We spent our time in Pennsylvania at the campground, with the exception of a few hours in Hersheypark. In this post, we’ll detail what we liked most about the campground and provide a few thoughts about Hersheypark.
Pennsylvania was our last stop on our trip up north. Click the appropriate link to read posts about our stops in New York, Canada, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
Table of Contents
Where We Stayed
Jonestown/Hershey KOA
The Jonestown/Hershey KOA is a 26-minute drive from Hersheypark. Three years ago, we came to Hershey, PA and spent 2 nights/3 days at the Hersheypark Camping Resort, which is only 5 minutes from Hersheypark. We chose the Jonestown KOA for this trip to try something different.
Much of the Jonestown/Hershey KOA was like other KOAs. There’s a general store, a playground, and a jumping pad. There are tent sites, RV sites, and cabins. Overall, it was pretty busy. There was a lot of turnover, with many campers staying only one night.
Surprisingly, there’s no pool here, only a small splash pad.
We were also surprised to find a USPS box out front. We have been sending postcards to family throughout our trip. When we arrived at this campground, with two postcards still to mail from our last stop, we were pleased to see we could just mail them here.
Another surprise was the ice cream. This campground has good ice cream for a really reasonable price. We got two small cups, each with a topping, and two pup cups for $8. On the campground map/paperwork they claim the General Store has the largest ice cream shop in the area.
Which brings me to the last, but probably best surprise: pup cups! Aiken and Corona each enjoyed a pup cup (vanilla ice cream with a milk-bone).
| Campground Name | Jonestown/Hershey NE KOA |
| Location | Jonestown, PA |
| Dates | June 13-15, 2025 |
| Site Number | 89 |
| Site Surface | mostly grass with a small gravel spot |
| Hook-ups | Full hookups |
| Cost | $97 per night (including taxes and fees) |
| Water Pressure | 50 psi |
| Voltage | 120-125 V |
Our campsite is perhaps the longest pull-through I’ve ever seen! We parked the RV near the front because of where the hook-ups were located, but we still had plenty of room behind it!
The campground is bordered on one side by Swatara Creek, and there are creekside campsites. They are pull-throughs where the business side of the RV faces the road and the fun side faces the creek.
To get down to the creek, those sites had some pretty steep stairs. I’m not sure if every site had them, but at least a few did.
The campground also has a pretty nice dog park that I forgot to get a photo of. There are also hiking opportunities without having to get in your vehicle and drive somewhere. They are adjacent to Swatara State Park, and Swatara Rail Trail runs through the campground. The campground map we received has the trail in the wrong place, and the map online is even worse, but the trail does exist.
What We Did
Hershey Park
I am not a fan of roller coasters. Pretty much all of them give me motion sickness, but Jesse enjoys them, so we spent a few hours at Hershey Park (before spending the rest of the day doing laundry and getting things ready for driving home the next day).
We rode Candymonium, Scooper Dooper Looper, Great Bear, and Skyrush, all with some motion sickness on my end, but nothing I hadn’t felt before.
Then we rode Fahrenheit. I have never been so close to throwing up on a ride before. My advice to anyone who has a questionable relationship with roller coasters is to skip that one!
Playing Fetch in the Creek
Aiken is officially a water dog! He had a terrific time playing fetch in the creek that runs alongside the campground.
We put on his long leash and tossed a stick into the creek. He went right in! Even when he lost sight of the stick as it floated downstream, he was able to find it again and change course to get it.
List for Next Time
There’s never enough time to see everything. Here’s our list of things we want to see/do the next time we’re in the Boston area.
- Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright’s house
- Pennsylvania National Horse Show
More Photos
Aiken and Corona get along, but they do not snuggle. This is as close as they have ever come to cuddling. Corona is simply trying to burrow under the seat in the truck (as she always does), and Aiken happened to choose that spot to nap. But I still think it’s cute.
We saw a lot of tracks in the mud when we walked a bit of the Swatara Rail Trail.
Happy travels!
