Campgrounds and RV parks near York, PA

Water and trail activity concentrates at Gifford Pinchot State Park, where 340-acre Pinchot Lake supports boating, swimming at a designated beach, and fishing. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has designated it a Big Bass Lake. The park also has over 18 miles of hiking trails marked with yellow and blue blazes, with the blue blazes forming part of the Mason-Dixon Trail, plus disc golf, biking on multipurpose trails, and horseback-riding opportunities. In York itself, visitors can tour the Harley-Davidson vehicle operations plant, the York County History Center, and Central Market. Rail-trail riders can pick up the Heritage Rail Trail County Park, and the Susquehanna River corridor offers public boat launches and riverside hiking. Hersheypark, ZooAmerica, and Gettysburg National Military Park all sit within a day-trip radius.

The Gifford Pinchot State Park campground opens in mid-April and closes in late October, which frames the main RV season for the York area. Private campgrounds like Elizabethtown / Hershey KOA Holiday operate on a longer season built around Hersheypark's schedule, with the busiest window running from Memorial Day through Labor Day and again on fall foliage weekends. Spring brings trout stocking, wildflowers, and cool nights that can still drop near freezing in April. Summer is warm and humid with regular afternoon thunderstorms; July and August are peak family-travel months and Hershey-area sites book up weeks in advance. Weekends around July 4th, Memorial Day, and Labor Day sell out earliest. Fall delivers the region's most comfortable RV weather: crisp mornings, lower humidity, and strong foliage color through mid to late October. Winter is cold with periodic snow, and most private parks scale back to limited hookups or close. Hunting is permitted in designated areas of Gifford Pinchot from late autumn through winter, so hikers should wear fluorescent colors.

At Gifford Pinchot State Park, the 289-site campground sits at the southern end of Pinchot Lake and is one of the largest state park campgrounds in the commonwealth. All sites have macadam pads that can fit anything from a large motorhome to a small tent, many sites have electric hookups, and a smaller number offer full hookups. Amenities include bathhouse restrooms with showers, communal water hydrants, a dump station available for an additional fee, a playground, and a designated boat launch and swim area for overnight guests. A phased shower-house renovation is planned at Gifford Pinchot, and portions of the campground may be closed while other loops stay open; affected sites are blocked on the reservation system. Private parks in the area typically offer full hookups, Wi-Fi, pools, and family programming. Pennsylvania restricts moving firewood across long distances due to spotted lanternfly and emerald ash borer quarantines, so buy or gather firewood locally and burn it before leaving.