RV Parks near Philadelphia?

[johntk]

2015 Fleetwood Southwind 34A
towing a Ford Ranger

We're starting in Washington state about the middle of September and heading to New England to see the leaves. One of our stops along the way will be around Philadelphia (coming from Somerset, PA along I-70/76). We want to spend a couple days exploring Philadelphia and also make a day trip to/from New York City.

I would appreciate any suggestions for RV parks near Philadelphia and any ideas for a day trip to NYC out of the Philadelphia area. I've taken day tours in NYC in the distant past but so far haven't been able to find anything originating in Philadelphia. I'm towing a Ranger but I am not looking forward to driving it into NYC.

I'm also looking for RV parks in New Hampshire - maybe in the Manchester area. My plan is to camp somewhere near I-95 and drive the Ranger up to Maine and down to Boston.

Any thoughts/suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I've never been north of NYC and am relying on maps, web sites and this Forum for planning info.

Thanks,
John

 

[JW of 4 Corners]

Stayed at Timberlane Campground in Clarksboro for an overnight stop and there where plenty of campers there that were there for an event in Philly. It is probably as close as you will get. Out of 10 I would give it a 7.

 

[Ken & Sheila]

We stayed at Timberlane for 5 days while visiting Philly. Not an RV Resort, but a good Campground.

 

[Rene T]

Danforth Bay in Ossipee NH is a real nice park and it's in the heart of the fall foliage.
If you're going to be in NH the first week of October, try to find time to see the Fryeburg Fair in Fryeburg Me. Great agricultural fair an not far from Danforth Bay CG.

http://www.danforthbay.cdom/
http://www.fryeburgfair.org/

 

[Ken & Sheila]

It's a 4 hr drive to NYC from Timberlane, but if you do it I would actually park your car near where we "camped" with our RV at Liberty Harbor. There is a parking garage near the Path Subway at Grove St in Jersey City. The subway goes to NYC. One line goes to the WTC and the other make stops from 9th up to 34th street. Better than driving into NYC.

But if you want to NYC I would find someplace closer. We "camped" at Liberty Harbor RV Park. Nor much of a park, but close to the Path station.

 

[Scott 3]

Camp outside NYC.  Take Metro North into the city.  Or camp at Liberty Park.

I would dedicate more time/days to NYC or Washington D.C. than Philly unless you need to be there.

 

[JW of 4 Corners]

Up to southern Maine and Down to Boston in less than an hour then you will want to stay at "Black Bear" in Salisbury MA. Right off of 95 with easy access in both directions although the traffic down to Boston will be something to deal with.

 

[johntk]

JW,

Thanks for your reply. When did you stay at Black Bear and how do you rate it? The reviews I've seen range from fairly good to horrible. But the really bad ones are a few years old.
It looks like a good location, but would like to hear a recent review.

Thanks again,
John

 

[JimInJersey1]

One of our stops along the way will be around Philadelphia (coming from Somerset, PA along I-70/76). We want to spend a couple days exploring Philadelphia and also make a day trip to/from New York City.

I would appreciate any suggestions for RV parks near Philadelphia and any ideas for a day trip to NYC out of the Philadelphia area.

There are very few formal RV parks anywhere near Philly. There's a KOA about 40 miles west of town, but I can not offer a personal review. There are a few parks in southern New Jersey, but they're closer to the shore areas than to Philly.

That said, if you don't need hookups and entertainment and all that, there are a few options. The area is liberally sprinkled with Walmarts, especially to the east in Jersey.  The easiest way, by far, to get into town and see most of the sights is to take what we call the "High Speed Line", run by PATCO. It runs from Jersey into Philly very quickly, there are about eight or ten stops in Jersey, then it crosses the river via the Ben, and goes underground along Market Street to Center City. There are four or five stops in Philly, including one about 10 feet from Independence Mall, and one at the end of the line near City Hall.

Unless you're familiar with the area, there are no really good suggestions for the western suburbs into town.  Since you're coming in on I-76, the 'Schuylkill Expressway', there are very few alternatives.  The S/E has On- and Off- ramps about 40 feet long, and traffic moves at either 0 or 70. 

The Speed Line is really great - it gets from 15 miles east of town in to CC in about 20 minutes, there's a train every  7 minutes or so, they're clean and fast.  There is no counterpart in PA. Several of the PATCO stations are within walking distance of large shopping malls and/or strip malls where you can probably park the bus with little trouble.

The good thing is that almost everything worth seeing in Philly is within about a 6 block radius, except for the Art Museum. I know they have tourist shuttles running around but I've never been on one and I don't know the schedules. 

On a standard day, it's about three hours from Philly to Manhattan by car.  Sometimes more, rarely less. I'd take the RV and stay at Liberty Harbor as others have suggested.

Patco : http://www.ridepatco.org/ 

Philly :  http://www.visitphilly.com/#sm.001cod28h15trf3bxoy1gekz7mldb

 

[NY_Dutch]

There are very few formal RV parks anywhere near Philly. There's a KOA about 40 miles west of town, but I can not offer a personal review. There are a few parks in southern New Jersey, but they're closer to the shore areas than to Philly.

The previously mentioned Timberlane Campground is just across the river from Philly near Clarksboro, NJ, about a 1/2 mile from I-295.

 

[JimInJersey1]

The previously mentioned Timberlane Campground is just across the river from Philly near Clarksboro, NJ, about a 1/2 mile from I-295.

Yes - was not aware of Timberlane. It's a bit off I-295, and maybe 10 to 15 miles as the crow files from Center City Philly.

 

[johntk]

Thanks for all the replies.

We've returned from our 53 day 8,300 mile trip around the U.S. Had a great time.
Our route was from Washington state to: Des Moines, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Somerset, PA, up thru Albany, NY, across Vermont to mid-New Hampshire. We were there for about 2 weeks. Drove our toad all around New England enjoying the turning foliage and historic sites. We stayed a little longer than planned due to Hurricane Matthew making a mess of things along the coast.
We then traveled down the coast taking a side trip to Philly and city tours of NY, Wash DC, and Savannah, GA. After a couple of stops in Alabama to visit family we headed home via Memphis, Fort Collins, Boise, ID.

We finally reached our goal of visiting, at least briefly, every State and made it home safely.

If anyone is interested in any specifics about the trip, like RV Parks to stay in, send me a message.

Thanks again,
John