Thousand Trails Hershey — Hotel in South Annville Township

The first thing to know is that Thousand Trails sites are a first come, first serve. Meaning you have to arrive early in order to get the best spots. They don't reserve sites for you. For everyone complaining about driving around and not finding spots, if you get there early enough aroung 1 pm, you wont' have a problem.

This campground is located behind two farms and behind some woods, so you won't be able to see it from the main road. That is great because there was no traffic noise around. When we arrived to the gate house, the woman there was very helpful in recommending sites area for us. We chose a pull through site for our 30 ft TT since we are newbies (our 4th trip). There is ample space between you and your rv neighbor and no real obstructions to park. The trees are not in the way of the parking space. Each site had a lamp post so that at night, you could easily see where you are parked but they place them low to the ground so as not to add to light polution. The roads are a mix of gravelled area and asphalt. They have an overflow area for those with extra cars and those with tow dollies. This keeps the campground from looking like a junk yard.

As for the entertainment, we arrived too early for the pool to be open but they do have an indoor hot tub for those 16 years and older that is open. The store hours are a bit strange, with some days being open until 2pm on some weekdays. Their store has a good supply (just the essentials) but their best selling item is Hershey ice cream (so good!) They have a tennis court, mini golf, basketball court, and you saw many kids out witth their bicycles. There is even an arcade center for the kids and a rec center with a pool table.

The campground is very safe at night, no noise disturbances at night and we had no problems having our kids wander around by themselves. The batthrooms are nice and are designated shelters in case of severe weather. The pond is not suitable for swimming and has no swimming signs around. Nature decided to reclaim the area and the fish have an abuncance of kel to live in. It is a wonderful fishing and boating area.

All in all, it was a...

Another reviewer said that this place is "run by grumpy old people," and while that's a little harsh, it's not entirely wrong. One time my wife's father visited us while camping here. The gate attendant, upon realizing that he was her father, told him, "tell your hot rod daughter to slow down around here." Apparently he was upset by the way she accelerated - in our behemoth Ford Excursion - when leaving the campground. On the road outside the gate. What?!?

I don't know how to react to that, but suffice to say the people here are big on rules. However, as a result the place is pretty well run with minimal riffraff present. They have rowboats and paddle boats you can use on their pond, which is well kept and offers good fishing (I saw a guy catch a 15-inch large mouth bass!). They have a solid program with entertainment most weekends in the form of bands, DJs, etc. The sites are generally level and well designed. Overall I'd give the place 4 out of 5 stars when compared to all the campgrounds I've been to, and 4.5 out of 5 when compared to other Thousand Trails sites. It's among the best they offer, in my experience.

Although, from a maintenance standpoint I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5. It's Thousand Trails' flagship campground for this area, but it still feels like they should stay on top of maintenance a little more aggressively. On our most recent visit, one of the showers was out of commission, the dumpsters were all full from the Friday we arrived to the Sunday we left - stuff like that. Maybe spend less time fretting over what people are doing and more time keeping up with the place? Either way, we'll continue to camp here as the place has a lot to offer and is close to all...

This would be a five star review had not "the ranger" been so snarky and held my driver's license at the gate. I don't like having my license held and was not told he was going to do it until he did. Apparently it's "policy" with "non-members" to do this? Not cool. And this was after I waited for seven minutes while he answered a phone call and booked a reservation while I waited. Maybe it's just me, but handle the customer who is in front of you first? Past that, the camp ground was wonderful. Gorgeous views and rolling hills. The pool is fantastic and the staff, outside of the "the ranger" were very pleasant. The camp store has some things, but not much. Also the hours are very odd. The spot I had could have been more level but it wasn't awful. Some of them are bigger and wider than others and the whole "first come first serve" thing is a bit of a put off to me. I've never been a Thousand Trails member but my experience in these past two TT parks in which I've stayed has convinced me that I don't want to be. It feels bit "time sharey" to me. I want to show up, be given a map with an "X" on it and told where to put down. I don't want to be on the road for eight hours and then have to spend thirty minutes driving around @ 5mph looking for a spot while everyone else is gawking at me. Cell phone service in the area is frustratingly spotty, but that's not the fault of the campground. Also, if you're an Uber/Lyft person, there's not much of that in Hershey either, just as a heads up. We had to unhook to go into town...but if you have a tow vehicle,...