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Review of Oak Creek Campground

Narvon, PA 

http://www.abcamping.com/aboakcreek/

May 23-26, August 1-3, Sept. 5-7 and Sept. 19-21, 2014

Pop Pop and Brother in what they thought was Devil's Den

Well, if you haven't guessed from the number of times we have visited (and will visit) Oak Creek this year- we love it there. The activities here are top notch. The location is great (near Shady Maple) and there is an awesome hike that your older kids will love. I can't wait to go back...

Oak Creek is ORGANIZED and things happen on time. This is something I really appreciate. You will receive an emailed copy of the events schedule before your stay (love this). Kudos to the husband and wife team who run the campground. All of the staff is great. When you arrive on Fridays for check-in, you are greeted by several people. One will give you your hang tag, and review a neat packet of information including a map, schedule of events, TV channel guide, wifi codes and information about the hike to Devil's Den. Then a staff member on a golf cart will escort you to your site. That's right. No looking for parking for your rig and running inside to check in. It's wildly quick and efficient. 

The campground has what I will call three "levels." The lower level has camping sites, the store, reception, rec hall, big bathrooms, lake, playground and access to the creek and hiking area. Up a hill to the second level you will find more sites, small bathrooms, another playground and the pool area. Up a steep hill you will find many more sites, large bathrooms and another play ground. In our visits we have preferred to be in the lower two levels so that we are in close walking distance to the rec hall and lake.

Dad being silly at the lake. Playground in the background.

We have camped in our pop-up twice (one more coming up this weekend) and once in one of Oak Creek's rental RV's. My in-laws have also rented and enjoyed the rental RV. Everything in the rental RV was so cool! We would love to buy one of these one day... The unit seemed very new, was clean as a whistle and had all the amenities a glamper would need. A full (mini) kitchen with stovetop, oven, microwave and sink, one queen sized bed, and a bunk area that slept four. A small bathroom with a toilet, sink and small shower makes this a great choice for anyone who says they "don't camp." The RV unit had a picnic table and fire ring. In my opinion, if you have a fire ring you are camping!

 

 Outside the rental RV- we brought the pop-up canopy and strung up lights.

We are looking forward to staying in one of the coveted creekside sites this weekend. These sites are small and would probably be best suited to tent campers and pop-ups and they have the beautiful backdrop of the creek at your doorstep. The past two times we have stayed in sites in the middle level, near the playground. The sites aren't huge but they are wooded, which we prefer. Sites have always been very neat and clean. We prefer to use the larger bathrooms for showers, and on one stay the shower in the small bathroom as out of order. There are several shower stalls with plenty of space in the lower level bathrooms. There is a nice sized counter with electric so you can bring your hair dryer. The rest rooms are ALWAYS clean.  

Oak Creek will provide you with the full back story of Devil's Den when you arrive- read it! Generally it explains that the large boulders at the top of the hike formed caves and nooks where criminals could hide from the law. It was virtually impossible to extract a bad guy from the caves. The hike up the hill takes about 20 minutes. From there you will find the boulders. The first time Dad, Pop Pop and the kids hiked up they found "the wrong Devil's Den." Apparently they found small caves but this was not the actual lair. Go a bit further until you see the marked rocks (see photo). Dad crawled in a bit and took a few turns but admitted to feeling claustrophobic before too long. He snapped a few pictures inside. If you travel up to Devil's Den bring a buddy and a flashlight!

                                      Entrance to the real "Devil's Den is under the rock behind Brother.

                                             Inside "Devil's Den." Follow the arrows...if you dare.

After your hike to the Den take a dip in the pool. Three slides for kids and adults are lots of fun. The pool was clean and busy on the weekends. Some people were smart and brought their own chairs. The low end of the pool is 3 feet and it appeared to go to about 9 feet or so by the slides. If you have a non-swimmer bring a floatie since there is no baby pool. They do have a cool bounce house with small water slide for children under 12. Both our 7 and 3 year old LOVED this. The pool area was very clean and the water was comfortable. They offer water aerobics most Saturday mornings in the summer. I wish I had attended this as I heard great things. I was too busy stuffing my face at Shady Maple. However, I did attend a Zumba class one Sunday morning and it was GREAT! The instructor was a lot of fun and encouraged people of all fitness levels to participate. I highly recommend checking that out if it's offered when you stay. Wear sneakers and bring water.

                                       It's hard to tell from this photo but the pool is nice and big.

I'm a nut for planned activities at a campground if you haven't picked that up yet. As you may have read in my last post about The Rig, my husband's family is highly competitive when it comes to these activities, so if there is something to win, we are winning it. If there are crafts to be made, we will be there. My kids and I have made some great crafts at Oak Creek. Often they offer both a craft and ceramics.The crafts have been free, the ceramics a small charge. Sometimes they have adult craft time as well. They play Bingo Friday nights for cash (two hours, so bring your coffee). They played candy bar bingo one weekend- we thought this was just for kids but it seems the adult seasonals are the only ones who win- they play 6 cards each and make off with all the candy. I think my only suggestion to Oak Creek would be to make this a kids only bingo game. A little sad when no kids won the candy! The activities at Oak Creek are a big draw to us. We've enjoyed bands, dance parties, organized children's games, cooking demonstrations, wagon rides, donuts in the morning, parades, and much much more. They do a great job giving you lots of options for things to do. Or if you want to just kick back and relax at your site- go ahead!

                                         The new Gaga Ball Pit. A nice girl taught us how to play!

                                                    Labor Day Bike and Golf Cart Parade.


Well- have I convinced you to visit Oak Creek? We are looking forward to another themed weekend there coming up. The Big Fish. Oak Creek will put several tagged fish into the lake. If you catch one you could win $100 or $1000 in camping credits. Looks like Dad will be at the lake all day. Oak Creek is nestled in Amish Country. Driving in you will likely pass many beautiful farms and farmstands. Don't be afraid to check out the stands. We have picked up all kinds of great produce at good prices. Black Creek greenhouse is also nearby and nice for a visit. And did I mention Shady Maple? Oh, right. Enough said.

We look forward to many more trips to Oak Creek Campground. We highly recommend this great place to all campers.

                                                                   The Game Room.

                                                                Playground on the middle level.

Our Rig

 Our little red pop-up hitched up for the first time.

Growing up our camping experiences were limited to boy scout and girl scout trips. I spent a week each summer in middle school at a religious sleep away camp (which was more about looking for cute boys than it was about religion or camping). For a long time I was a little fancy about vacationing and never left home without my hair straightener. We went "down the shore" for most vacations but as an adult I began to lose interest in the shore- the crowds and traffic are not for me.

About ten years back my husbands family started renting a fully equipped home on a local campground one weekend in October each year. This "camping" weekend is always highly anticipated. It became a fun to time make memories with the family. Who can resist pumpkin carving contests, pie eating contests, site decorating contests, and costume contests. Oh. I forgot to mention- the family has a competitive streak. We love to win- anything. My husband and I wanted more. Once we had the kids and saw what campgrounds had to offer we knew this would be a great option for vacationing.

                                          Our first annual pie iron creation contest at the rental.

My husband and I started to ease into things. We rented cabins at several local campgrounds. We spent time walking the grounds and admiring all of the great set ups and camping options. We trolled the internet for other campgrounds with cabins and fun activities for the kids. We started thinking about really doing this "for real." 

A pop-up seemed like a good entry level camper for us. We rented a pop up in the spring to test it out and had a great time.We have a small SUV- a 2007 Honda CRV. We visited the camping show in Oaks, PA. We looked online. We trekked to a few showrooms. We had a big let down. Our CRV really couldn't tow the campers we were looking for. Once you added the weight of the humans and all of our gear it just wasn't going to happen.We were crushed!

Not wanting to give up the dream we considered purchasing a new car- but that idea was a bummer and didn't make much sense for us financially. The CRV is a fine car with no payments. We continued exploring for other options. We found it! A very light weight pop-up. The Livin Lite Quicksilver 10.0 www.livinlite.com. The Livin Lite was an incredible 1020 pounds. You could pull it with a Honda Civic. All aluminum, no wood that would rot or get stinky. This was it. The problem was FINDING one.

We located 3 QS 10's at a Camping World store in Hershey and took a trip out there to check them out. We figured if it was no good we could at least have some fun visiting Chocolate World. We climbed inside and it was a great little camper. We could see ourselves using it often. It was simple and well built. We hoped to drive away with it that day but Camping World (although they claimed they needed to sell it fast) was not willing to budge much on the price. My husband really does his homework and knew that they were selling for less elsewhere (when you factor in the fees, taxes, etc.).

Over the next few days we did more research and made some calls. While visiting Kutztown University (class of '99 and '01) we got the call we were waiting for. We sealed the deal while standing in front of the Golden Bear statue. It was meant to be. Our Rig was waiting for us to pick it up at Camping World in Berkeley, Massachusetts. A seven hour drive from home, but the price was right. We'd save enough money to make it worth the trip- a real adventure.

We took our son with us to Massachusetts the next weekend. From our part of PA we traveled up through New York and stopped in Mystic, Connecticut for some pizza. Yes, Mystic Pizza! What a great little town. We can't wait to get back there when we have more time to explore. We got to Camping World, hitched up our new baby and were off! We arranged to stay at a campground on the state line about an hour from Camping World to be sure there were no issues with our new camper. That hour drive was nerve-wracking since my husband had never towed anything much less with a CRV. We made it! We easily set up and enjoyed the new Rig that night. Driving home was looooong and painful.

                                               Set up for the first time in Rhode Island.

Rear of the camper.

I had some concerns about where we would park the QS 10 once we had it home. But my husband and his father were able to back it up our STEEP driveway and into a paved nook on the side. For the winter we will store it in the garage. It's not terribly noticeable in the driveway with the bushes and trees. Hopefully our neighbors don't mind so much.

 The camper in the driveway nook.

So far the QS 10 has been everything we hoped for. It is very easy to set up and breakdown. The space works for our family. Eventually the kids won't want to share a bed, but the dinette area turns into a bed when needed. It tows easily, the CRV does not appear to be straining in any way. We don't see a difference in miles per gallon of gas. There was a learning curve, especially for backing up with the Rig attached. My husband seems to have it all down now. Each time we take it out we come home with ideas for how to improve the experience. The Livin Lite campers are supposed to last a very long time and be very low maintenance. We would highly recommend this camper to anyone with a smaller/ fuel efficient vehicle. We can't wait to keep on exploring!

  

Christmas in July at Sun Valley Campground.

Set up at Lake In Wood Campground.

Review of Warwick Woods Campground, Elverson PA

Review of Warwick Woods Campground

Elverson, PA

Labor Day Weekend 2014

http://www.warwickwoods.com/ 

I was scheduled to work the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. We decided not to let this spoil our fun and looked for a campground that wasn't too far away from my job. I was a little nervous about getting ready for work in the pop-up but I really want to make the most of the weekend. We chose to camp at Warwick Woods off of Route 23 in Elverson. It ended up working out perfectly.

We called only about a week in advance and the woman on the phone was great. She asked Dad what kind of site he might like, how old our kids were, what we were camping in, etc. She gave several personal recommendations for sites that might work based on our needs. This was a really nice touch.She told us she'd put us on the site with the best fire pit in the campground. Sold! When we arrived we were promptly greeted by very nice staff. A man (the owner I'm guessing) offered to drive Dad up to check out the site and another site that might also work. Again, a really nice touch that we appreciated. We went with the "best fire pit site." I'm reluctant to give out the goods, but ok- site 12. Take good care of that fire pit if you stay there. Site 12 was also the perfect distance to the bathrooms and playground. We loved that our 7 year old could cut though a short path in the woods to play with the kids and we could keep an eye on him.

The weekend was busy- I don't recall seeing any open sites except for a few in the tenting area. That said, there seemed to be more tents and pop ups than we ordinarily see. I liked that! The sites were wooded and fairly spacious. Even with the park being pretty full there wasn't too much noise in the evenings. No golf carts are permitted. That was sort of nice not to have them zipping by the site all day. The people we met were great and there were plenty of young kids around.
 
The only downside to the campground being full was that the bathrooms were busy. Often I feel like we are the only ones using the public restrooms and showers when we camp. I suppose that's because we often camp with the big rigs who have their own facilities. The bathrooms were billed as clean and modern- I'd say not so modern. The showers could use a makeover. However, they did work fine and I often ran into a woman wiping them down. It was a tough weekend to keep things clean since there was a huge rain storm. They seemed to run out of soap and filled the dispensers with hand sanitizer. That said- it's camping and I'm not fancy. The bathrooms weren't a deal breaker and I was glad they were close to my site.

We took the suggested hike out to St. Peter's Village on Sunday morning after breakfast. It took about 45- 50 minutes with our kids. Dad pushed Sister in the jogging stroller however I would not recommend that. It got very rocky for long stretches of the walk. Once we hit the Village we had a great time exploring the boulders. My photos won't do this area justice. I'd recommend it for older kids and adults but our young ones still thought it was AWESOME. Kids were climbing all over, splashing in the water and using a rope swing to drop in the water. Some kids even slid down a big rock shaped like a slide. I did see one kid look hurt after trying that so we had our little guy just scoot down and drop in.

 

Before you get soaking wet I'd recommend stopping in the St. Peter's Bakery. Holy yum. Right after the hike we went in to get drinks but of course ended up sitting and having AMAZING goodies on the deck that overlooks the rocks and creek. What a great spot. We had pizza on the Bakery deck the night before and it was very good. For pizza nights check the website and make a reservation a day in advance- you'll need it. They are a small operation. Order more than one pizza- they really only feed two people. The view from any table outside can't be beat. Oh and it's BYOB!!! Yea! http://www.saintpetersbakery.com/

In St. Peter's you will also find a few shops- most were closed when we went through town but an arcade looked fun. Dad peeked into the winery and it looked like a nice place to stop in and sample but with the kids we felt like we needed to skip it---next time! The town is small and quaint. There's a large Inn with a restaurant that appeared to be a bit more upscale. They also had a deck overlooking the rocks. The town has great potential. More info on St. Peter's

While I worked on Saturday Dad took the kids to the Ludwig's Horse Show, about a 15 minute drive from the camp ground. They had a ball. This event is held every Labor Day weekend and Saturday happened to be free admission day. http://ludwigshorseshow.com/

Over the weekend we attended several camp run activities. They were all great. The kids did ceramics which was well organized and reasonably priced. We played Bingo twice- again well organized and lots of fun! In between rounds they had drawings for little gift bags which Brother loved. They had a magic show Saturday night which was very, very good. The pool looked great but due to the rain we never got to take a dip. We played a bunch of games in the arcade for tickets (Brother cashed them in for the usual exciting prizes- spider ring, bubbles, etc.). The fishing pond looked nice but we never did have time to fish.

Warwick Woods has a small camp store with the basics. They serve up GREAT ice cream. We just had servings in bowls but I saw someone walk out with the most amazing looking sundae. They also do milkshakes and floats! Serving sizes were generous.

I can't say enough how kind and helpful all of the staff were at the campground. They were very friendly to us and our children. This goes a long way with me. We would not hesitate to stay at Warwick Woods again. It was a really nice campground.

And- dog friendly! (we don't have a pooch but if you do, you're good to go!)

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Review of Lake In Wood Campground, Narvon PA

August 15-18th, 2014

Lake In Wood Campground 

The website for Lake In Wood Campground is alluring...and it did not disappoint! For anyone brand new to the camping experience this would be a great place to start. The prices are slightly higher than other local campgrounds, however it's easy to see why.

Lake In Wood is beautiful- the nicest maintained campground we've seen to date. The flowers, the grounds, the pool- everything sparkled. Lake In Wood considers itself to be a resort campground and we'd agree. They have a gnome theme- gnomes everywhere!

                                                (Sister by the mini golf area- not a gnome)

There are many ways to camp- cabin rentals, unique rentals (tipi, caboose, double decker bus, shipwreck), to sites for rigs and tent campers. The unique rentals look really fun but do require longer stays. We heard from another camper that the beds in the shipwreck weren't really comfortable. There are many seasonal campers (people who park their trailer and stay all season- April to Oct. or Nov.). You can tell the seasonals take pride in their campground.

We booked a two night stay but when we arrived and saw how nice it was we added a third night. We camped in our pop up on site 153. We chose this site because it was near the bathrooms- however it was also very near to the cabin next door. Not a huge deal but I would have been happier with the site directly across from ours instead. The sites are very wooded in this area which we prefer. Depending on your site choice you should be prepared to do a lot of walking if you don't rent a golf cart. We didn't mind the walking and Sister rides in the jogging stroller most places. 

The playgrounds (there are two) are great! They appear to be very new. The playground closer to the pool is much larger and would be great for older kids as well as younger kids. The only thing missing is a comfortable bench for the parents (the old bench was pretty bad). There were several kids activities the weekend we stayed. We played bingo one evening (tip- get there early for a good seat) and did ceramics on the porch one morning (fun and reasonably priced.) You can play mini golf for a small fee, rent a boat or kayak for $6 for an hour and fish to your hearts content. The lake is nice- lots of fish and plenty of space to spread out. Fishing is catch and release. We rented one petal cart and took turns- good idea- those things are really tough to petal!!

We have had a very cool summer so I wasn't surprised that the pool water was freezing! Dad and Brother did have plenty of fun in the pool but sister wasn't up to the cool temps. The kids pools are just awesome- the baby pool had sprinklers and little things to climb on. There is a 3 foot pool with frog water fountains- cool! The larger pool has a small diving platform which Brother loved. There is a covered pool area as well which was partially shaded with a hot tub. We didn't try the hot tub but others were enjoying it.

Next to the pool is the Gnome Cafe. Restaurants on campgrounds were new to us to of course we had to check it out. The hours are a bit spotty on weekdays and out of season, so check before you go. We enjoyed every time we ate there- three times I believe. We had the hot dogs, chicken fingers, mozz sticks (YUM!) and other food of this type. Prices were reasonable and portion sizes were good. We chatted with one of the women working in the cafe- she was great. The decor was Gnome themed and fun.

The arcade at Lake In Wood is small but well maintained. We didn't spend much time here since the weather was so nice outside. The camp store was cute and adequate, selling great ice cream. We got some each night and walked to a little gazebo that overlooked the hill and lake- great view.

The bathrooms at Lake In Wood have been the nicest we've had on any camping trip. They were clean and spacious, especially the showers. And- there was music playing in the bathroom!! Dad and I got a kick out of that. 

We attended a nice nondenominational church service on Sunday. They also offered a children's church program but we didn't send our kids. Church was well attended and coffee was served after the service.

Lake In Wood is located near the Shady Maple complex so of course we had to head over for breakfast at the smorgasbord on Saturday morning. This would be the closest shopping area- about a 15 minute ride through the beautiful Amish countryside. 

 

We enjoyed our stay at Lake In Wood very much and will happily return!

 

 

8 Reasons to Camp With Your Kids

1.      The cost- it’s pretty cheap as far as vacations are concerned.  Our rig cost less than most families  spend on one trip to Disney. And we own it forever. You can rent fully equipped cabins for the cost of a hotel room and the price usually includes all of the campground activities. It’s about as “uncommercial” as you can get. There’s no need to drop a lot of bucks on crap you don’t need from gift shops. You may want spending cash for ice cream at the camp store, or money to play bingo on Friday night, quarters for the arcade or $6 to rent a boat. That’s about it.

2.      You can find campgrounds anywhere. If there’s a place you’d like to visit you can bet there’s a place to set up camp. If you prefer to just hang out and enjoy the campground you can do that too. They all have pools, games, activities for kids, bingo, fishing, etc. There’s no time to be bored. Unless you want to be bored. Feel free sit in your camp chair around the fire all you like.

3.      You can drink a beer in a koozie at any time of day and no one will bat an eye.

4.       You can be spontaneous and your trips can be as long or short as you like. If you find yourself bored in the middle of week long vacations, camping gives you the opportunity to explore new places whenever you like. If the weather is looking good you can always book a place last minute. There is a ton of flexibility.

5.       There is no need to get fancy. You will meet ALL KINDS of people on campgrounds but no one will be fancy. You’ll all look a little grubby, be wearing old clothes, and sleeping in close quarters. When you get home you will find that your moderately sized home is much larger than you’ll ever really need.

6.       Opportunities for adventure and autonomy for the kids. Kids can take part in setting up, breaking down, cooking, building fires, hikes, games, etc.  They will be active, busy and unplugged. They will make new friends every trip.

7.       It’s also a hobby! Want to know what to get campers for Christmas? Camping stuff. Once you get the camping bug you will nerdily pour through the camping store catalogs and start Pinteresting camping organization ideas. You will take pride in your rig and your “set up.” People will compliment your ingenious paper towel holder idea.

8.       Family time. This is the most important and really the main reason we do this. Our kids will only be little once. They may not always love spending time with us in the future, but right now they do. My husband has a stressful job and uses this time to wind down. My favorite part of every day is the evenings around the campfire. Talking and laughing with the family, having some wine and smores, putting the kids to bed and having MORE wine and smores. It is so simple yet so much fun.