Campgrounds and RV parks near Shippensburg University, PA

Hiking is the dominant draw. The Appalachian Trail passes through Pine Grove Furnace State Park, which is home to the Appalachian Trail Museum and marks the traditional midpoint of the AT. Caledonia State Park adds miles of trails plus a public swimming pool near Chinquapin Hill Campground. Fowlers Hollow and Colonel Denning connect to trails in the surrounding Tuscarora State Forest, which covers roughly 96,000 acres around Colonel Denning alone. Water options include swimming in Fuller and Laurel Lakes at Pine Grove Furnace, stocked-trout streams throughout Michaux and Tuscarora state forests, and Doubling Gap Lake at Colonel Denning. Gettysburg National Military Park sits about 40 minutes south, and Hershey and downtown Harrisburg are each within roughly an hour.

The primary RV camping window runs from spring through late fall. Chinquapin Hill Campground at Caledonia opens the Wednesday before Memorial Day and closes the last Sunday in October. Pine Grove Furnace and Fowlers Hollow both operate from late March to mid-December, aligning with Pennsylvania's trout and deer hunting seasons. Colonel Denning opens on the first day of trout season and closes the day after rifle deer season in December. Summer weekends are the busiest, especially in July and August when families use the Caledonia pool and the Pine Grove Furnace lakes. Early June and September tend to be the sweet spot for RVers: warm days, cooler nights, thinner crowds, and easier reservations. October brings strong fall color across South Mountain. Winter access is limited. Most campgrounds close or reduce services, and travelers should confirm status directly with each park, since some loops close periodically for infrastructure work. Colonel Denning's campground, for example, is unavailable for reservations during fall 2026 due to a bridge rehabilitation project.

State-park sites in this region are wooded and generally level, with a picnic table and fire ring at each site. Hookup mix varies: Chinquapin Hill has non-electric, electric, and 18 full-hookup sites; Pine Grove Furnace offers electric and non-electric sites with a dump station but no individual water hookups; Fowlers Hollow provides 12 electric-and-water sites plus six walk-in tent sites, with flush toilets and a dump station but no showers; Colonel Denning has tent and trailer sites, most with electric, plus warm showers and a dump station. Rig-length limits matter. Fowlers Hollow's electric sites accommodate rigs up to about 50 feet depending on site, while private parks such as Dogwood Acres Campground, Inc. are set up for larger motorhomes and trailers with full hookups. Quiet hours across Pennsylvania state parks run 9 p.m. to 8 a.m., pets are only permitted at designated sites, and cell coverage is spotty across Michaux and Tuscarora state forests.