand, like much of the north east that we've visited this year, is basically not usable during the day for streaming. Here in F loop, we get about 1 or 2 MB download speeds during the day, and 4+ during the evening/night. My data account is a true unlimited and I have a really good 4g router, so throttling only comes in if there is congestion and it gets more bars than my iPhone (which is also slow). Since after midnight it's still way slower than it used to be, I can only conclude that Verizon is either not maintaining their towers or not attempting meet base 4g demand in the north east. Since everyone is advertising moving to 5g, I suspect 4g is going to be allowed to wither on the vine in short order (which makes no sense in areas where you can't put hundreds of antennas).

Just more reasons to not allow a few large corps to control an industry without specific requirements on performance. We're moving to FL soon, and if this is happening down there, I'll reduce my 3 cell plans to 1 plan with talk/text/25GB data and then have more than enough to to pay for cable TV/internet or Starlink.

Original Post
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I admit, I love Thousand Trails. PA Dutch Country is a few miles further out from Hershey and near the turnpike. It's also near a rifle range, so if you're in B loop or part of C, you might not appreciate it. Thankfully the gunshots go away at some point in the evening.

In F loop, the gunshots are not as noticeable. F loop is also recently renovated and set up with full hookup 50 amp service, fairly level gravel pads, and big rig capable. Firewood is a bit pricey, and the store is shut down from COVID but the pool and most of the facilities seem to be open. There are plenty of people in the area that sell firewood at a better price, so that's not a huge issue.

Cell service is pretty good as it's located quite close to the turnpike. Every few days the Roku will pause with Verizon. I have a new, rather inexpensive Verizion hotspot so I'm not sure if it's Verizon or the cheap hotspot.

Not much in way of traffic noise and we've been sleeping with our windows open without issue (except for the occasional thoughtless neighbor.

Laundry facilities are, for the most part, working well. Water pressure is decent, and have had not issues with electric. Of course, it's September, so the high has been in the mid 70's (or lower) for most days.

The Divine Swine is just down the road and if you like BBQ, you owe it to yourself to give it a try.

Update 09/20/2022
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They've improved the road coming into the campground and it looks like they've upgraded a few lots with fresh gravel and the place looks a clean as ever. We're looking forward to a couple of quiet weeks.

AT&T was never that great before but now absolutely rocks with 40+mb download speeds during the day. 2 bars and great speed on my iPhone. Although voice on my iPhone is shockingly bad. There is constant pops and clicks which makes it sound like I'm back in the early 1990's. It's crazy to have that kind of noise on a digital line, so I'm thinking there is some old analog between the tower and the rest of the world. Cheap is as cheap does.

Verizon is a problem. In the past several months, their 4G service has seriously degraded throughout the I-95 corridor from VA to MA, route I-76 in PA from I-95 to Harrisburg, and down I-81 to Roanoke. I think Verizon has oversold it's ability to deliver and everyone is suffering because of their greed. I can sometimes get better speed from my iPad than the MiFi router because the iPad uses all channels and the MiFi doesn't, but the difference usually isn't that great.

Here, during the day, the Verizon download speed is often in the under 3mb range and sometimes below 1mb. Barely enough bandwidth for work; forget about streaming. Some nights the bandwidth picks up before midnight and we can use the Roku. After midnight you can stream usually anything.

Starlink is looking better and better, especially considering how much I'm paying for my three cell contracts.

Original Review
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We've been here several times and it's still a nice place to stay. A bit out of the way and not a lot of services in the area, but very near the water. I've heard people complaining about the noise from rail-gun testing and other fun activities over at the naval base, but I have yet to experience anything like that in the 4 times we've been here.

The utilities work well, the roads are older but not in terrible shape, and during this period of COVID-19 craziness they are limiting contact by leaving your check in packet at the door. They assign sites, which helps a lot since the big RV sites seem to be at a bit of a premium. We typically get assigned to the same few spots because of our size and the 50amp electric has always been clean.

It looks like they might have upgraded the sewer as there appears to be some new access points in the park.

The laundry is still $2.50 / $2.00 and the machines work well. No coin changer, but they have rolls of quarters for the guests. Pool is closed for the duration. There have been a few activities, but they are all outdoor and with designated social distancing marks on the lawn.

In the past, the park used to be simply packed with seasonal people, but there is a marked reduction and more open spots than normal.

The staff is friendly enough and the road makes a a nice 1.5 mile loop on the point for anyone who rides a bike. We come here when we basically want to get away.

No wifi available. Verizon has a great signal, but seems to have difficulties with bandwidth during a hard rain. AT&T doesn't have a lot of signal strength, but the bandwidth is better than you would expect, even during a hard rain.

If your GPS tries to bring you in any other way than 301 to 3 to 664, and your RV is over 38' long, you might want to pause and see exactly where it's taking you. You can take a large RV on almost any of the roads around the area, but you'll be much happier using that route.

If you are a TT hater, then just keep going.

Was here 4 years ago and hated the sewage pump house making terrible noise... FIXED! Can't hear anything coming from it now.

AT&T signal is only 3 bars, but the speed is nothing short of amazing... over 80mb down!

Verizon signal is also 3 bars, but there are just too many people on the system (early June 2020) so during the day the Verizon can fall below 1MB download speed... almost as bad as Orlando during the winter. Night time the speed picks up, but usually streaming quality isn't possible between 8am and 10pm. During the day, it's hard to keep a decent connection going for work.

OTA TV is a joke... 6 channels with bad signals. The other TV only sees 3 channels. We're down in a bit of a small valley so that may have something to do with it. Luckily we don't care if there's a TV signal, but some might. They have pay-for cable, but we're just not interested.

The WiFi is FastWave and I really wish Thousand Trails would find something better. Speed is usually around 4-5mb, which is fine, but it sometimes drops below 1mb for a few minutes. When I pay $40 for 3 weeks, I expect at 4+ MB speed ALL.THE.TIME., and not just most of the time. As usual, FastWave fails to live up to its name. I'll gladly give up 4 devices at once and go with 2 if that means it's going to work at a consistent speed in the 4+ MB range. I'm using a really good WiFi extender that I've used for years with great success, so I know it's not my equipment.

The amenities appear to be open now, though there is a signup at 9am for the indoor pool. We need to check out the Ice Cream shop as they sell Hershey's Ice Cream.

The roads are paved and the sites are, for the most part, well maintained. We didn't see any bags over the utility poles, so the park is keeping up on its maintenance. Haven't run into any electric issues with 90+ weather, so that's another plus for the park.

The park is hilly and well groomed. It should not take a lot of work to correct for level if you don't have leveling jacks. The only eye sore is the RV storage area, which I think looks rather trashy. IMNSHO, they should follow Orlando's lead and get rid of the storage area and put in more sites.

There is plenty of retail in the area and one of the best dog parks we've ever visited is 15 minutes away. There is plenty of good eats in the area, but don't forget that the Divine Swine is only 20 miles away and serving the best BBQ north (and better than a lot south) of the Mason-Dixon line.

Decently laid out, good cell service, decent food made on-site an delivered to your site.

Good water pressure, good cell service, and well groomed sites. It's everything I expect for $50 a night. The food prices are quite reasonable and we enjoyed what we got. Being able to grab breakfast on the run was soooo worth it.

It's right off of I-81 and there are two nearby gas stations with the best prices in the area for diesel.

If you don't mind spending the cash, this is definitely a place to check out. Be warned, if you reserve for a holiday weekend, you have to prepay in full and there are no cancellations allowed. Beyond that, enjoy!

We've been to this campground many times as we have family in Salem, VA. It's close enough to town to get somewhere quickly without actually being in town. Everything works and is in good repair. The spaces are a bit close together but plenty long for big rigs. Basically you probably can't put your awning all the way out.

Cell/data service is good and their WiFi, while unsecured, is quite good... just make sure your firewalls are in place. In short, there's plenty of bandwidth available.

If you're overly sensitive about noise, then there may be a problem, but for most people it should be fine.

There are garbage cans at every site and the fire rings and picnic tables tend to be placed towards the front of the grassy area so that you can use them without feeling cramped in between the RVs.

There are a couple of good dog parks in the area, along with tubing, golf and the Appalachian trail.