Gifford Pinchot State Park

quiet park on the weekdays, gets crowded on weekends - stay at the point near the campers beach. Small town just a mile away for quick pickups and town of Dover is only 6 miles and has full grocery stores. Love taking kayaks and grandkids to this park. Only a few full hookup sites and these are not on the water. Electric sites on water are limited. Can fill up with water just past campers check in

We stayed here for two nights in September while we visited the RV show in Hershey, PA. Convenient to the Harrisburg/Hershey area - only about a 30 minute drive.

Beautiful, wooded campground. A lot of sites and they are close together. Only one loop for dog-friendly RV camping.

Highly recommend driving through and looking at sites - if you can - before booking. Or being flexible and willing to change up sites. One we were assigned at walk-up, that we were told confidently would fit a 30' rig, was barely long enough. We decided to give it a go but couldn't get our rig level enough to get the slides out. There were luckily a lot of other sites available, so we moved across the way.

Great biking paths, hiking paths, lake for canoeing or kayaking.

Quiet park in early October. No other campers in sight. Mild temps. Of 289 sites only 12 are FHU and they are in the Pet Camping loop which has a total of 56 sites. Plenty of trails to take the pups. Roadside grasses were groomed and had no major problems with ticks. Shower house was large and clean just a bit worn inside. We enjoyed our stay.

We got in to GP on Sunday of Memorial Day. The ranger on duty was unfriendly and unhelpful - he needed a site number to find our reservation, we had to ask for directions to the site, a map of the park, and a map of the trails. He saw (and heard) our dog, but didn't tell us we'd booked and we're headed to a spot where dogs weren't allowed. We didn't find that out until the hosts, who were also really unfriendly, yelled at us when we were walking our dog. We went to the front office to move sites, and shelled out for one of the newer full hookup sites in the pet-friendly area. Which was surrounded by primitive sites, so we shelled out to listen to generators. Pets aren't allowed on most trails, most of the campground, or anywhere near the water - but it costs extra to bring them. Site quality was really inconsistent - from some really nice, brand new sites to very unlevel sites that haven't had trees trimmed, have a picnic table that's cracked in half, etc. Also the dirtiest bathrooms we've ever seen in a state park. For electric only, and the site quality, the price was ridiculous and everything costs extra. Want to kayak? You have to buy a permit for the year for $28. Disc Golf? That'll be $2 a person to play on their unmaintained course. Need to rent a boat? $60 please. We had only a slightly better experience at Promised Land State Park east of here after this - if we ever go back to PA, we'd look for national forest or a private RV park.

The State Park and Lake is very pretty. The campground only opened two weeks ago so it was not very busy. However, I have a white lab and arranging a campsite was a bit of an ordeal. Having a dog requires phoning a specific person to find a suitable campsite vs those who do not have a dog and register on a honor system. The campsites were not that good due to poor drainage from rain. The bathrooms were reasonably clean but could certainly be steam washed especially for the beginning of the season. Overall the campground was average but there are better places to stay. Cell service was good

Enjoyed the landscape and trees in the campground. Site was a good size.

This park is not too far from York, Pennsylvania. We picked it because it has a lake with a small beach. The water was pretty warm but it was very murky. We saw lots of people with canoes and they rent all types of watercraft there.
We didn’t have reservations but we were able to get one of the best sites right on the water. It was only a short walk to the beach and restrooms. My only complaint was that the sites were fairly close together.

We were only here for a short three day visit so we could visit Hershey's Chocolate World in nearby Hershey and Indian Echo Caverns.

We visited this campground from 04/22/19 to 04/25/19.

July 9, 2020: After terrific 4 nights at Ohiopyle SP in western PA, we pulled into Gifford Pinchot SP for what was to be 2 nights. The sites in Loop A along the water are lined up against each other like a parking lot with only a thin tree or bush between each. There’s thick vegetation between the sites and the water — no water access or views. But overall, the place had a bad vibe — hard to describe exactly but we were uncomfortable with the setting and the site. We backed in and considered setting up but our gut feeling was to leave. We don’t often write reviews, certainly not negative reviews and I know there’s nothing here to support our view but wanted to share it anyway to give others at least a word of caution or pause. 35 year campers (tent, backpacking, trailer) and have never left a place without spending a night, until here.

We have stayed here a number of times and love it here. Good mix of tent and RV campers. Limited full hookups sites. Most RV sites are electric only. Nice large lake great for kayaking, canoeing, and fishing. Rentals available. Good family atmosphere.
Word of caution: campsite numbering throughout campground can be confusing but are well marked with directional signs throughout.