RE: Harper s Ferry KOA

[LoveOurBayside]

 
This was a review I wrote for the old board back in August 2002.
 
 We just spent 3 nights at this campsite. We were on site 156 which was Water and Electric. I was impressed! They had wide lanes to park when we arrived. Not all sites are big, but we told them ahead of time we had a 25  trailer with a slideout and our site was pretty roomy for such a big, private campground. We could even park the SUV straight (so many places lately DH has had to park perpendicular to the camper because there wasn t any space). And I could have parked my van behind the camper if I d brought it.
 We also asked for a shady site and got along just fine with our two small fans and 2 bunk end fans. I never heard the weather report but I think it was in the low nineties. BTW, we do not have air conditioning but do have popupgizmos bunk end covers.
 The pool was large and heated, and after our fiasco with the baby not being able to go in the Capitol KOA pool, it was exciting to find Harper s Ferry even has a baby pool. They also have a snack shop and game room nearby but we didn t look at those. They have a large screen movie theater and show at least one movie a day during the summer. The playground was nice and they had 2 bathhouses with separate showers with doors on them (and soap, too). The bathrooms were air conditioned and even had hand lotion in a dispenser (My hands always get chapped while camping.) The camp store was the biggest I ve ever seen and had the fairest prices I ve seen but some stuff was still overpriced. They have the Civil War Re-enactors Museum right on the premises, and you are also able to walk along civil war trenches that have some brass placards explaining the history of the area.
 The campground is right next to Harper s Ferry National Park. They are nearby companies that you can use to go rafting, tubing, canoeing, etc. Our friend said you can even pick up the C & O canal path from the park and bike down it. Since it was hot and the kids were happy and we had the baby we just hung around the campground and didn t try those things. The campground also rents funcycles and bikes and helmets. They have propane, firewood for $4.75 a bundle.
 This particular weekend was Hawaiian Luau and they had tons of activities on Saturday, including a $6 a person pig roast, hula dancers, hula hoop contest, and DJ. They also supposively had kids arts and crafts and someone who visited with animals but the kids weren t interested this time around.
 THe roads are all paved which made walking with a stroller so much easier. The place was relatively empty on Thursday but filled up fast on Friday night. They have tons of tent sites and a lot of cabins, but both are off by themselves.
 The thing that really struck us as different is that there is a $5 charge for using the dump station. We ve never encountered such a fee, but we ve always camped in MD where dumping grey water is not legal. I told DH to just drive our tank over to the dish sink and dump it there but his friend convinced him that the trees needed it more with the drought conditions.
 This would be a great place for a family reunion or group to camp since you have all the options (tent, RV, and many sizes of cabins). DH friend said that because the pool is heated it s even open when they come in October.
 

[hbfc6]

 LoveOurBayside
I spent a week there last March on the boys spring break. Had site 100 which was large. I liked it there. Went to Getysburg,B&O Railroad Museum,toured DC,visited Anteim and Harpers Ferry. I liked the place.
  John

[SheBantam]

 LoveOurBayside
It was girl s weekend out this weekend, we had site 145, large enough for the Bantam and the screened room.
 
 The only showers that have soap are up behind the office/store and the washroom no longer has lotion, though the dipenser is still there.
 
 There were lots of actiities, 3 movies a day, a band, marshmallow roast, animals, pool, and other stuff. Me, I just staye close to the site and visited with my " neighbors" , there was a group rom Laurel DE across the street, so I felt like it was Delaware weekend. Did little cooking as there was a Golden Corral in Walmart s Parking lot, this is better than cooking when there are 2 work weary women who have to work, cook and clean all week.
 
 We had a good time there, my friend thought I paid about $20.00 per night for the site (she is out of touch with prices of commercial campgrounds), I paid a whole lot more than that, she also thought the cabin rented for around $30 to $35/night, she was in pure shock when itold her what they rented for.
 
 This is a good place to bring kids, and there is a National Park right next door. I was having foot problems and we did not get there to see what they had. A good foot soak and a better pair of shoes later my feet were better, but not up to hiking (don t let people tell you that earth shoes are so great, they may be for some, but my feet still hurt from setting up camp in a pair)

[debbiedee1957]

 LoveOurBayside
Got back from Harpers Ferry KOA last night.  I would rate the campground itself a 5 out of 10.  There were a handful of what I would rate " nice"  sites.  The rest were made up of dirty dirt & some gravel. For the most part the sites were cramed in like sardines in a can [:@] The showers were nice, restrooms ok, but a bit small only 3 stalls, for the number of sites they serviced.  Outdoor sink area with hot water to do dishes was great! really liked that feature.  Pool was ok, but no lifeguard, so running, etc could get out of hand.  Lots of bees & nats[: (]
 
 The main pro to this campground is that it is right next to the National Park, near two rivers (tubing/rafting) and near shopping (Wally World, Fast Food, Food Lion).

[LoveOurBayside]

 LoveOurBayside
We had another great trip to this campground.  After reading debbiedee s post, I think it s important to note that this is a very large campground with multiple restrooms and showers.  The first time we went I though the only showers were the two next to the restrooms at the office, but our friends pointed out that there is a set of showers (at least 8 maybe 10???) just beyond those.  I like that they are family showers - I can take my boys in or stand right outside the private shower door, unlike our state park system where I either have to take them in the ladies room or send them into the men s room alone.
 
 Anyway, this time around we found several more bathrooms we didn t know existed the last time.  Of course, they were right there on the map, but just didn t need to know the first time around since we went to the ones closest to our site.  One had only two stalls, but another had 5, so I can only think that debbiedee was talking about yet another area of the campground - maybe out closer to the tents only section?
 
 We really enjoyed the pool this time and I guess it never struck us that there way no lifeguard because we have been to other campgrounds that also did not have lifeguards.  
 
 The site we had was narrow but had lots of grass around it.  We got put out with the big RVs in a section that was not close to the bathrooms and necessitated crossing at the entrance to the campground which is very busy all day long. There was also no shade.  It was my fault for making reservations at the last minute, but in the future I will insist on something closer to the bathrooms and playground or not go to the campground.   Anyway, for what it s worth, we were on site 46.
 
 Weekend activities included a woman with unusual animals, a watermelon feed, arts and crafts, children s bingo and 2 or 3 movies a day.  A live band played Saturday night, and there was Karoke on Friday night.
 
 Carole

[Mahaffey-Family]

 LoveOurBayside
I camped with Debbie-Dee,  I would also only give this campground 5 out of 10.  The last night there they brought in campers and slammed them down up until 12 midnight. (these people worked for the campground, a rude bunch.)
 
  Debbie and I walked around the campground looking for nice camp sites and found a handful.  I also asked for a large site, I told them I had a 24 foot with a slide also, they didn t give me a site large enough.  The nats and bugs were bad.  The site was so dirty I couldn t keep the dirt out of my camper.
 
  I would only go back to the  Harpers Ferry KOA campground if it was the only one in that area.  But, than again,  I would go to a hotel first.

[LoveOurBayside]

 Mahaffey-Family
I m really sorry you and Debbie were so disappointed.  Can I ask which sites you were on so I can avoid them in the future?  
 
 I m curious, too, what you liked about the few " good"  sites you found?  What makes a site good in your eyes?  What makes it bad?  I think it helps to understand people s perceptions.  All of the campgrounds I have been to are dirt and gravel, and we had a terrible time with dirt in the camper everywhere we went until we got a big rug for outside.  First time we used it, ironically, was HF last year so were were marveling at how much less sweeping we had to do there.
 
 Also, I m not sure I understand what you mean about slamming campers down until  midnight.
 
 
 
 

[debbiedee1957]

 LoveOurBayside
What Barb was talking about " slamming campers down until midnight" , was that they were bringing in large (sleep 8-10) sort of campers in after dark and they were basically just pulling them off their hitch and dropping them, the hitch was laying in the dirt.  The operation looked to be that the camp ground was pulling in and stationing campers for people (thank god it wasn t mine)!!  And like Barb said the moving in lasted until midnight.  They didn t even have the lights hooked up on the campers as they brought them in, we suspected they were not licensed, & we were right.
 
 A good camp site has: shade, grass, is level & is not right smack on it s neighbor.
 
 And both Barb & I did have outdoor mats/rugs.  When we lifted them to pack up they had thick mud on the bottom, we had to wash everything off before we could stow it, this was due to our sites being mainly dirt.
 
 Isn t camping fun []   Your right when you mentioned we all have different likes & dislikes, that s what makes the world go round.  
 
 I will check the site numbers we had & the good ones & post it.