Caledonia State Park Fayetteville, PA August 2001

I came across Caledonia State Park a few years back while looking through some brochures. I added it to my long list of campgrounds to visit someday. This summer, we were interested in trying a new campground for weekend getaway. We didn't want to drive too far, so Caledonia State Park seemed like a good prospect so we decided to give it a try.

Caledonia State Park is located about 13 miles west of Gettysburg off of Route 30 in Franklin County. It was an easy 2 and a half hour drive from our home in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Favorite Sites Here are some recommended sites for pop-up campers: Chinquapin Hill: 7, 9, 11, 31, 34, 37, 39, 42, 46, 49, 57, 58, 60, 62, 63, 65, 70, 73, 75, 76, 77, 79, 108, 111, 127, 129, 130 Hosack Run: 133, 147, 164, 172, 178 Some sites in the Hosack Run area have electric hookups. The camping pad length varies greatly from site to site. Double-check the suitability of the site for your equipment when you make your reservations.

The sites are mostly wooded. The Chinquapin Hill section is situated on the side of a hill. Be prepared to tow your camper up a fairly steep incline to reach the campsites. Because of the terrain, the configuration of the sites varies quite a bit. The camping pad lengths range from 10 feet to 60 feet. In fact, some of the sites are not suitable at all for pop-ups or other RVs. When making reservations, be sure to let them know what kind of camping equipment you have. When we made our reservations, they were able to help us select a site which had a camping pad long enough for both the pop-up and our tow vehicle. Hosack Run is a bit more level and has some sites with electric hookups.

The site we wound up with was very nice -- wooded, spacious, and level. Caledonia is a "Class A" campground, meaning that it has hot showers, flush toilets, and a sanitary dump station. The bathrooms and showers were clean and very well maintained. The one thing we noticed was how quiet the campground was. Even though it was a beautiful August weekend, the campground was full. By noon on Sunday, the campground was almost deserted.

On our first day there, the friendly folks in the Park Office steered us onto Henicle's Market. Located a mile or two south of the Park on Route 30, Henicle's is well-stocked with groceries, firewood, and other supplies.

The park features a very large and picturesque picnic grove with a swimming pool. There are over ten miles worth of hiking trails in the park including a section of the Appalachian Trail, which runs through the middle of the Park. There are 3 creeks in the area which provide some fishing opportunities. The Park's 18-hole public golf course is reported to be one of the oldest and most scenic courses in south central Pennsylvania.

Other nearby attractions include Michaux State Forest and Gettysburg National Military Park.

We had a very quiet and relaxing weekend at Caledonia. The Park, no longer on our list of places to visit someday, has been moved over to our list of great places to visit again soon.

For reservations at Caledonia State Park, call 1-888-PA-PARKS. More information on this park can be found on the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources website.