An Adventurous Time Spent at the Elizabethtown/Hershey KOA & Hershey Park

While there are many places to stay around Hershey Park, we chose the closest KOA because of our previous enjoyable stays at KOAs that have made us like staying at them. The cozy cabins with porch swings are so just cute!

Upon check-in, the staff always brings you right to your site in their golf carts and delivers your wood to you. You can’t beat it!

If you haven’t stayed at KOA, definitely do it. They have tent sites, cabins like those shown above, most have yurts, as well as many different types of RV sites (pull-though, back-in, 30-amp, 50-amp, etc.) They are all over the country, so if you are going somewhere, there’s a KOA within a reasonable distance. You will also want to sign up for a yearly KOA membership in booking. You won’t think you need one as you are just staying at the one KOA and don’t think you will use it, however, it saves you 10% on that stay and every stay after that, which is more than the membership costs. The discount it takes off makes it pay for itself, honestly.

This KOA in Elizabethtown/Hershey, PA was no different. They had the cute cabins. They had a pool (although it was closed down seasonally), a playground, a dog park, a catch-and-release fishing pond, a basketball court, and a mini-golf course.

Now that we live in our camper full-time, laundry areas are a must. These are hit or miss for campgrounds. We really liked the ones at this campground (because there was more than one). The spot near us had two washers and dryers but had a table in the room with puzzles available (and yes we completed one during our wash and dry time!). The best part of it was the change machine right there to make quarters for you. We say this because at one of the last campgrounds we stayed at you had to go to the office to get quarters however the office wasn’t open many hours. It required more preparation on our part, but it was super nice to have the change machine right next to the washers so it would be ready when we were ready to do laundry.

In this same building were shower rooms, so we were able to start laundry, take a shower, and then be done in time to move the laundry over. Super convenient and something you look for when being out on the road like we are.

The pond at the campground was noteworthy as well because it was picturesque, day and night, but also had a fountain running that you could hear day and night. Very relaxing! It is a catch-and-release pond, so Emma got to do some fishing. The pond was really pretty lit up at night. Just another thing that made the campground enjoyable.

We had the chance here to meet our neighbors from campers on either side of us. One couple told us about some great campgrounds and sights to check out as we head further South through Maryland and North Carolina. The couple at the site on the other side of us told us about a bike path nearby, seeing that we had bikes. They sent us to the Northwest River Trail which was about a 5-minute drive from the campground and went along the Susquehanna River.

These views were breathtaking! It was an entirely paved bike path and was very popular on a Saturday afternoon with fellow bikers, walkers, and joggers. It really was a breath of fresh air, and was a great recommendation from our fellow campers.

We ended up biking a whooping 28 miles that day. We got fresh air and exercise and got to see a beautiful area we had never seen before. Plus we got to break in our e-bikes the right way! It really was a great afternoon spent all together. After that long ride though we needed a day off from the bikes, and are thinking some bike shorts with padding might be in order!

The main reason we went to Hershey though was obviously to visit Hershey Park. We had to visit this park with us being this close. We first did the free tour of Chocolate World. You get to sit in this little cart that plays audio while spinning you through the factory showing how chocolate is made. It was very informative.

@love.at.first.site.blog
So much fun!#chocolateworld #hershey
♬ sonido original – Yuri Stevenson

But the kids really liked picking out candy to buy afterward. I believe Reese’s was the favorite pick for them and Jesse, and Jolly Ranchers for Holly.

This place was one of a kind and I’d definitely suggest a stop there while you are in Hershey.

The main attraction though is Hershey Park – the big amusement park. We spent about 8 hours there on a Sunday. There were rides for people of all ages. Emma has always been our daredevil liking the big rides and any roller coaster you can throw at her. Holly gets motion sickness, and Jesse doesn’t like heights, so neither of us did a lot with her. But Aliyah worked up her courage and did some pretty daring rides. All in all, everyone had a great time.

One thing we would suggest: look into the front-of-the-line passes. The price varies every day. If it’s not too expensive, it’s certainly worth cutting the line. Some of the rides had up to 75-minute wait time estimations. While that may not be long for those of you who are used to big amusement parks. However, we are used to small ones and if 10 people are in line that’s a long line. We spent some time in line, but couldn’t make ourselves spend the 100 dollars each to buy a front-of-the-line pass. Again, that price changes each day. Look into it.

With all of those excursions under our belt, I’d say we had a great time in Hershey and really enjoyed our time in Pennsylvania. (We spent half of the week at the Dubois KOA, which you can read up on here). Both KOAs make you feel at home and are aligned with the KOA values which are to connect people to the outdoors and to each other. We certainly did that as these two KOAs and will continue to down the road at the next KOA.