Gifford Pinchot State Park — Attraction in Warrington Township

Comprehensive review. About as full service as a park can be. In fact, the PA State Parks Recreational Guide has every activity box checked for Gifford Pinchot. The park lists three boat mooring areas, but there's a fourth in the main day use area (Quaker Race). In my pictures you'll see the size of each of them. The Quaker Race Day Area features a very long swimming beach and rest room facilities. The parking area here is very large for weekend crowds. A challenging disc golf course is located on the north side of the lot. There is also a boat rental and an electric vehicle charging station. The nearby Lakeview Pavilion is situated close to the beach at the south end. An ADA fishing pier is located at the other end of the beach. The Woodland Pavilion is past the beach and at a dead end making it somewhat remote and private. Further down route 177 is the cabin entrance with the park office out front. The ten modern cabins are near the water by Boat Mooring Area 2. The water looked especially nice here for boating and fishing (see pictures). There's also another ADA fishing dock. A historical site, the Old Maytown School House sits where route 177 meets Alpine Road. From here if you turn onto Church Road you'll come to the overlook of the dam and the lake at Conley Road. A nearby horse trail marked on the map did not seem readily accessible. The next entrance is for Boat Mooring Area 3. Strictly an area for boat launching, it features a nice wide launch area, the ability to keep small watercraft there, and nice views of the lake. Next up, the large Conewago Day Use Area. There's no swimming in this area, but it has many nice fishing spots as well as an ADA fishing pier and another boat rental and bike rental. Other activities are a playground, a ballfield, a flat disc golf course and bike trails. The park's environmental learning center is in the south corner. See the website for scheduled activities. However, there are many educational information boards in this area for self-paced learning. The 290 campsites are in their own section off East Camping Area Road. Due to the bends here in the lake, a large number of sites can be along the water. (see picture of site 114) The camping area also has its own beach. If volleyball is your passion, rent site 245 with the volleyball pit right behind you. For something different, you might also want to try a yurt. The camp can also handle six group campers in a separate section. Modern cabins are available, but on the other side of the lake. There's 18 miles of hiking in Gifford Pinchot. The 200 mile Mason-Dixon Trail cutting through the park is also called the Lakeside Trail and Beaver Creek Trail (see picture). Hunting is allowed in large sections of the park so be careful hiking in that season. Winter activities include cross country skiing, ice skating, ice fishing and ice boating.

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When I decided to plan a vacation to Hershey Park, I knew I didn’t want to stay on the Hershey premises. I looked into the Hershey campground, but I really wanted to stay somewhere quiet and away from the commercialism. That is when I found this gem! Located about 30 minutes from Hershey Park, it provided us with a peaceful haven to relax after a crazy, fun-filled day at the park. We rented 2 modern cabins; one for my family and one for our friends. The cabins were rustic looking, but very well maintained. Hot water, nice sized bathroom with shower. Full kitchen (just bring a toaster and coffee maker if needed). Master bedroom has a full bed, closet with hangers and dresser. Second bedroom has 2 sets of bunk beds, closet and dresser. There is no air conditioning, but they provide good powerful fans. There is no WiFi services, and no TV, which forced the kids to get outside to explore and play board games on the one rainy day. The cabin was very clean, and provided everything we needed for a long weekend away in the woods. The lake is absolutely stunning. The park provides many beautiful hiking trails for different levels and there are kayak and boat rentals. We only spent 4 days in the cabin; 2 of those days were spent at Hershey. I wish we had booked more time here so we could do more exploring. The staff and rangers were helpful and courteous and even called me when the house cleaners found a bracelet and toy that was left behind! The wildlife is also amazing..deer, owls, bats, rabbits, fish, many different types of birds including some gorgeous water birds. My only complaint (if you can call it that) is that I wish they could clear the land in between the lake and the cabin. It is very overgrown and obstructs the view of the beautiful lake from the cabin. Instead of sitting on our deck in the morning, I took the 2 minute walk to the lake through a nice trail. It would have been even more enjoyable to be able to do that right outside the cabin door. Other than that, if you’re into camping in a cabin in the woods, I highly recommend Gifford...

Me and my boyfriend (we're in our 20s) decided to come here for Memorial Day weekend and we give this campsite 3.5 stars.

Check in time is 3 but we didn't want to waste our whole day so we arrived at the Day Visitor area around 11. There are benches, tables, and grills with plenty of room for families or groups. We rented a canoe for $20 for an hour (they also have kayaks, rowboats, and paddle boats. Any additional hour is $10). The staff at the bike/boat rental building were incredibly friendly, gave us pointers for rowing and started the time from when we got in the boat. The lake was large and beautiful, with designated swimming and fishing areas.

Around 2 we decided to drive over to the campsite to see if we could check in early and we could. The sites were very close to each other, which later we found out was very irritating. We could hear every conversation the family next to us had. The sites were cleared of most trees, which I think, if they left more, we would have felt like we had privacy. Rocks covered the ground and there was a blacktop to park. They provide a fire pit area with grill on top and a table with benches. Every other camper we came into contact were incredibly friendly and offered help if we needed it. Quiet time starts at 9 and it was respected for the most part. The next day we went on a hike, fished, and swam in the private swim area (for night guests and their visitors). The hike was beautiful. The map gives a description of the paths and their difficulty levels. The fishing areas and the swim spot were nice and not overly crowded for it being Memorial Day weekend. The entire park was kept up very well and free of trash. There are bathrooms located conveniently, with showers and large sinks to wash dishes, too.

Overall, if you are going on a family "camping" trip, I definitely suggest it. If you want a more secluded, more camping feel, I would skip this park or just go for the day visitor activities. My boyfriend made a good point by noting: "it's like camping, but in a backyard"....