| |
 |
|
Write a review >> |
Show:
|
 
|
Great campground, but it is noisy - from TripAdvisor.com
|
As far as campground amenities go, Highmeadow is excellent. The restrooms were clean and not crowded, although I showered at off-peak hours. Some showers have just curtains, some have lockable doors.
The pool seems clean and was not crowded, although I only spent 15 minutes of our entire trip, holding a baby next to it.
I didn't visit the camp store this year, but I do remember lots of camp stuff marked way up previous years. There's a Walmart 5 minutes down the road for essentials, but the camp store has a few more camping-specific things and souvenirs.
This was our 3rd year camping there, 2nd year with a popup trailer, 1st year with two other families. The first year we had a tent, and were far from the train tracks, so didn't really notice the train terribly. The tent-only section is not as close as the non-pull-through water/electric sections.
2 years ago we arrived at 10:30pm due to bad weather and NYC traffic, and the adjacent campers had spread into our site, then gone to bed. Security was very helpful in working out a solution in the pouring rain, but we were crammed in almost on top of the squatters and did have to move the next morning. Inconvenience caused by other campers rather than the campground, though.
This year we ended up being 100' from the tracks, and it was LOUD... We were used to it the first day, but we had forgotten how loud and often trains actually were. We didn't sleep well the first night, and our friends with us used Tylenol PM to sleep. I fell asleep in front of the fire after everyone else went to bed another night, and was woken up an hour later by a train, so I was glad for the noise that moment. Overall, I think the train's not a big deal unless you just can't get used to it, but worth asking for a site far from it.
There is a nearby creek that's about 60' wide, 1' deep. My 8 year old son and his two friends, and even my 9 year old daughter, all had a blast hunting Crayfish and frogs.
There are 2 very nice playgrounds that I know of, 1 looks brand new.
My family will go to Highmeadow the next time we visit Hershey Park, and likely bring friends to camp there with us again.
We would probably not camp there if not visiting Hershey Park, solely because of the train noise; all other aspects of the campground were above average in my campground experience.
|
Posted by Rratch on 8/5/2008
|
 |
|
|
|
Family and Friends - from TripAdvisor.com
|
I didn't camp or RV here, I stayed at a hotel close by. I came here two days in a row for a family reunion. We rented the pavilion out.
Basketball/Volleyball: Both are in good condition. Basketball court has good hoops and ok cement.
Playground: The swings are nice for little kids, so is the small playground.
Pool: There is 3 pools. 1. a big pool that goes from 3 feet to 6 feet. 2. a kiddie pool, 2 feet, pretty much a wadding a read. 3. A smaller pool that goes from 3 - 5, usually this pool isn't open unless there are many people. There are many lawn chairs for tanning, picnic tables with umbrellas. The pools are good overall.
Arcade:Good place for kids. Very cold, nice and comforting on those hot summer days. The games use to be strictly fun arcade games (shooting, fighting, driving, skiing, fishing, etc) now the games have gotten much worse. The company probably tried to focused more on tickets and prizes to make more money, but nothing beats good ol' fashion arcade games.
Air hockey!
Hershey Park: Hershey park is very close to the campground. There is a free shuttle bus that comes frequently. The cost is free, the bus takes you over to chocolate world/amusement park.
The shuttle is nice if you don't want to drive to Hershey and pay for parking. Overall, the shuttle is convenient.
Gift shop: the gift shop is filled with various camping equipment to help you if you forgot anything. Lots of wood for fires. They have many snacks, drinks, ice creams, frozen food, pre-made subs, and camping essentials to make smore's. They have lots of Hershey gifts, like shirts, hoodies, chocolate, candles etc. They have a few toys for kids, old replica cowboy guns, water guns, floaties, glowsticks, and souvenirs.
Restrooms: Are all public, includes, toilets, showers. The cleanliness could be a lot better. You can't expect that much from a campsite. The showers are clean, but the toilets are a bit dirty. the only con is, if your camping you have to use the public facilities. you have to walk all the way to the bathroom if you have to go at night.
|
Posted by Sje245 on 8/2/2008
|
|
|
|
|
Trains, trains and more trains. - from TripAdvisor.com
|
Pros: the campground is clean, close to the park and shopping nearby. Staff is very friendly and the buses are great.
cons: Should rename this the Hershey Railroad campground. We stayed in a cabin across the bridge from the swimming pool which is about in the middle of the campground. There are sites right along railroad. I can't imagine how these people stay there. I would have lost my mind. You can hear the train coming miles away because of the horn. Every 45 minutes a train goes by. Not a small train but very long trains pulled by three engines and many times two trains at a time. They do reduce in numbers between 2 and 5 am. At 5 am they run several in a row and continue through the day! The cabins do shield the sounds with the air conditioner running. Tents do nothing to stop the sounds. I would recommend another campground if there is one nearby or a hotel.
|
Posted by Pugdallas_Pa_ on 7/21/2008
|
|
|
|
|
Freight Trains! - from TripAdvisor.com
|
|
Having just returned from a family vacation July 2-5 I felt compelled to write and give the good, the bad and the loud! We were a family of four (2 kids ages 5 & 10) traveling in an RV. The good: the staff were pleasant, the campground was clean, trash was picked up at your site morning and night and security patrolled regularly, My parents had driven up and were staying in a nearby hotel. The staff were kind enough to give them a pass for their car so that they could come and go as they pleased while visiting our camp site. There are three pools...2 standard sized and one for the little ones. All were clean and fun and never over crowded. There are plenty of chairs but a few more umbrellas are needed for shade. The shuttle to and from Hershey Park runs regularly (approximately every 30 mins). The laundry room (located across from the pools) is adequate. 4 washing machines and 6 dryers. There is another laundry area but I didn't use it. The bad: Well, not really bad just a little inconvenient. The camp store is really more of a gift shop. It doesn't really carry basic supplies like milk, eggs, bread. So, if you are in an RV (Class C or A) and you do not have access to a car you have to breakdown camp if you need to go to the grocery store. My parents had their car so it wasn't a problem for us when we needed to restock our milk supply. The campsites are very close together...you can hear everything your neighbors are saying and doing! The loud: There is an active freight train that runs along the back of the property. When I say active, I mean these trains run approximately every 20-30 mins with an average of 100 cars! The trains thunder through and your teeth rattle! It was the number 1 complaint that I heard during my stay from other campers. The first night we got absolutely no sleep but by the third night while we still heard them we were able to sleep...probably due to sleep deprivation! Our first night home my husband and I joked that we wouldn't be able to sleep without a freight train running through our heads! As I had everything I needed in my RV I never used the bathrooms or showers so I cannot comment on whether or not they were clean but I did not hear anyone complain. The campground amenities were just average although clean but we had a wonderful time just the same. As long as you are aware of the trains and pack a good sense of humor it is worth it to stay here!
|
Posted by Robbientorrinsmom on 7/8/2008
|
|
|
|
|
Horrible experience - we left early - from TripAdvisor.com
|
This campground is built within feet of a freight train that runs all day and night, back and forth, non-stop. You can't imagine how loud it really is until you experience it yourself. And it's a very long train, so it takes a long time to go by. There is no way to sleep through it, so we were up all night. We left after one night, because between the train and the people across from us who went in and out of their car all night, setting and resetting their noisy car alarm every time, we couldn't stand another night.
I've done a lot of camping, and I would never recommend this campground to anyone. The bus to Hershey Park is nice, but not enough to bring me back. Plus the campground is huge and crowded (it was a holiday weekend, but the sites are too close together for my taste).
Bathrooms were adequate. If you just want convenience to the park and don't care about a peaceful, relaxing camping experience, this campground is fine. But if you want sleep, stay away.
|
Posted by Newjgal on 7/6/2008
|
|
|
|
|
Average - from TripAdvisor.com
|
|
Nothing to write home about. The bathrooms are full service with showers and are clean. No way of locking the showers for privacy though. It is not far from the Hershey Park or the Hershey Museum. Was hard to find management to pay and there was hardly any light in the camping area. I believe this is the only campground in the city!
|
Posted by Southernchelz on 8/12/2007
|
|
|
|
|
Stay Away! Horrible experience! - from TripAdvisor.com
|
This is by far the noisiest, loudest campground I have ever been to in my life! My family tented in site 114, which I chose because it was far away from the train tracks...well, it was right on the road and I had loud, inconsiderate people walking within inches of my head all night long. The section is called Shady Rest, which is a joke because we were in full sun from sunup to about 5 p.m.
They are not kidding about the trains. At least 2 an hour all night long. We did not sleep for 3 nights and we left a day early because we were so tired we couldn't function. If you are going in an RV with AC running, it might block out some noise. The sites are right on top of each other as well. We had crying babies and yelling parents to deal with. Oh yeah, and don't forget the constant flying of helicopters over the sites too. There is a hospital nearby. Between them and the trains, I was ready to blow my brains out. What a nightmare. Do yourself a favor and don't camp here.
|
Posted by Rita22 on 8/4/2007
|
|
|
|
|
Could have been a little better - from TripAdvisor.com
|
|
We stayed at Hershey Highmeadow Campground in June for two nights. Our family rented 3 campsites in the Shady Rest part of the campground. It was anything but shady. The trees, which may have provided shade at one time, were cut back. In the morning the sun glared on us and heated us up pretty good by 8am. If we had realized that we would be in the open sun in the front of the campground, we would have requested to be by the creek. Now we know for future reference. However, I am not too sure if we'd camp the next time we go to Hershey. One good thing is they let us check in before the required 3pm and we were able to get an early start on our vacation. The staff wasn't overly friendly in the morning when I went in to ask about checking out. I almost felt like I was unwelcome. I can't say this goes for all the staff, because the manager of the campground, Mark, was really nice and so were some other employees. All the kids liked swimming in the pool, and the nearby creek. The train is very close by and runs at all hours of the night. I also think there is a hospital nearby, because we kept hearing helicopters and sirens. All in all, we had fun, but it might have been more comfy and just as affordable to stay at a chain motel.
|
Posted by Jannica on 7/26/2007
|
|
|
|
|
It was ok but not great. - from TripAdvisor.com
|
|
We arrived July 4 and left July 7th. We were located at site 121. I chose that area because it was the farthest from the tracks, so i thought it would help with noise. Well you knew a train was going by, but we were never fazed by it, so I was happy about that. My husband thought it was a little too sloped but we managed to level our pop up just fine. I liked this loop because it didn't feel crowded and i think all the sites were occupied. Now the bathroom i felt was disgusting. A lot might had to do with a lot of people, since it was a holiday. But the showers felt very dirty to me. I only showered once because I felt cleaner not being in the showers. For those who are "shy" the shower door is a frosted door. You don't shower in front of the door, you shower off to the side, and though you don't have to be in front of the door to get dressed some people might feel as though you can be "seen" from the outside. I did see one girl have a friend hold a towel in front of the door. I didn't feel uncomfortable. I did go in the bathrooms near the pool and those were much larger, and looked much cleaner, so if you don't mind walking or driving a short distance I would use those. We took a drive to the upper section and boy oh boy was it crowded! Yes, it was a holiday, but it looked, sounded and felt Very full and too busy. We don't like to be on top of each other when were camping, so that would not be where we would want to be. Lots of kids running around. Really isn't a place to ride your bike, very hilly. When we arrived it was not raining and there was this little "creek" that was dry. But later it down poured for about 20 minutes or so and when we saw the creek it was over flowing and anyone who had a tent near this "creek" had a flooded tent. My husband says this was a run-off ditch. It's a cute camping spot next to it, but everything got wet for those campers. We didn't utilize the pools but they looked really nice, very clean and very large. Now if your looking for convenience and saving 8 bucks for parking at Hershey Park, then this place is nice to camp at. There is a bus that picks you up and takes you to and from the campground to Hershey Park. I was constantly seeing a bus either picking up or dropping off, so I don't think there would be much of a wait to get to where you are going. It does save in driving the few minutes it takes to get to the park, and saves some money. This would be the only reason why I would stay at this campground again. I wasn't thrilled with it, but it did us fine, since we didn't really spend much time at the campground. I will try other campgrounds near the park before I returned to this one.
|
Posted by Mgmidgetkarl on 7/12/2007
|
|
|
|
|
Not a camper, but better than expected - from TripAdvisor.com
|
|
I attended the Girl Scout camporee June 1-3 at Hershey. Over 1000 girl's were in attendance that weekend. I preface my review by stating that I have never camped in my life before this weekend, but I found overall the experience to be good. We were assigned to Crestview area, due to the number of tents we had, and for the most part was a good site. We were allowed to park right at our site. We did not have our own fire pit, but were near the general campground one. Restrooms nearby, porta-potties(if needed) located every few hundred feet. On June 1, around 4:30pm a tremendous thunderstorm struck, causing flooding and blackouts to the surrounding area and campground. Some tents were underwater . We were lucky as we were high on a hill, but it seemed strange that people were allowed to set up camp in what seemed to be a drainage area that turned into a small river when it rained. Power was out to some of the restrooms, but was restored by the next AM. Restrooms fairly clean, lines to use facilities and especially showers but again, there were over 1000 girl scouts + parents there so I think it just was a very unusually crowded weekend. Pool looked wonderful, but didn't get a chance to use. Playground nice, cute game room. Now, if you are looking for a real rustic place, this isn't it. Highway traffic, sirens heard all night. There was a refrigerated semi truck parked near the breakfast area, and you could hear the motor whine all night. The train-that really didn't bother us too much, it did roll by every 15-20 minutes, does blow its horn, but for some reason the road/highway noise was more disturbing. On Saturday night, a helicopter flew overhead very, very low with its spotlight on. We don't know why, but I read in previous posts that this is not an isolated incident. Overall, a good experience, clean place. Also, they actually pick up your garbage on a daily basis, very nice!
|
Posted by Sinytraveler on 6/8/2007
|
|
|
|
|
Favorite Camping Memories - from TripAdvisor.com
|
|
Our family looks forward to coming to Hershey Highmeadow Campground every year. Since we have limited vacationing time, Hershey fulfills all our needs. From the campground log cabins ... which my children love ... to Hershey Park. You get the Zoo, Sea World Show, Coasters all rides and a whole water park. Amazing ... The shuttle is amazing ... what a great idea. We only drove to our planned trip to Indian Echo Cavern. If you are going to camp please consider Hershey High Meadow. However ... book your trip way in advance ... they book very fast ... See You Soon Hershey ... we miss our free tickets to Hershey Gardens. Can you bring them back?
|
Posted by Lib34 on 5/18/2007
|
|
|
|
|
Loved this Campground! - from TripAdvisor.com
|
|
This place is well kept and beautiful! I especially loved that they come up to pick up your trash during the day! Lots of other places don't do that and you end up taking your trash with you - yuk! We stayed right by the stream, which was very pretty. There's lots of weeping willows which beautifies the area. The pool is nice and clean, the bathrooms are close to everything. It's convenient that the shuttle comes by every 1/2 hour or so to go to Hershey Park, we loved that! The only thing we didn't like was that you can hear the train go by every so often, and it would it would disturb my sleep when I wasn't wearing ear plugs.
|
Posted by Daffund on 9/13/2006
|
|
|
|
|
Warning... Stay Away from this Campground - from TripAdvisor.com
|
Warning... this place is a nightmare! My family has been camping for over 10 years. We started tent camping and are currently using a pop up camper. This is by far the worst campground we have ever stayed in. The trains run all night long and are literally 20 feet from some campsites. We were up ever hour on the hour expecting the train to come right through the camper.
Then there is the Sweet Start Hoax... that's right... because you are staying at a "Hershey Luxury Resort", you get a sweet start pass for your family to enter the park an hour before it is opened to the public. Woo Hoo... we'll hop on all the coasters that will have ridiculous lines later in the day... Not...90% of the park isn't even open until the gates open to the public... The only roller coaster open for the early hour is the Comet (which is probably the oldest one in the park)... word to the wise... sleep in and don't bother going the hour early. The other thing with the sweet start deal is that if you buy your tickets at the campground (discounted).. when you get to the park, they have one line open and you have to wait behind everyone who still needs to buy tickets.
Now lets talk about the campground again... the baths and showers were not well maintained, there were cigarette butts all over our site and trash left in the firepit. One of the two pools was roped off and closed and the hours posted on the website for the store and pool were not accurate. They both closed earlier than posted. The camp store was more focused on selling Hershey souvenirs than providing camping essentials.
Needless to say... we felt completely taken advantage of and mislead. We didn't sleep for the three nights we were there. We will never, ever, evergo back. We have been regulars at Hershey Park for years but are truly disappointed that Hershey would provide lodging at such a place.
Maybe it's time to switch to Dorney...
|
Posted by Colleenumbach on 8/30/2006
|
|
|
|
|