How to Camp in the Pocono Mountains

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The Pocono Mountains in northeastern Pennsylvania are a popular and often visited destination, conveniently located between Philadelphia and New York. The green mountains offer a variety of well-developed camping options, although backcountry campers will need to hike up onto the Appalachian Trail to get a proper dose of roughing it.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Campground Selection

Things You’ll Need:

Water treatment kit (possible) Camp spade (possible) Recommended items for tent camping: Tent Sleeping bag Bedroll or mat Charcoal or camp stove with fuel Matches, lighter, or flint and steel Camp cooking kit and utensils Flashlight Pocketknife or buck knife First aid kit Water bottles Rain poncho or jacket
Water treatment kit (possible)
Camp spade (possible)
Recommended items for tent camping:
Tent
Sleeping bag
Bedroll or mat
Charcoal or camp stove with fuel
Matches, lighter, or flint and steel
Camp cooking kit and utensils
Flashlight
Pocketknife or buck knife
First aid kit
Water bottles
Rain poncho or jacket

Step 1

Choose among campgrounds with RV hookups if you are camping out of an RV. There are plenty of options, such as the KOA campground or Blue Mountain RV and Camping Resort. Many of these have facilities including swimming pools, playgrounds and wireless Internet.

Step 2

Tailgate campers can choose among campgrounds, and generally look to sleep in a tent site located near a place to park their vehicle. Most of these have facilities like hot-water showers, flush toilets and dump stations. Some have more facilities, while others are more primitive. Tailgate campers can also stay at campgrounds that admit RVs, but will probably be happier at a tents-only place. The only Pennsylvania State Park in the Poconos with a campground is Promised Land, and it is tents-only.

Step 3

Head straight to the Appalachian Trail if you intend to backcountry camp. The trail passes through the southeastern reaches of the Poconos area, and there are shelters and designated campgrounds along its length. It is the only legal backcountry possibility in the area.

Step 4

Decide what else you will do while camping. Anglers, for example, need to locate near a creek, river or lake where they can do their fishing. Hikers will want to be near trailheads or camp along a trail, and climbers will want access to rocky cliffs. This will also narrow the campground options.

Rules and Considerations

Step 1

Check the rules and guidelines of wherever you camp. For example, most campgrounds, including Promised Land State Park and the KOA site, permit pets on a leash, but other facilities might not. Another example is that alcohol is banned in the Pennsylvania State Park system, so drinking at Promised Land is out of the question.

Step 2

Start fires only in designated areas, such as marked fire pits and grills. This is a fairly standard, although not universal, campground rule.

Step 3

Treat your water if you are going backcountry camping. Camping on the Appalachian Trail means being reliant on local water sources, which might be contaminated. Use a combination of boiling or chemical disinfectants, and then carbon filtration.

Step 4

Practice "leave no trace" guidelines at all times. For example, do not build windbreak walls out of local rocks and vegetation, only collect already fallen or dead wood for fires, and pack out or otherwise properly dispose of all refuse.

Step 5

Maintain sanitary practices if there are no toilets provided. Dig a latrine downhill from and a minimum of fifty feet from any water source, and bury the waste afterward.

Tips & Warnings

Between wild and fishery hatched stocks, there are trout, salmon, pike, muskellunge, bass, sunfish, catfish, perch and many other varieties of fish available in the waters of the Poconos. Wildlife you might see in the Poconos area include the grey fox, the red fox, white-tailed deer, beavers, rattlesnakes, copperheads and maybe even black bears. Daytime weather in the Poconos sees average highs in the 60s during the Spring and Autumn, and peaks in the low 80s in July. Winter sees heavy snow (an average of eight inches or more per month) from December through March.

Between wild and fishery hatched stocks, there are trout, salmon, pike, muskellunge, bass, sunfish, catfish, perch and many other varieties of fish available in the waters of the Poconos.

Wildlife you might see in the Poconos area include the grey fox, the red fox, white-tailed deer, beavers, rattlesnakes, copperheads and maybe even black bears.

Daytime weather in the Poconos sees average highs in the 60s during the Spring and Autumn, and peaks in the low 80s in July. Winter sees heavy snow (an average of eight inches or more per month) from December through March.

Resources

Article Written By Edwin Thomas

Edwin Thomas has been writing since 1997. His work has appeared in various online publications, including The Black Table, Proboxing-Fans and others. A travel blogger, editor and writer, Thomas has traveled from Argentina to Vietnam in pursuit of stories. He holds a Master of Arts in international affairs from American University.

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