Campgrounds and RV parks near Dunmore, PA

Lake recreation anchors most trips. Lackawanna Lake is surrounded by picnic areas and multi-use trails winding through forest, and boating, fishing, mountain biking, and swimming are popular activities. Frances Slocum's 165-acre horseshoe-shaped lake draws boaters and anglers, and the park's hiking and mountain biking trails plus large day-use area attract picnickers exploring the forest. In the Poconos, Tobyhanna State Park pairs a lake beach with a roughly five-mile trail circling the water, plus connections toward neighboring Gouldsboro State Park. The park is open year-round for seasonal activities including hiking, biking, picnicking, swimming, boating, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, ice fishing, ice skating, and camping. Downtown Scranton adds rainy-day backups: Steamtown National Historic Site, the Electric City Trolley Museum, and Lackawanna County Courthouse Square are all a short drive from Dunmore.

State-park campgrounds in this corner of Pennsylvania run a short season. The Lackawanna State Park campground opens the second Friday in April and closes October 14, with a maximum camping period of 14 consecutive days in the summer season and 21 consecutive days in the off-season. Tobyhanna State Park's 135-site camping area runs from the second Friday in April to the third Sunday in October, and the Frances Slocum campground follows the same mid-April to mid-October window. Summer weekends fill first, and Memorial Day through Labor Day is the peak booking window. Elevation matters in the Poconos: due to the high elevation of nearly 2,000 feet, campers at Tobyhanna should be prepared for cool nighttime temperatures even during summer. Fall brings peak foliage and thinner crowds through October. Winter closes most campgrounds, though day-use areas remain open for hiking, ice fishing, and cross-country skiing. Note that Tobyhanna Lake is scheduled for a multi-year drawdown for dam maintenance and lakebed dredging; the lake, stream bed, boat launches, and swimming area will be closed to the public during that period while recreation trails and the Modern Camping Area remain open.

Sites at nearby state parks are modern but rustic in feel. Lackawanna features forested sites with electric hookups and walk-in tent sites, shower houses with warm showers and flush toilets, and a sanitary dump station near the campground entrance. At Frances Slocum, each site has a picnic table and fire ring, pets are permitted on designated sites, and flush toilets, showers, drinking water, a sanitary dump station, and a boat launch are available. Expect wooded, tree-shaded loops rather than open RV resorts, and check length limits before booking a larger rig. Site length limits at Tobyhanna vary considerably, so confirm the specific site can fit your equipment when reserving. Buy firewood locally, since bringing firewood into Pennsylvania is prohibited and could result in a citation. Cell service is often spotty inside the parks, so download maps in advance, and expect black bears in the Poconos, which means storing food and trash securely.