Chapman State Park, Clarendon, PA

Chapman State Park in Clarendon, Pa., is one of the nicest parks we have ever visited. The campground was clean, quiet, and had lots of things to do right in the park.

We found this park when I was on a trip with the older two kids and my dad. We originally started at another campground and were not pleased with the amenities. We drove through this park, looked at each other, and decided to go pack up and move to Chapman State Park for the rest of the week. A great decision!

The kids loved the playground that our site (No. 38) backed up to. Additionally, there is a nature trail that loops around the campground. The bike trails and park roads were great (even with training wheels) and the beach was a hit. Since we had the canoe with us, we got out on the lake (electric motors only), paddling up the feeding stream where we saw some great wildlife and a “swinging bridge.”

The bathrooms in the campground are recently renovated–and they got Kristin’s stamp of approval. The showerhouse area included a family bathroom and a small dishwashing station.

The park is at the end of a two-lane road a few miles off Route 6. Warren, Pa., is the closest large town, so make sure to have food and supplies with you as it is a bit of a haul to get to a grocery store in town. For convenience items, there is a dollar store and gas station on Route 6 about 10 minutes from the campground.

While in the area we did some touring and made the drive to Kinzua Bridge State Park, which we would highly suggest! About an hour away is the Elk Country Visitor Center where you can view local elk and learn more about the herd. Also, we weren’t that far from the Zippo lighter museum–we just didn’t have enough time to scope it out, but we plan to check it out on a future visit.

Campground contact information: http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/findapark/chapman/index.htm

Date(s) of visit: July 8-12, 2013 and October 17-21 2013 (Yep, we liked it so much we went there twice in one year!)