Wondering what to expect when you go camping at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, PA? Here is some helpful information based on our stays there!
If you have never been to Knoebels Amusement Resort, you are really in for a treat. This 90+ year old park has been welcoming visitors for decades! Many families make an annual visit to Knoebels. Located in pretty much the middle-of-nowhere, there aren’t many options for spending the night close by. Camping at Knoebels is not only fun, but it’s budget-friendly and very very convenient!
Before you book your stay, there are some important things to know!
Our best tips for camping at Knoebels Campground
1. There are actually TWO campgrounds owned by Knoebels. The first one is Knoebels Campground. This campground is located right next to the amusement park. You can literally see the rides from your campsite and walking back and forth from campground to amusement park is very easy.
Lake Glory Campground is the second campground owned by Knoebels and it is located a short drive away from the park. A complimentary bus makes runs from Lake Glory Campground to Knoebels throughout the day and evening. You can also drive your vehicle to Knoebels. Parking at Knoebels is free.
2. Both campgrounds are incredibly popular and book up months in advance. Camping at Knoebels is hard to do last minute. That is because it is almost impossible to find any campground availability without booking weeks or even months in advance. Many families camp at Knoebels every year and they reserve their campsite for the following year during their current stay.
Book your stay as early as you possibly can.
3. Knoebels campsites can only be booked by phone. As of February 2020, Knoebels does not offer online booking for their campgrounds. You must call during regular office hours to make your reservation over the phone.
4. Knoebels Campground does NOT offer FULL HOOKUP SITES. Lake Glory Campground DOES offer FULL HOOKUP SITES.
Be aware that Knoebels Campground does not offer any full hookup sites. All sites offer electric. There is potable water available at a filling station and there is a dump station at the campground.
5. Both campgrounds have cabins available for nightly and weekly rentals. If tent camping isn’t your thing and you don’t own an RV, you can book a cabin for your stay. Just like the regular campsites, the cabins book fast and well in advance.
6. Knoebels Campground is fairly noisy. This campground sits literally adjacent to the amusement park. You can see a big wooden roller coaster from the campground and it is very noisy (from both the coaster and the screaming people on board). If you have small kids who nap or go to bed early, this noise is something to consider. The rides do stop when the park closes for the night (which is late during summer months).
We found that Lake Glory Campground was quiet pretty much round the clock.
7. Neither campground has a pool.
8. Knoebels Campground offers some sites with wooden platforms for tents. If you are pitching a tent when you stay at Knoebels, you might want to scout out one of the sites that offers a wooden platform. This platform will get you off the ground and give you a nice level site to rest your head.
9. Knoebels Campground campsites are fairly SMALL. We found the campsites at Knoebels to be small (smaller than those at Lake Glory, although sites over there were far from huge). There are several hundred sites at Knoebels Campground and they were pretty close to each other. We still had enough room for our picnic table and fire ring though, so it certainly was not the smallest site we have ever camped on.
10. You can have peace and quiet at Lake Glory, or location convenience at Knoebels Campground – but not both. The first year that we camped at Knoebels, we didn’t call to book until early Spring for a Summer stay. By that time, there were no available sites that would fit our camper during the dates we wanted to travel. We stayed at Lake Glory Campground for 2 nights. We really enjoyed that campground. It was quiet and pretty. One drawback was having to get in our car (or we could have taken the campground bus) when we wanted to go to the amusement park.
The second year that we camped at Knoebels, we booked an earlier season stay at Knoebels Campground. The sites were a little tight, the campground was loud from the roller coaster all day and evening, but boy – you could not BEAT the location! It was so cool to be able to come and go from the amusement park throughout our stay!
Have you ever gone camping at Knoebels?
If so, we’d love to hear which campground you stayed at and why you picked that one. Or, if you have camped at both of those campgrounds, which one did you prefer?
Our family really enjoyed our stay at both of the Knoebels-owned campgrounds. We did not find the lack of water and sewer hookups at Knoebels Campground to be as big of a hassle as we anticipated. Upon arriving at the campground, we filled up the water tank on our way into the campground and it was enough for basic sink use and toilet flushing. We used the campground bathhouses for showers to cut down on water usage.
Every time we camp, we pack our sewer toter tank just in case we end up at a site that doesn’t have sewer hookup. If our grey/black water had filled up and needed to be emptied during our stay, we could have used our toter. However, our tank didn’t fill and we simply emptied it at the dump station on our way out of the campground.
Fans’ favorite things about Knoebels
Among the things that Knoebels fans love the most about Knoebels Amusement Resort:
- No parking fees
- No admission fees
- Buy ride tickets or wristbands for the rides
- AMAZING food and so much variety!
- You are allowed to bring your own food in (cuts down on costs!)
- Dog friendly
- Lots of shade
PIN these Camping at Knoebels tips to PINTEREST!
I’m finding the website to be confusing ( I’m sure it’s probably just me)if you could help me I would be great full. is the wrist band include the roller coasters, water rides, and all the rises from opening to closing?
How much are the wrist bands? If you camp does the price include the park rides? How much does it cost to camp? Thank you for your assistance.
Hi Debbie! Their website is a little confusing. Let me try to help.
Camping costs around $60/night for an site. Camping does not include any park rides.
Knoebel’s does not charge admission. You have two choices if you want to go on rides: buy tickets and pay per ride or buy a wristband. They have 2 wristbands: one for kids who don’t meet the height requirement for coasters and one for everyone else that I think includes all rides EXCEPT the haunted house. They run about $40 (for the coasters version) and are valid from park open to close. In the summer, they usually offer “sundown” wristband discounts. You can save some money on wristbands purchased for evening use.
No pool is available anymore at the Knoebels camping park.
I agree.
Thank you for sharing! I just updated the post.
My husband and I are wanting to take our children & stay at the campground. He’s confused on the pricing of the “wristbands”, as the sundown are different? Does this mean it is not for both all day as well as into evening?
Correct. Sundown wristbands are a discount wristband. You can buy them only on Mondays through Fridays starting at 5 pm. Great for an evening at Knoebels. The regular wristbands can be purchased any time and are valid for an entire day/night at the park.
Great info! I have a tent that needs to be staked to ground, so I want a basic site, but want a fairly quick walk over to the amusement park, but also be close to the restrooms so we won’t have to trek far when the kids need to go to the bathroom. What section in the Koebel’s Campground would you recommend?
That’s a good question! If you look on Knoebel’s site – they have a campground map that shows where the amusement park sits and where all of the bath houses are located. I would use that map to pick a site! You can also always give their office a call – they are very helpful and could guide you towards a site that checks those boxes.
We used to go to Knowles yearly, when our kids were children, they are in their 30,s now. You will love Knowles for all ages, there is no admission charge, so if your kids or you don’t go crazy over rides, there are still shows, (music, magic, and puppet) that are all free. The price of the rides are very inexpensive compared to any place I’ve been. You may want to walk around a little and see what all they have before you buy your tickets, they don’t charge much, and if you are staying for a while, you can buy tickets at Guest Services for less than full price. They have a dozen or more rides just for the little kids, that they will love. The food there is very inexpensive, so if you want to get something to eat, including ice cream you can’t beat it. Our kids send to go back and forth all day from the campground to eat, or take a break, or just relax. We always felt safe with our kids here, never had any problems, of course the traveled together but it worked out great for everyone.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Eileen!
Is there a dog park on site? What is the cost for 1 large dog per night for a cabin?
We took our dog one year, but stayed in our camper and I do not recall a dog park. I would give the campground a call and ask about the cost! Dogs are definitely welcome in the amusement park as well as the campground.