Hersheypark Camping Resort — Hotel in Derry Township

I hate to be a Negative Nelly, but something must be said.

We booked our trip for Labor Day Weekend a week prior and were told there were no sites left with electricity. We know people cancel last minutes so we asked upon arrival if there were any upgrades available but were told no. I was very upset when we cruised the camp ground periodically through out the weekend and found multiple open sites with electricity open for the duration.

So we get to our site and see that all down the row 238-247 in Lazy River Rest there were open spots. There were 7 open spots in our row and even more across the street. In spots 238 to 240 we had three camping parties packed together tightly. We were spot 240. Talk about up close and personal. There was no privacy at all and we couldn't help but hear every conversation that took place all weekend long within those three sites. Since we were in spot 240, and no one showed up Friday night at spot 241, we could cheat over a little bit. We hoped that no one else would show up. If they did, maybe the administration would space us out. That way we could give some well needed space and privacy to our neighbors. NOPE! Saturday afternoon another couple showed up and the campground put them in spot 241! They turned out to be really nice but still, beyond them were at least 6 more open spots! They have all this space and they jam everyone in right on top of each other.

So every word traveled through the ears of all campers from sites 238 through 241 all weekend long. We could hear everyone's conversations. We had to do our best to be super quite nd we have toddlers so try to invision how that went for us. I'm sure we drove the neighbors absolutely insane at night when our kids woke up time and time again because of the medivac and train.

Peridoically through out the night, there was a helicopter that sounded like it was landing in the camp ground. It was the medavac for Penn State Hospital flying in. I thought we were being invaded until I realized there's a hospital right across the streat. So the kids get woken up every few hours, cry, and obviously the whole four sites of campers right on top of each other were hearing every bit of it. Beyond the chopper there is a freight train that consistently passes by behind the camp. I would have been fine with all that if it were not for the way they placed us, and seemingly lied about the capacity of the resort. There was all that open space! Really having a hard time getting over that.

The last and most horrible part of this experience, was the smell of poo all weekend long. Apparently the camp has full hookups right next to where they decided was the best spot to jam us in. They have these little plastic poop hoses that connect to the sewer system they have at the camp ground. They go from the rv to the sewer. Ugh!!! It was horrible! Day and night we are were being bumbarded by the fresh smell of Sh*t. If they were going to jam us all in one corner of the primitive camping section, you would think it would be as far away from that sewer system and smelly RVs as possible.

We spent over $1000 between the park, the accommodations, the over priced gift shop, and food even though we brought much of our own.

On the upside, Hershey Park is beautiful. It was nice to have the shuttle that takes you to nd from. The pool was great. They also had activities at the recreation center. On Sunday, there was a human running wheel which produced shaved ice, very interesting. Although the gift shop is way over priced, the convenience of it is great along with the employees who had great and welcoming attitudes.

Overall I wish we had a little more say in where they put us. It was as if they had no concern. Or maybe the people booking never camped before, IDK

Despite some of the draw backs we still made the most of it and enjoyed ourselves. There were many friendly happy going people around. I will not go primitive there again, but I do hope to return and better accommodate ourselves with what we now know about the campground. BEWARE OF WHERE...

We were trying to find sites near York but had waited a bit late in making reservations so had issues finding a place to park the RV for an extended period. We ended up staying near Gettysburg for 3 weeks (see the review of Round Top Campground) and Hersheypark for two weeks. We stayed in the "Carousel" section. We don't really enjoy amusement parks so didn't go into Hersheypark, but did enjoy Chocolate World, the zoo, and trolley rides.

Overall, this is a lovely campground. Its abundant shade trees are very picturesque and keep things cool even on warmer days (satellites won't work). It was also surprisingly quiet considering the number of children running around. It's a bit on the pricey side but understandable based on all the amenities - which includes a shuttle to and from Hersheypark. They have a stocked store, checkin was easy and the staff is very friendly. The park itself is extremely well maintained with staff constantly riding around in their golf carts picking up debris and collecting trash. There's also cabins available for non-campers or family gatherings.

The only complaint I had is the ability to maneuver in the campground. This is obviously an older park and not really designed to handle the larger campers being used today. The drives are narrow and the campsites are a little tight. There's very little space to park vehicles so folks were having to park parallel in front of their campers.  When there are trucks parked on both sides of the drive, it's difficult for larger RVs to pull in or get through. We had a difficult time pulling in due to vehicles parked across from us so ended up parking at a slightly different angle. Since there were no campers on each side didn't realize it until other campers parked on our row. Later witnessed someone having to back out the entire way as they were trying to leave because they couldn't pass through all the vehicles at the end of the drive.

Suggestions: 1 - Paint lines or add colored rocks between sites that need it to provide demarcation. 2 - Put up dog "poopy stations" throughout the campground so that folks are more inclined to pick up after their pets. Saw several "piles" while walking our dog on the grassy hill next to the campsites. 3 - Might be worthwhile to take out a couple of less than desirable campsites and add parking for pull or tow vehicles.

Would we recommend the campground? Yes - but only if they were headed to Hersheypark. Would we stay here again? Doubtful - unless we were meeting up here...

I love Hershey Camping resort for the activities and Hershey park benefits. Last time we stayed in a cabin, but decided to camp in a tent this visit. When booking, I specified I was camping in a tent with need for electric. The site selected from open locations and selected a Pavilion site. Two major concerns made it that I will likely not be back. First, the Pavilion sites have minimal grass for popping up your tent on, and instead are mostly gravel. In my first picture, was our actual reserved site and the tent pictured was the site next to ours, meaning not a blade of grass for me to put my tent on. I contacted support and the security person on a golf cart came and told us we aren’t guaranteed grass and that some people bring pop ups. I specified tent and shouldn’t be offered a site that really isn’t conducive to tents. While he wasnt rude he was very matter-of-fact and I felt like leaving and then he offered to see if we could use the site next to ours that had a small strip of grass since no one seemed to be there. Thankfully we were able to move to the site next to us, but it still wasn’t what I’d expect from a camping resort that knows your sleeping in a tent, While you can see on the map train tracks, I missed reviews that talked of the noise, but experienced horrible noise and full ground shaking from very frequent freight trains—at least 2 an hour over night, I counted. The inability to sleep just feet away (see picture from inside my tent of a freight train), we packed up and left before our reservation was over. These sites should come with a general note of lack of grass for popping up tents and the mention of active train tracks. I hope others heed my warning because for $100 a night to sleep in my own tent, I’d have liked to have a location that was more ideal for this type of activity. It was a big fail in my opinion that Hershey Camping Resort markets these for tent users. It was a shame and my children were disappointed we cut our trip short. I did include a picture of the sliver of grass we had to pop our tent on at the site they let us move to also around...