Camp-A-While — Hotel in Hegins Township

I really wanted to love this campground. It's far enough away to be a perfect location but there are some huge cons.

First, this isn't a lush green campground. It's like a mountain was hollowed out and you're sleeping in a rock quarry.

I have no idea why Route 25 is so heavy with truck traffic considering there's nothing for miles (besides I-81) but all night trucks will be struggling to go up the 9% grade beside you. At first, you'll think it's random...but it goes on all night. Just as you drift off to sleep, there will be the rumbling of some dump truck to wake you up. This is not a quiet park by any means.

Another note is the second day a large family rented 2 spots across from us. A total of 20 people with three vehicles. All night and into quiet hours, they constantly went into their cars (which triggered their headlights to shine directly into our site), allowed their numerous children to play flashlight tag (again shining their light into our site) and were the most discourteous neighbors I've ever had the displeasure of having. It was only a vulgarity laden tirade at 1230 AM that stopped their behavior and finally silence ...until another truck climbed the hill.

There's nothing close by. Walmart is a 30 minute drive if you forgot something. But, you'll have to deal with the mountain folks and their notorious bumper humper tailgating.

Knoebels is close (40 mins). Centralia is close if you want to see what's left. Yuengling Brewery is close (30 mins).

The staff is wonderful and accommodating. They deliver firewood. The amenities are a fire pit, picnic table (nice and big), and grill. The store is well stocked but obviously is priced higher than the WalMart that is 30 mins away. I will say the butcher cut steaks were tremendous! There's also Amish bakery items available. In addition, a nice pool available. The campground really does try and offer fun activities as well (they had an Elvis act a few weeks ago and String Art this weekend).

As I stated, I want to like this place, but the ground is a rock quarry. The sound of trucks going up and down the hill is headache inducing. The 20 people across from your site wasn't something I expected.

It is a good value (30 for a primitive site) but I just feel the bad outweighs the good here...and...

In short: $26 overpriced for tent sites that sit below a steep grade with significant diesel truck traffic throughout the night. Rude customer service that shoots first and asks questions later.

Long version: We had the opportunity to stay at this campground last night. After hitting a pot hole and tearing a chunk out of a tire at 11:30 pm we limped to this campsite. I was happy to find a night box but unfortunately we were out of cash and had no checks. I left a note with the campsite number, my name, description of our car, and phone number and told them we would come by to pay in the morning.

Most of the campground is RV sites with a few tent sites along one edge. Most of the RV sites are long term tenants with sheds, porches, outdoor living areas, etc. They are pretty bold in charging $26 a night for these tent sites. We spent the night being lulled to sleep by the diesel trucks laboring up the grade just above the tent. The sites are fairly level but small, and lacking in any charm. They were literally just small areas dug into the slope below the highway. Not surprisingly, we were the only tent there. The only restroom in the whole camoground is the one by the pool so you have to drive over anytime you need to use the bathroom. We are pretty minimalist campers so no big deal but for $26 a night I would have expected a nearby bathhouse or pit toilet.

I went to the office once it opened in the morning and rang the bell on the desk but no one was around. We had to get on the road to get a new tire and head home to NC so we left planning on calling to pay over the phone later. A few minutes later I received a call from a man at the campground. I explained that we came by when the office was open to pay but no one was there. He immediately said "so you think its ok to camp and not pay?" He was extremely rude to accuse me of this without even asking for payment first. I asked to pay over the phone and he said I couldn't so I offered to send a check. It's going to take a lot of will power to make sure I follow through on payment after that...

In short; Top tier campground, For the win!

Highly recommended. I won't spend much repeating what so many others have. It's true, the staff are VERY kind and helpful. The campground is beautiful (painfully understated). The site was level. Where they really shined was their ability to respond when things didn't go perfect. We arrived during a torrential downpour. Leave it to some of our fellow New Hampshire folk in an RV to take the wrong spot forcing another to do the same. We called the office and ... In the middle of the downpour, the friendly lady from the office (not fair to call it an office; this place is more like a fully equipped lodge, game room, etc...) showed up and led us to an alternate spot just up the hill. They had us guided into the spot and out of the rain in minutes. 100% impressed with their ability to respond to a situation like that. The heavy rainfall resulted in very very minor erosion (barely an inch or two width streams). Yet, the staff were on a tractor and had it re-graded to perfect first thing in the morning. Their dedication to campers satisfaction is worthy of note. Having a family of 6 onboard, this is exactly the kind of campground that we are looking for to add to our list of safe and reliable campgrounds. We went to Knoebels, visited #9 Coal Mine, walking trails, etc. The campground is quiet and peaceful. Yet, sufficient amount of white noise from rustling leaves, and the flowing brook out back provides privacy for conversations. Friendly campers (both transients and seasonals). The staff are pro's and their campground is a slice of Heaven. We are optimistically confident that we'll be back next spring,...