Discover the best camping near Lancaster, Pennsylvania

80 miles outside of Philadelphia, camping near Lancaster can make for a much-needed escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. Complete with expansive green, serene acreages and combing treelines, the South-Central Pennsylvania region exists as a nature lover’s paradise. Corensta River runs through much of the area’s pine forests, offering healthy reserves of smallmouth bass to fish from and easy, calm waters to kayak. Further west, man-made Clarke Lake, which empties into the Atlantic through the Susquehanna river, boasts great watersporting and boating opportunities, all while offering picnic areas, boat ramps, playgrounds and other public recreation facilities at several locations on both sides of the lake. Rustic camping can be found throughout Lancaster, and a rentable tiny house exists just north of the city that offers heated respite during the colder winter months. To the south, Greider’s Run Nature Preserve—a branch of the larger Lancaster County Conservancy—offers vociferous bird viewing, as well as more broad wildlife watching and, during the spring. wildflower gazing. Regardless of where you decide to set up camp, relish in the cool, slowed-down calm afforded by Lancaster’s natural beauty.