One RV couple found a Pennsylvania campground that makes a great home base from which to explore a plethora of fun and interesting sites.
By Cindy Anderson, F487516
September 2022
My husband, Nils, and I have been making RV trips from our new home in Hernando, Florida, to the Hudson Valley area in New York where we are originally from. In the last six years, we’ve stayed at multiple campgrounds, and I must admit that one of our favorites is Jonestown/Hershey NE KOA Journey in Pennsylvania. We usually schedule this as our last stop heading north, because we then have a short drive to Round Pond Recreation Area military campground in West Point, New York.
Guests at the Jonesboro/Hershey NE KOA Journey campground can stay busy without leaving the facility. Amenities include a playground.
Our first-ever stop at the Jonestown/Hershey KOA was in June 2016, when we had a 25-foot Type C Winnebago motorhome. We stayed at one of the designated “patio creek side” spots. We were parallel to Swatara Creek, which is accessible from the campground via stairs. Since that time, we’ve gone bigger with the RV and are no longer able to use these sites. But with more than 80 sites, the campground has many others to offer. The RV sites are spacious and level, and all have patios.
When you arrive, you are greeted with curbside check-in and then escorted to your site. We even did “express check-in” by email prior to arriving.
After getting settled, we usually head to the general store. It’s large, with a variety of items, including a menu of sandwiches, burgers, and salads. We then take a walk out to the spacious front porch to the ice cream shop — this is open from mid-March to Labor Day. Be sure to get there early, as it seems to be a local favorite.
A shuttle takes Jonestown/Hershey NE JOA Journey guests to the Hersheypark family theme park if tickets are purchased at the campground.
You can keep busy without even leaving the campground. The campground hosts car shows and has a mini golf course with tournaments. There are kayak and tube rentals, and even a hiking trail that leads to the Appalachian Trail. Our last stay at this KOA included a day trip to Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The amusement park provides a free shuttle if you purchase your tickets through the campground. It was about a 20- or 30-minute ride, and then there were two times to be picked up for the return trip.
Prior to that visit, we had not been to Hersheypark for about 30 years, and we were amazed at the new parts. WOW — it was beautiful! We visited Hershey’s Chocolate World right next door, took the simulated factory tour, and then went into the park to ride some of the “calmer” rides. There were multiple roller coasters and tower rides that we enjoyed watching with our feet on the ground! Shopping was plentiful, as were the food concessions. We did not go into the Boardwalk water park or the ZooAmerica section, but those parts are included with a ticket purchase. We ate at The Chocolatier, and our appetizer was served on a dish shaped like a Ferris wheel. The specialty drinks and milkshakes were presented with flare and tasted delicious.
Nearby is Fort Indiantown Gap, site of a National Guard training center and the Pennsylvania National Guard Military Museum. The town was officially established in 1931 and has since become the largest employer in Lebanon County. This town has a small shopping center that includes a military exchange service store with a gas station. The primary purpose of Fort Indiantown Gap is to train both active and reserve components of all military branches. The road is lined with a variety of tanks, helicopters, and planes used through the years, with placards explaining what they are.
Gettysburg National Military Park is about 75 to 90 minutes away from the Jonesboro/Hershey NE KOA Journey campground.
We missed visiting the museum (building T-8-57), but it is open to the public and has a gift shop — there is no entry fee, either. The museum collection contains items from the Civil War through the Gulf War. This is now on our “to-do list” for one of our next visits.
Also nearby is Pennsylvania’s Gratitude Train (also called the Merci Train). It’s prominently displayed with a plaque telling the history. The boxcar is one of the 49 given to each U.S. state and the District of Columbia in 1949 by the people of France. These boxcars symbolize French citizens’ gratitude for the boxcars of relief goods sent to France by Americans following World War II. This was a learning experience for me since I had never heard of this train before. Now I have a quest to find the others in the states that we travel through.
This part of Pennsylvania could also be a home base for exploring other attractions in the area, such as Gettysburg National Military Park (about 75 to 90 minutes away) or Echo Dell, home of the Indian Echo Caverns (about 30 to 40 minutes south). We’ll definitely be back to Jonestown/Hershey KOA. It’s an easy stop off Interstate 81 and they’ve always made us, and our pups, feel welcome.
Jonestown/Hershey KOA Journey, 11 Lickdale Road, Jonestown, PA 17038; (717) 865-6411 (info), (800) 562-2609 (reservations); www.koa.com/campgrounds/jonestown.