Dingmans Campground — Hotel in Delaware Township

Here are the questions I was looking for before we went:

How are the sites? Great. We found our site relatively large compared to other places we've stayed. We chose an electric/water site (not the full RV site; we're tent campers). The terrain was flat, and it was easy to set up our two small tents. We were about 100 yards from the bathroom, which we liked. Close enough to actually make the trip but far enough so that we didn't hear every bathroom-goer on his way to relieve himself.

How's the river? There is one boat/canoe launch at the river where you can access the beautiful Delaware River. When we went, the water was shallow, so we could wade in, sit in the water, and enjoy. Water temp was about 74 degrees (late July) which was perfect. Refreshing, but not too cold. There is no swimming allowed, which I assume means a person should not try to swim across the river or go for a long distance, but we were told that it was okay to go in the water, and we hung out there and relaxed.

How crowded is it? When we went (midweek, end of July), it was virtually empty. I counted a few other tent campers and some RV campers. This could be because it's not a popular campground during the week, it could be that the weather wasn't great so smart campers stayed away (it rained, despite the forecast, our first afternoon there), or it could just be we caught the one down week this summer. I prefer it like this, so we were quite happy. You can check out how empty it will be by checking the online reservation portal. If you booked well in advance, a few days before your trip, login to the reservation portal to see how many empty spots there are to choose from, and that will give you a good idea of what things will be like when you arrive.

What about the area? The McDade Recreational trail abuts the camp at the campground entrance. This is great for walking, running (our favorite), and biking. If you head north, you'll be in the woods; if you head south, you'll be in farmland (soybeans and then corn). Waterfalls, you say? Why yes! Plenty within driving distance. Dingmans Falls is just up the road. Worth the short trip.

Campground staff? The office/camp store is staffed until 4 pm, and the folks there were very friendly when we checked in. I didn't see anyone else during our entire stay. At some campgrounds, the staff and rangers make their way around the sites, but that didn't happen when we were there. It could be they do this when the grounds are more full.

Critters? Like every campground, there are squirrels who will definitely explore your food if you leave it unattended on the table at your site. Make sure everything is sealed well. The birds and chipmunks were more timid, so they didn't even try to explore our food. I did see a wild turkey on the McDade trail, but nothing else of note.

This is definitely a place I would return to with my family. It's "chill," easy to get to, beautiful, has a river I can sit in, and has access to a running trail. It is "dry" like most government campgrounds, but I didn't see anyone from the ATF checking out what was in...

I am writing this review as a camper that has camped at over 75 campgrounds throughout the country (I'm in my 30s)...

Somethings I want to address: Seems as though people are unhappy with the bathrooms. I personally felt that they were the cleanest campground bathrooms I've seen in a while. Its a campground with dirt, bugs, dirty people, mud, etc... Im not sure what you expect. You will never get a Hilton bathroom at a campground. The stalls for the toilets and showers were clean to me! Only thing I saw that someone could complain about was dead bugs on the sink counter from the lights at night, however that was early in the morning and when I went back in in the afternoon, they were cleaned.

Another on going issue I see people upset about is noise. It seems as though its a great campground for large groups to have a good time. HOWEVER, if you can and will move spots, they will let you. And there are MANY spots that are peaceful and quiet (if they arent full). Most of the noise is at the river, so stay away from the river if you want a quiet spot.

My review: We arrived on Friday at around 3PM, check in time is 2PM. We were greeted with smiles and friendly kind tones. The general store is where you have to go to check in, and the ladies in there are super friendly. The general store also has items you may have forgotten or you may need without having to drive ten minutes for them. They even provide a wood delivery service to you campsite. Checking in was easy peasy! From checking in we began our drive to our river spot. It was right next to a large group and I knew we wouldn't be happy there. We are a small family that loves nature and quietness. So we drove back to see if we could switch spots. They happily showed us what spots are available and let us go drive around to check them out before we picked the next spot. We found a spot we were really happy with and drove back to let them know. They easily gave us our new spot and refunded the difference between the river spot and non river spot. The spot we picked was at a dead end with trail bike access, which was perfect bc we brought our trail bikes for that trail. We fortunately didn't have anyone come in next to us the whole time and the two that did come in a few spots away were pretty quiet people. So we had a fabulous quiet spot. The only noise I could hear was a bit of the cars zooming by from the highway. But thats not in their control. The river access is wonderful, theres no swimming but you can wade, you can also skip rocks, canoe, kayak, and river tube. With river and bike trail access and a small 5 minute drive to Dingmans Falls this place was perfect for us!

Thank you Dingmans Campground for one of the best camping trips...

I had a very disappointing experience at Dingman Campground. There were several issues that made my stay far from enjoyable:

Terrible Roads: The roads within the campground are full of potholes. It shouldn't be a big deal to fill them with stones, but it seems this basic maintenance is neglected.

Unclear Policies: I booked a river site for tenting and have a pop-up tent mounted on my car. Upon arrival at site 117 and after setting up my tent, the owner informed me that motorized vehicles are not allowed on the site because it's federal land. I wish I had known this before paying $250 for camping. One of the main reasons for choosing this site was to be next to the river with my tent on top of my small pickup truck. It's ironic that I wasn't allowed to have my car on the site, yet the staff drove loud ATVs through the campsites every 30 minutes for wood delivery, trash pickup, and cleanup.

Lack of Privacy: Other campers frequently walked through my site, which offered no privacy (specific to site 117). I asked to move to other available campsites but was refused. This led me to cut my trip short by two days. Not only did I not receive a refund (which I didn't expect but did request), but I was also charged a cleaning fee for the two trash bags I left behind. I had spoken with the staff on ATVs to pick them up, and they agreed it wasn't a big deal, even though it's not a service they usually offer.

Unfair Warnings: I received several warnings for speeding, which seemed absurd given the pothole-riddled roads. It's hard to believe anyone could speed under these conditions.

Expensive Campstore: The prices at the campstore are exorbitant, with items costing about double the usual price. For example, a rack of firewood is $19. I recommend bringing your own wood.

Inconsistent Enforcement: I received multiple warnings, some of which I understand, but the hypocrisy was frustrating. I was told to move my tent because no motorized vehicles are allowed on the campsite while the owner, sitting on his motorized vehicle, gave me the warning and then sped off on his ATV through the other campsites.

Due to these issues, I left two days earlier than planned. To top it off, I got a call about the two trash bags they agreed to pick up for me.

I recommend looking elsewhere for a more enjoyable and fair...