Visiting Hershey, PA

When I planned our spring travel north, I decided to save money by staying at as many Thousand Trails Campgrounds that we could. Since we had never been to any of the parks in Pennsylvania, it was an easy decision to try one out for three weeks before heading to the Pittsburgh area. The reviews of most of the parks in Central PA were pretty good and it seemed that the Hershey Thousand Trails was a favorite of many so we picked that one. It turned out to be a great choice.

After we left the Forest Lake Thousand Trails in North Carolina, we did an overnight stop near Lexington, VA. We stayed at a campground that was located behind a truck stop not too far off of the highway. It was a small campground with no amenities with a bit of highway noise but ok for an overnight stop. Lexington, VA is a really pretty historic college town and the surrounding area was beautiful. It would be worth a longer visit sometime. We enjoyed the afternoon strolling through the town and had a great meal at a local inn. After a good night’s sleep, we got on the road quickly in the morning to head to Hershey.

Hershey Thousand Trails is a first come/first served campground and the rangers are unable to tell you what sites are available, so you drive around until you find one that you like. I know that many Thousand Trails members like this approach, but we find it frustrating, especially when it is the first time in that park. You just don’t know which area to look for the site that would work best for you. Luckily, most of the sites at the Hershey park are full hook up and have 50 amp service so as long as the site was long enough and fairly level, it would work for us. I wanted to get there as close to the noon check in as possible to get the best choice of sites. We left early enough to get there before 1 PM which I thought would be pretty good. It turned out to be a long travel day for us. Traffic was heavy on I-81 with lots of trucks and unfortunately a few construction areas slowed us down. So we didn’t arrive until almost 2:30.

I had checked out the site map and knew that this park had quite a few handicap sites which I thought would be best for us. Usually those ones are not under too much tree cover and don’t have obstacles so are easier to navigate.. This helps Tim, especially for back in sites. I have noticed that campers at some parks don’t leave the handicap sites for disabled individuals. I guess if it is first come first serve, they think those sites are up for grabs like all the others. Luckily at Hershey, it appeared that most campers honored the handicap sign and left those sites free for those who need them. There are six sections at Hershey and each section had at least one and sometimes two handicap sites. We liked the one site that was available in the H section. It was easy to back into and was right on a main campground road with a huge field behind it so was very spacious. I especially liked that I had a view of the field and hillside out the back window. The only drawback was there wasn’t a huge space to sit in front by the door but that spot got the afternoon sun anyway so sitting by the field behind was more comfortable.

Even though we were close to the road, there were no other campers close to us.

One drawback was there wasn’t room to park my car at the site but we were very close to the parking lot by the recreation center. The best thing was the hillside and field behind us. Great view from the back window.

The area around the campground was rural, with many farms along winding roads. We spent most of our time taking some rides through the country and through the small towns in the area. We especially like the stone farmhouses and homes that looked like they had been there a long time. Many were built in the 1800’s and some of the buildings in the towns we visited had been there since the mid 1700’s. Lots of interesting history in this area.

After setting up on our first day, we looked for a local restaurant to grab dinner. I searched for local restaurants and found the Quentin Tavern had some great reviews. It turned out to be one of the historic taverns in the area, originally built in the late 1700’s as a manor house and was converted to an inn and tavern in the mid 1800’s. While the history was interesting, the food was even better. I had a shrimp pasta dish that had the best sauce that I have ever tasted. Both Tim and I loved it (he finished my meal after eating his). We enjoyed the food so much that we went back there a few times during our stay; once to meet up with a college friend of Tim’s. We haven’t seen Dave and his wife Robin in quite a few years so we made sure to connect with them while we were in the area. They joined us for dinner one evening and then Dave came over to the campground to visit with Tim on another day. Tim enjoyed catching up with his friend.

Since we were in East Central Pennsylvania, I checked if we were close to my Aunt Dot’s place. We hadn’t seen her or her family in a few years. Usually we catch up with them at least once a year at my family reunion. We weren’t able to attend last year due to our travel schedule and it was canceled the year before due to Covid. Luckily, we were less than an hour’s drive to Aunt Dot’s house so I called my cousin Jacque, who lives near her Mom, to see if it was ok to come over for a visit. I learned that my cousin Sandy and her husband Rob had bought Aunt Dot’s house and she was now living with them. They are a close family and usually get together on the weekends so Sandy invited us to joined them on Sunday. They said it was fine to bring Trent; they have a large fenced yard and have a lab around Trent’s age. Jacque and her husband Tim came over as well and brought their golden retriever Dusty. So everyone had a great visit, humans and dogs.

Jacque, me, Tim, Tim, Sandy and Aunt Dot. Dusty snuck into the picture too.

Rob joined us and Jacque took this shot.. This time, he and Sandy’s dog Lou snuck in.

It turned out to be a beautiful sunny day and we spent the afternoon outside. It is always good to be able to visit relatives especially ones that you don’t get to see often. Aunt Dot is doing well and I love that Sandy and Rob remodeled so that she her own space, with a bedroom and living area all on one floor. I also loved that the yard was now fenced so we felt very safe letting Trent off leash to run and play with Lou and Dusty. He rarely gets to be off leash being a service dog. Visiting them, he got to just be a regular dog and he ran and played all day.

Rob grilling lunch. Look how big the back yard is. The dogs loved it.

The next weekend, Tim left to join his brother for a work trip to the hunting camp that they belong too. Jacque invited us over to her house for dinner on Friday evening. Just Trent and I went this time. They also have a lovely home with a large back yard but it isn’t fenced although there were fields around part of the yard. I was a little nervous letting Trent off leash there but he did great. He stayed in the yard with the other dogs and none of them wandered into the fields. The dogs played while we enjoyed a great meal and relaxed on the deck. I was so happy that I got to spend time with them and catch up on their lives. We are able to attend the reunion this year so we get to see them again in a few weeks.

The gps took us through back roads and many small towns on our way over to my cousins’ homes. Both times, the weather was great so the drives were very enjoyable. We passed a beautiful old building in Schaefferstown and saw that the sign said Franklin House Tavern. The parking lot was pretty full so we figured it would be a good place to eat. We drove back over there on another day to try it out. Another great meal at a historic tavern. This one was built in 1746, starting out as The King George, a hotel that catered to weary guests. Eventually, it transitioned to The George Washington before becoming the Franklin House Tavern. The building was enlarged over the years with a third floor added and additional rooms in the back. Tim and I are both history buffs, so we love finding places like this. You get a peak into the past while enjoying a terrific meal.

The Franklin House Tavern. We went in the middle of the afternoon so it wasn’t crowded.

This painting was in the dining room that depicts what the inn looked like in the 1700’s.

Of course, we couldn’t come to Hershey without visiting Hershey’s Chocolate World to get some chocolate. You can’t tour the factory but they have a variety of tour options to learn the history of Hershey and the chocolate business. We chose the free half hour tour and ride that explains how their chocolate is made. It was a cute ride and would be entertaining for little kids. They have lots of chocolate for sale as well as ice cream and a bakery. Since we went in the morning, we got coffee and baked goods and of course took some chocolate home with us. If we ever go back there, I definitely have to try the ice cream. It is worth a drive through town to see the Hershey kiss shaped streetlights. Hershey Park wasn’t open yet for the season, but if you like amusement parks, this one would be worth a visit.

I loved the street lights and the street names. In addition to Cocoa Ave., the was a Chocolate Lane.

My cousins told us about another town worth a visit, Mt. Gretna. This was pretty close to the campground and if you stay there in the summertime, definitely worth a visit. This small town is located in a forest surrounding a park with a lake, gazebo and outdoor auditorium. The original industry was providing charcoal for the nearby Cornwall Furnace that once forged cannons for George Washington’s army. In the late 1800’s it was located on a Railroad linking the Reading Railroad in Lebanon with the Pennsylvania Railroad near Elizabethtown. Originally you could travel here by rail from any point in the country. The Chautauqua Society felt that Mt. Gretna was a perfect location to build a Chautaqua. The “Pennsylvania Chautauqua” was modeled after the original Chautauqua Institution, established in 1874 in New York state. The first Chautauquans built summer cottages, a Hall of Philosophy for meetings, and a small wooden Greek temple. Both buildings are still used today. Unfortunately for us, it was too early so very little was open in town. We enjoyed driving through town and looking at the cottages and lake area. We found a local restaurant open so stopped for a drink and appetizer. Check out the pretzel that we got. It was fantastic. Definitely have to go back there sometime for an outdoor concert and an ice cream. It was a bummer that the ice cream shop wasn’t open yet.

This pretzel was coated with crab dip and cheese then toasted to a golden brown. Absolutely delicious!

As you can see, our touring this time included a lot of great food. When we weren’t touring the countryside, we enjoyed the campground. Since it was pretty large and spread out, it was a great place to walk the dog. The only thing we had to worry about was keeping Trent from eating goose poop. With the lake in the center of the park, there were geese everywhere. We passed many geese families every day with lots of little baby geese. We even saw a few right after birth. I loved looking at the geese but don’t enjoy the mess that they make. There were other wild life in the park; we saw some deer and a turkey as well as many birds.

Since Hershey is close to Harrisburg, the state capital, we went there a couple of times but not to tour. We had to take care of some business like correcting the registration on our truck and trailer. We spent a day at the DMV handling that. We originally registered the truck at the weight needed for the combination of the truck and trailer. This year, Tim learn that a law was passed in 2019 that if you only pull a recreational trailer, you just need to register the truck at the weight of the truck. Changing that would save us lots of money every year. It required changing both titles, the truck for the weight listed on it and the trailer to a recreational trailer. I guess when we bought it, it was just titled as a trailer which could be a work trailer. After a few hours and spending a bit of money with the state, we got both titles and registrations changed.

Tim had to get a new license plate for the truck so I had to update our records with EZ Pass for the new license. When I did that, I realized that the weight combination impacted the EZ Pass as well and we had the wrong one for the truck. We called the turnpike commission and were told that we had to get a commercial account and EZ Pass transponder. This was 2 days before we had to take the turnpike to Pittsburgh so we had to get that fixed. They suggested heading into Harrisburg to their offices. Luckily there wasn’t too long of a line but it still took an hour or so to get that corrected. Luckily the guy there was more knowledgeable and we just needed a motorhome account and transponder not commercial which was cheaper. We now should have the truck set up properly. At least we were in the right location to take care of all of that business.

All in all we enjoyed our visit to the Hershey area. Hershey Thousand Trails is a terrific park and we are planning a stop back there in the fall. We are now back in Pittsburgh, visiting friends and family. I will have more to tell you about our visit in a couple of weeks.

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