Shenandoah River State Park, Bentonville , VA

Date:  Sunday August 23 – Sunday August 30, 2015 (7 nights)

Rate:  $44/night

Website:  Shenandoah River State Park (VA)
   350 Daughter of Stars Drive
   Bentonville, VA 22610
   540-622-6840

Description:  Reviewed earlier here.  Paved roads with level gravel sites having W/E (50A).  We once again stayed on site 10.  Nice hiking trails throughout the park.  Only ding is lack of Verizon coverage.  The price has gone up noticeably too.

Trash and Recycle:  Dumpster near the dump station at exit.  Recycle bins there also for aluminum and plastic bottles.

Activities:  This is a great place to hike near the river and also in the woods so I took advantage of it.  Sherry and David were staying in the Lewis Mountain CG of the Shenandoah National Park nearby so we drove up to have an enjoyable afternoon/evening visit with them.  I could kick myself for forgetting the camera. On our way home, we saw a beautiful sunset at an overlook and a bear cub ran across Skyline Drive in front of us in the dark.  When we arrived at camp, we had a surprise visit from Tricia and Dan who camped beside us for the night.  They left in the morning on their way to NC.  Gin was able to walk to the river from our campsite and we also rode over to the nice Visitor Center.  A motorcyclist going around a curve had an unfortunate accident with a bear shortly before we arrived.  He injured his shoulder and the bear bounded off into the woods.

 

Site 10

 

Nice patio and back yard view

 

Trail map                                        River Trail is nice enough for a bike

 

Shenandoah River                                   He said the fish weren’t hungry

 

Culler’s Trail

 

I saw a porcupine on River Trail but he hid a lot faster than this rabbit

  

Big Oak Trail

 

Horses share the nicely marked trails

 

Young buck and his mate

 

View from Observation Point of Redtail Ridge Trail… my snack spot!

 

Curious fawn crosses the trail close to me

 

Visitor Center with koi pond out front

 

Big taxidermy display in the Visitor Center

 

Gin at Culler’s Overlook                            She made it to the river!

Wilsonville Recreation and Camping Area, Hawley, PA

Date of Stay:  Wednesday August 19 – Sunday August 23, 2015 (4 nights)

Rate:  $28/night

Website:  Wilsonville Recreation and Camping Area
   113 Ammon Drive(across from Dunkin Donuts)
   Hawley, PA 18428
   570-226-4382

Description:  About 20 miles east of Scranton PA in the Poconos, this park is maintained by the local electric company (PPL) which built the dam forming Lake Wallenpaupack in the 1920’s.  PPL has a nice trail right at the campground, a nearby Environmental Learning Center, and an environmental preserve on the lake.  We were on site 17 with W/E(50A) and surprised to get sat tv through the trees.  The roads and sites are dirt and gravel.  No sewer hookups even for the reasonably priced seasonal sites but they do have a honeywagon service.

Trash and Recycle:  Trash cans at just about every site but didn’t notice any recycle.

Activities:  I enjoyed the Wallenpaupack Lake Trail and Wallenpaupack Creek Trail which go right along the lake through the cg and then past the dam and down stream by the flume line.  I went one direction one day and the other direction the next day.  The Lake Wallenpaupack Visitor Center is near one end while the PPL Environmental Learning Center is near the dam.  Both of these are very nice facilities to visit.  Across the lake from the campground is Shuman Point Natural Area with a 3 mile trail in the woods near the lake.  I liked the old stone walls there that once bordered farm fields.  The Visitor Center has the typical area brochures but it also has some local history info boards and a huge taxidermy Black Bear.  The PPL Learning Center has a couple of meeting rooms along with a couple of classrooms; one for younger students and one lab room for teens.  There is an authentic Native American Canoe there that was discovered after a hurricane in 1955.  It is an 18 foot dugout from a chestnut log built in the late 1600’s.  The campground has several seasonal sites and I struck up a conversation with some of the long term patrons.  The following weekend will be the Wally Lake Fest which has a boat parade going right by the campground.  The seasonals won last year with a pontoon boat decorated like a fire truck with water even shooting out of a fire hose.  I saw some pictures and it really looked like a fire truck on the water.  They were working on this year’s entry which is a steam locomotive on the pontoon boat.  It will have wheels that turn and steam puffing out the pipe.  A smaller boat will follow right behind it full of “coal”.  I think they will win again.

 

 

Site 17

 

Office with nice water feature

 

 

Constant entertainment at our site

 

  

Inside the Lake Wallenpaupack Visitor Center

 

Classrooms inside the PPL Environmental Learning Center

 

Inside the PPL Learning Center

 

  

 

Along the Wallenpaupack Lake Trail

 

 

  

Along the Wallenpaupack Creek Trail

  

 

Along Shuman Point Natural Area Trail

 

Lots of boats docked at the campground

 

Locomotive steam engine for the boat parade