Jamestown Camping Area – Pymatuning State Park

The campground was very nice and the staff friendly. We are RVers with a travel trailer, so we look for dry, clean, level spaces and ours (428) was good, if a little too close to 3 other sites (next to the corner space). the other sites in the 420s were a bit more private. All on that row were shady. Very few sites have full hookups, most are just electric.
The sites in the middle of the campground are clustered together and a ditch ran through many, leaving a muddy area.
There’s a loop to the right of the office and all of the RV sites are crowded together in a field in the middle (again, the primitive sites have the lake view). There were a lot of extension cords running from the RV sites across the road to the tents.
The sites nearest the lake are all primitive, I guess RVers don’t want a nice view.
Didn’t get many bugs, which surprised me.
The park does offer boat rentals a bit further down the shore.
My GPS got really confused because there are 3 Pymatuning parks on the PA side and another on the Ohio side.

So many of my friends tell me they want to try camping but they think it will be too much work, or they dont know «how» to camp, or they think the kids will get bored, or they have no idea where to go.
I cannot more highly recommend the Jamestown Camping Area in Pymatuning State park. I have stayed in both the modern cabins, and in a campsite.
Campsite Pros:
— easy to find, and not very rustic. there are bathrooms, showers, and even laundry facilities
–there is a camp store so if you find you forgot something, theyve got you covered
— you are right near a lake with a swimming area, and playgrounds that are good for kids. In fact, this is a very kid friendly campground. Most of the campers are families.
— some sites are dog friendly
— each site comes with a fire ring and grill and a picnic table. you need only your tent and a cooler of food!
— AFFORDABLE.
— your camping experience can be as rustic or not rustic as you want due to the variety of sites, in the woods and out of the woods
— this is a great campsite for those first time campers who are basically scared about camping/​afraid animals are going to come in their tents and ‘get’ them in the night. Stay in the dog friendly area – we left all kinds of food on our picnic table (bc we were foolish) and I swear not one single raccoon in the area. We did see a squirrel but that was it.
— we did not get eaten alive by mosquitos at this park either, which is odd since we were right by the water.
–good fishing in the area
Campsite Cons:
— I am a RUSTIC camper, you’d probably hate the camping I like. I felt like some of the sites were right on top of each other, so be mindful of this when you select your site
— NO ALCOHOL IN STATE PARKS. th-​ey WILL catch you drinking, and you WILL get thrown out. so if you want a kegger in the woods, dont camp here
The modern cabins are ridiculously nice, and we actually camped here the first weekend in march, in the winter! they are for those wo want to camp but not actualy rough it, in any way. There was a shower, bathroom, full kitchen, electricity, heat, comfortable bed, and was right on the lake. Certain cabins allow you to bring pets. The cabins are good if you want a group of friends to go camping.
Now that summer is here, if you ahve been wanting to camp but dont know where to go or how to go about it, reserve your site online (you can do that), and hten just pack a cooler, buy a tent, and get in the woods. its gorgeous. Also Pymatuning is near the Johnstown Spillway w all the fish (whcih I find gross), and in addition to camping there are many boat rental places around so you could even go out on the water.
If you want to try camping, have a nice time, be comfortable – but you have no idea what the hell you are doing – this is a campground for you. They have EVERYTHING you need, and its beautiful. Btw, we stayed in sites 121 and 126. I recommend both.
I’m an avid camper and I highly recommend these campgrounds.