Buttonwood Campground

We stayed for two nights to visit relatives who are work-camping here for the summer. I was pleasantly surprised at the size and scope of this campground. This is a destination spot for many seasonal campers in southern Pennsylvania, and is situated along the Juniata River in central PA.
This is a family-owned and operated campground. One of the son's cares for the grounds and the other runs the day-to-day operations. The grounds are immaculate with many nicely landscaped beds. There are sites available along the river, or across the road up on the hill.
We had a full hook-up pull-through site that included cable and was level enough that we did not have to unhitch.
They were just about to open up their seasonal boat rental operation offering rentals for canoeing and kayaking the Juniata River.
They also offer many activities for families, and have a well-stocked store. It felt like a KOA in some ways (but is not affiliated with them) - and they even offered cabin rentals that resemble those you find at a KOA.
The campground is easy to access, RVers are escorted to all sites by staff, and very friendly. While the location is sort of out of the way unless you are traveling through Central PA (it's not really close to interstate access), it's a nice detour if you are in the area and want a place to rest for a couple of nights.
I did have ATandT coverage - but don't know how many bars so did not record it. Wifi was only available if you were near the store, or so I was told.

This is a pristine campground! Not a hedge out of place! Great showers! Awesome large sites! So many activities for kids including a jump lad, playgrounds and a pool. FYI the pool is small and only is 4.5 feet deep and was filled with kids! The tubing is a great offer but due to covid, they are no longer shuttling so we didn’t take part in this! It is super quiet during the week!

This is a long review but I think someone needs to tell the truth. We were scheduled to stay at this campground for the week of Aug 30th- Sept 4th 2020 in a premium waterfront site. I was greeted by the owner who pulled in behind me and she contacted a very nice employee who escorted us to our site on the opposite side of the roadway from the main campground area where the pool and activities were located. I was not aware that there were two sides to the campground but I thought no big deal we have the river as our playground so I wasn’t to upset. The man lead us to the river sites and I could see that the opposite end of the row was practically vacant but he directed us into a site that was surrounded by a few seasonal sites, which I hate since they tend to be a little junkier and run down, but again, I went with the flow. After getting backed in I began to get set up when I heard an ungodly clatter from across the river, it was a long a$@ freight train only 100 feet away and it shook everything and lasted almost a 2 minutes as rumbled past. I asked the person next to us if the train runs a lot and they replied about every 30 minutes or so. I then asked what time it stops running to which they replied runs all night and that they just turn up the tv. I looked through the brochure and website but no where do they mention a freight train running along the campground. The brochure mentioned something about a peaceful stay but nothing about this was peaceful. Knowing I am a light sleeper I almost immediately knew that there was no way I could sleep with the racket the train made and I made my way back to the office. Trying not to be rude I simply told the young lady in the office that there was a work emergency and would it be possible to get a refund and I would leave in the morning. So obviously the answer about the refund was no and she even pointed out in the email that all payments were final. Then I brought up the train and how I thought they should have disclosed in their advertising the fact the train runs by the campground. The young lady then replied that it was the main railway for the east coast and they didn’t need to disclose anything. She then also stated with a rude tone That there is a race track 3 miles away that you can hear but they don’t put that in either. I’m not sure the point she was trying to make other than obviously they know about these issues and don’t care which I feel is deceitful to say the least. The lady then offered to switch me to a site on the main campground side which was further from the train but at this point it came to a matter of principals and I told her that we would be leaving in the morning so not to worry about it. After leaving the office I decided to ride around the campground and see what they had to offer. I noticed that the pool was on the small side, the game room was closed until further notice, laser tag and several other activities for the kids were also shut down and none of this was posted anywhere on the website. My wife and I decided that staying just because of the money was not worth it and we we decided to leave the next morning. That night as expected I was awoken at 0130, 0330, 0350, & 0600 hrs by the trains. I am upset about loosing the money but at least I’ll keep my sanity. We will never come back. P.S - The town where the campground is located is not the best area and is pretty run down but I will give it to the groundskeepers, they do a nice job with the landscaping. It’s a shame I can’t give negative numbers for the noise category. Keep in mind this review is for the riverfront sites which they charge a premium price.

Great camping. Every employee was super friendly. We stayed right on the river, which was convenient considering it was “feels like” 100. Took a float down the river thanks to their shuttle. Trains were definitely loud and close but we slept through it and mostly made a game of counting them (“here comes #4,092!”). Also has a local winery selling wine slushes that are ah-maz-ing.