Summer communities

Your weekend away doesn't need to be hours away

Story by Cindy O. Herman

Campground owners in the Susquehanna River Valley look forward to spring when their seasonal clients return, and many will stay through early fall. Whether they stay the whole time or pop in for weekends, the campers roll into the campsites eager to relax and catch up with their summertime neighbors.

Scott and Gina Endy, of Winfield, have been camping since their kids were little, usually at Little Mexico Campground, in Winfield, or the Union County Sportsmen’s Club, in Millmont.

“We actually have met a ton of friends along the way,” Gina said, listing friends from places like Millersville, Gettysburg and Newport as well as towns closer to home.

In fact, Gina said several of the families have created an online group to let each other know where they’re camping each week. They go to wineries and beaches or just sit and chat. “You’re with all your friends, so it’s fun,” she added.

“We like campfires and just hanging out,” Scott said. “It’s usually peaceful. I like being out in the woods. It’s a minivacation.”

Their kids grew up playing at the campsites with camping buddies or friends they brought along from home.

“It’s something fun to do during the summer,” said Peyton Endy, 13, who enjoys driving a golf cart around the campgrounds, adding, “It’s just fun being outside more often.”

Noting that campsites don’t always have good internet connections, Scott grinned at Peyton and said, “It’s a weekend, believe it or not, that gets her off her phone.”

Campground Life

River Edge, in Winfield, situated along the Susquehanna River, offers a great spot for boating, fishing and swimming, as well as corn hole tournaments and homemade “Soup Days.”

“It’s a close-knit family because most people come back year after year,” said Donna Steenstray, owner of River Edge. “That’s because they just want to get together and enjoy each other’s company.”

She estimated that about 80 percent of her campers return each year, forming a summer community of friends.

“The kids feel like they’re free to run,” she said. “Generally, everybody knows who the kids belong to, and they watch everybody else’s kids.”

When she took over the camp in 2004, it offered more cabins and tenting spots. They’re no longer as popular because people like bringing their own trailers. She started with 140 campsites, but that number has dropped as the sites have been enlarged to hold bigger motor homes and give campers more space. Some campers store their recreational vehicles and boats there year-round.

One family from New Jersey has been camping in tents every Labor Day weekend for years. “They’re like family to us,” Steenstray said.

“I have campers that live in Lewisburg, Sunbury, Shamokin Dam,” she said. “They come here just to get away from the hubbub and the stress.”

With full hookups and 50-amp service, Penn Avon Campground, 22 Trail Route 204 just outside of Selinsgrove, sits on the banks of Penns Creek and has attracted a lot of RV clubs that meet at different sites up and down the coast.

Wayne Brouse, owner of the campground since 1996 said, “They come in here and they say, ‘Hi, Wayne, how are you doing?’ I enjoy talking to them. I really do.”

Brouse hands out copies of the Susquehanna River Valley Visitors Bureau pamphlets for his customers to find activities they’ll appreciate.

“They like the wineries, shopping, the Selinsgrove Speedway,” he said. “A lot of them enjoy walking in downtown Selinsgrove.”

His campsites are usually full when Susquehanna University hosts events. Parents appreciate being able to stay in their motorhomes, he said.

Surprisingly, Brouse gets a lot of business over the winter months from employees like the steelworkers who built the bypass bridge in Winfield over the last couple of years. More recently he’s hosting workers building the new bypass at Selinsgrove. They come from as far away as Texas and Alabama, and he praised their “Southern hospitality.”

Campers have remarked on how much they appreciate the clean, well-maintained grounds of Penn Avon, where they can kick back and recharge.

“It’s a great stress release,” Brouse said. “That’s what camping is all about, relieving your stress.”

It’s easy to see why Hidden Valley Campground bills itself as “the best kept secret in Pennsylvania.” The site is surrounded by beautiful hills that form a valley with three ponds and plenty of space for campers to enjoy. Everything from ceramics to swimming, paddle boats, miniature golf and a number of other outdoor games are available to the summer residents.

Heather Oberdorf, campground manager, said she practically grew up at Hidden Valley and added, “We have people that have been here 30 years,” she said. “We have regulars that come back every year. They’re like a family.”

Just driving through Buffalo Valley to reach the campsite brings travelers through pine-scented woodlands that soothe and invigorate people looking for a break from the work-a-day world. Campers can simply rest or take part in Hidden Valley Campground’s weekend activities: bands, karaoke nights, pool parties and Olympics Week are very popular and so are events like bean bag toss, swimming competitions and football throws.

Most campers return year after year, renting seasonal sites for the summer, although some just rent by the weekend. Campers are also able to leave their motorhomes there over the winter, if they wish.

“It’s like one big family because everybody helps everybody,” Oberdorf said.

Fantasy Island Campground has a distinct location on Packer Island, along the banks of the Susquehanna River between Northumberland and Sunbury. It’s a place made for boating and relaxing on a lazy, low-traffic island.

The campground is built on the site of a former amusement park that, in the 1920s, boasted a dance pavilion, a roller coaster called the “Island Flyer” and a carousel with three rows of 50 animals and two chariots. After historic flooding caused by Hurricane Agnes in 1972, most of the park was destroyed except for the unique, round building that housed the carousel — it now serves as the campground’s rec room.

Tim Wert, who has owned Fantasy Island since 2015, said that about 70 percent of the campers return each season.

“It’s a lot easier because your stuff is already set up,” he said. “You don’t have to lug it back and forth. It also saves on the cost of gas. You don’t have to drive the RV every weekend.”

Fantasy Island Campground has very little turnover in their seasonal campers, which Wert said is part of the allure of the place.

“Some people have been here 30 years,” he said. “You get to know each other. It’s like a family, returning year after year.”

He enjoys watching his campers relax almost as much as they enjoy it themselves.

“It’s just the atmosphere of sitting around with family and friends,” he said, “trying to forget about everything going on in the world.”

In other words, these parks are summer communities whose main goal is relaxation and enjoyment.

For a full list of campgrounds in the Valley, please visit dailyitem.com.

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Capitol History

1681-1729

• Colonial legislature gathered wherever they could meet.

1729

• State Assembly voted to build a state house which would become Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed.

1790-1800

• Philadelphia used as state and national capital.

1799

• Disease and population moved the capital to Lancaster.

1785

• John Harris Jr. donated land along Susquehanna River for new Capitol building.

1812

• Land from Harris and William Maclay combined to build new state offices.

1816

• Stephen Stills hired to design and construct new Capitol building.

1821

• Construction finished on The Harris Capitol

1897

• During a snowstorm, the Capitol caught fire. Henry Ives Cobb was hired to design a new Capitol but construction was not completed.

1901

• Joseph M. Huston won a competition to design a new building to complete Cobb's work.

1902

• Construction began on the Huston Capitol building in Harrisburg.

1906

• 50,000 people traveled to Harrisburg on special Pennsylvania Railroad excursion trains to hear President Theodore Roosevelt dedicate the building.

SOURCE: Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee