Keen Lake Camping & Cottage Resort

This weekend I have come back to Keen Lake, I have not been here in over 20 years. I return this weekend with my husband, who is here for his first visit. What a beautiful place, I’m so happy to find it as lovely as I left it so long ago. This campground holds so many amazing family and friend memories for me from my childhood. This weekend has filled my heart with such Joy. Kayaks, rowboats, walks over the last couple of days with happy little places to explore. We were lucky enough to be able to get the cabin on Hermit Island, what a treat! I can’t wait to come back.

Just spent the weekend here & loved it! My first time camping, went with 5 other people. I think this is a great place for first time campers & repeat campers. There are options for sites with just water & electric hookups where you just bring your tent, options for you to bring your RV or rent one of their RV’s or cabins. Plenty of lake front sites as well as wooded sites. Additional amenities include a pool, boat rentals, on site convenience store & playgrounds. The campgrounds are pet friendly & child friendly. I enjoyed the ability to go camping in the woods without being completely cut off from civilization since it was my first time. There are planned activities for kids and adults at certain times. There’s also a movie lounge where they play recent movies at night. I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into when I booked this vaca but I’m glad I went thru with it :)

Close group of friends and I have stayed here almost every year for the past 7 years. It’s mostly families, we’ve been the only late 20’s early 30’s folks I’ve seen in a while. We always camp right on the lake, which is usually pretty gross, stagnant. I’ve never ventured in but my friends have. There are sites with electricity and running water available. The bathrooms are always clean. The general store isn’t ridiculously overpriced. Can’t wait to get back next year

The woman I spoke to when I booked was very nice and friendly, and the same goes for the woman I checked in with. The campgrounds are very nice with a ton of activities for kids. It’s very family oriented. The campsites seemed a little smaller than I’m used to, I felt like we were on top of our neighbors. It wasn’t too bad though. My boyfriend and I went swimming at the pool which was clean and very nice. There was a lifeguard.
The only real complaint I have that would keep me from coming back was it was so close to the road! You could hear cars and trucks going by pretty much the whole time. Not exactly what I’m looking for in a camping experience.

This was so worth the 3 hour drive from Philly. I came across this place accidently and when I called the young lady on the phone was so helpful and pleasant. Normally there is a minimum of 2 days however when she called out to her uncle in regards to our request for a one night stay, they were accommodating. When we got there and entered the office to check-​in we were greeted with pleasant staff. We stayed on the lake 16A awesome little spot we will request it again when we return, we were close enough to the out house and showers yetr we still had the outdoorsy experience with the ability to wash up if we needed to. There was a gentleman named Mike who made his rounds to check in on the sites, he came and chatted with us for a while and gave us the history of the family and the campground. He also saved us a trip back to the office store for wood, he was always prepared and had wood stacks for sale right there in the back of his truck.
Pretty cool place, even if you can only go for the weekend, it is worth the trip.

DOG FIGHTS and REGGAETON. That sums up my weekend. I have been staying at Keen Lake every year for 10 years. After this visit, it is time to start looking elsewhere. It is the first time in 10 years that I was charged an extra 30 $ for having 4 adults on our site. I insisted that we were never charged extra for 4 adults but it was like talking to a wall. So they squeezed an extra 30 bucks out of us. 210 $ for 4 adults for 3 nights. We used to stay on the main side of the lake. But the sites are extremely close together and many are in direct sun all day. So for the past 6 years we’ve chosen to stay in Pioneer. It is nice. The bathrooms are not. I am used to that sulfur smell from well water, but it is unbearable. It smells like straight sewage. Every time I went to the bathroom was the same. There would be a ton of mud and toilet paper on the floor, it would smell of the worst feces in history and there would be no hot water. I tried to shower 3 times and each time it was cold and smelled like sewage. I even tried to go across to the main bathrooms and the water was room temp at best. Each morning I awoke to the sounds of multiple dogs barking. It seems that we were the only ones that left our poor dog at home. The 7 am dogfights and constant barking was real charming. Usually by about 9 a.m. the reggaeton would start. We would usually get about 3 – 4 hours of the same song on loop blasting from somebody’s car. Last year my sister wanted to come up for 2 nights. She was forced to buy another site instead of getting a second parking pass and sleeping in our tent. Another way they rip you off. I got really angry when 20 – 30 people showed up Saturday. Took over 5 or 6 sites. Blasting reggaeton. What happened to those rules Keen Lake??? It seemed like we were the only fools to play by the rules. I felt so ripped off and angry. One of the 30 people had the nerve to ask us if we would run an extension cord across the road to their commune to power their mini-​fridge! I could go on. Main points: Beautiful place. Ripoff. Dirty. Rules only apply to those dumb enough to be honest. My tenth and last year. Sad.

My brother-​in-​law posted this. He isn’t on Facebook so Unilocal deleted it. Thought I should repost since I was also there and it’s incredibly accurate.
DOG FIGHTS and REGGAETON. That sums up my weekend. I have been staying at Keen Lake every year for 10 years. After this visit, it is time to start looking elsewhere. It is the first time in 10 years that I was charged an extra 30 $ for having 4 adults on our site. I insisted that we were never charged extra for 4 adults but it was like talking to a wall. So they squeezed an extra 30 bucks out of us. 210 $ for 4 adults for 3 nights. We use to stay on the main side of the lake. But the sites are extremely close together and many are in direct sun all day. So for the past 6 years we’ve chosen to stay in Pioneer. It is nice. The bathrooms are not. I am used to that sulfur smell from well water, but it is unbearable. It smells like straight sewage. Every time I went to the bathroom was the same. There would be a ton of mud and toilet paper on the floor, it would smell of the worst feces in history and there would be no hot water. I tried to shower 3 times and each time it was cold and smelled like sewage. I even tried to go across to the main bathrooms and the water was room temp at best. Each morning I awoke to the sounds of multiple dogs barking. It seems that we were the only ones that left our poor dog at home. The 7 am dogfights and constant barking was real charming. Usually by about 9 a.m. the reggaeton would start. We would usually get about 3 – 4 hours of the same song on loop blasting from somebody’s car. Last year my sister wanted to come up for 2 nights. She was forced to buy another site instead of getting a second parking pass and sleeping in our tent. Another way they rip you off. I got really angry when 20 – 30 people showed up Saturday. Took over 5 or 6 sites. Blasting reggaeton. What happened to those rules Keen Lake??? It seemed like we were the only fools to play by the rules. I felt so ripped off and angry. One of the 30 people had the nerve to ask us if we would run an extension cord across the road to their commune to power their mini-​fridge! I could go on. Main points: Beautiful place. Ripoff. Dirty. Rules only apply to those dumb enough to be honest. My tenth and last year. Sad.

This is the best campsite that I’ve been to, thus far —
when I say I go «camping» I mean we go sit around a camp site, drinking and eating stuff we cooked on sticks.
The other sites that we have been to are state parks, which means if we wanna booze, we have to hide our adult beverages in solo cups until after the park ranger (dad) has come to check on us — and technically we’re not supposed to be loud, and I can’t bring my dog there for overnights, which turns into a colossal pain because I have to arrange for dog sitters, pay extra… blah, blah, blah
keen is a private campgrounds in PA — which yea, is kind of far for me to go, but since I only like once a year, its not so bad. We had a site directly on a lake, which was nice (buggy). The views and the sunset were wonderful, the bathrooms were clean (no bugs!) and there’s a shower there… had I read the reviews before, I would have known that I needed a quarter… but I didn’t, so I took a hobo shower instead (what’s a hobo shower? Why, I used the sink to take a shower! I learned that trick from Penn Station, boom) Luckily, the door locked, so it was cool, yo.
My dog had the time of her LIFE — she went swimming in the lake as soon as we got there, she ate a lily pad, she rolled in a mud puddle, she dug a big hole and she ate several hotdogs, then slept in my sleeping bag. That alone made it worth the 4 hour drive there and back. Why 4 hours? Well, on the way down, we couldn’t figure out how to close the back of the truck we’re in and had to pull over on the cross bronx (in a bright blue escalade truck) and on the way back, we got lost trying to find mcdonalds breakfast (sadly, the clock beat us and we had to settle for BK, not the same pal — not. the. same)

My boyfriend, puppy and I drove from the MD/​DC area for a quick weekend getaway. The drive was very easy but long. Upon arrival Mic was extremely helpful and very nice. The staff was great and the cottage we were at was as pictured, the smell was a bit strong though (musty and moth balls). The lake is beautiful, my main disappointment was how packed together everything was, we were looking for a little more privacy and with several cottages, tent camping and over 300 RV spots it was very crowded. The other guest were also a bit uptight and rude to us, with one exception of a couple who had never been there before. Our dog loved the dog swim area but it was very small and rather close to another cottage, boats and the street which can be dangerous. The area is so small that really only one dog at a time was ever down there. 30 minutes after we checked in we went to the grocery store and got pulled over by a cop, who said our brake light was out. When we got back to the cottage we checked and in fact the brake lights were all working perfectly. I couldn’t really get a good read on the townspeople and the summer long inhabitants of the resort but they weren’t very friendly at all which was very surprising, and disappointing.

This is a great place to go camping. Why? Well, I’ll tell ya:
— The sites are spacious and well kept and the views are absolutely gorgeous.
— Cleanest camping bathrooms I’ve seen in my life (tip: you have to pay for the shower with quarters).
— There’s a pool along with a shop that sells firewood and ice.
— Did I mention the beautiful view?
— Oh and the beautiful views?
— Don’t forget about the beautiful views this place has. ;)

Keen Lake is a very clean and friendly camping location in PA. I have been there a few times and gave always stayed at Pioneer, with a water/​electric hook-​up. The bathrooms are constantly cleaned and have a shower (bring quarters!) if you need one. The views are unbelievable from any of the lake view sites. Which you can walk to from many locations in Keen Lake.
The front part of Keen Lake has a pool and an access to canoes, kayaks, rowboats and paddleboats. Which are rather cheap to rent. They also have excellent fishing. Go check it out!

Keen Lake Campground is one of about 14 reputable campgrounds in the Poconos (though I’m sure there are endless places to camp in NE PA). I had read reviews online and did my research and narrowed down to 4 campgrounds and this is the one I ended up going to. We stayed for a Saturday-​Tuesday during the first week of August. Just as a background I wanted a campground that was good for a tent, had things to do, was family friendly but not full of little kids, and was well into the Poconos and not sitting on a NY or NJ boarder.
The lady who took my reservation on the phone was the friendliest and most helpful person I’ve ever talked to (I wish I had gotten her name). The woman I dealt with at the campground wasn’t as happy or pleasant to deal with however (also wish I had gotten a name). But down to details here…
The place is very reasonably priced ($ 35/​night for a common site). They have most of the campground on one side of the lake and a smaller section of the campground on the other side of the lake (takes about 3 minutes to drive around to). Some sites have electric and water hook-​ups, others do not. You can find the campground map online to see which site has what. They have a pretty good camp store with camping essentials as well as goodies and souvenirs; very clean a decent sized heated pool; and canoe/​kayak rentals at very reasonable prices ($ 10/​hr). Supposedly they have shuffle board and horseshoes but I never came across it. They also have a game room but it was pretty small with not much in it. For the kids they have a couple playgrounds and basketball courts. They also have a designated swim area on the lake but with a pool as beautiful as they have I never considered it.
They have bathrooms/​showers that I found were pretty clean and my only issue is that the Pioneer area on the other side of the lake only has one facility for the whole area and there is only one tiolet on each side (men’s/women’s). They also have scattered outhouses but those were wooden and disgusting.
The problem I had read in a lot of reviews was that the campground borders Rt.6 (a major road in the area) so I made sure not to get a site anywhere near this (in fact I got a site in «Pioneer», the area on the other side of the lake-​so it wasn’t an issue). Keen lake itself is very calm and beautiful and a nice lake for a leisurely kayak ride (but small enough where you wouldn’t need more than an hour out on the water).
What you can’t tell from the map or any of the reviews are which sites are the biggest, most secluded, and with the best location or views. I hate to divulge my hard work but here is the list of the 10 best sites here: 101, 153, K4, P4B, P5, P6, P14, P15, P17D, P18. These are awesome sites for tents or pop-​up campers (not necessarily motor homes), you’ll have to check the camp map to see if the site has the hook ups or the location you want but you’d definitely be happy with any of those sites (especially because there are a lot of cramped, uneven, or noisy sites here if you aren’t careful). We stayed at site P1 which wasn’t bad (especially because we had Pioneer virtually to ourselves half of sunday and monday and tuesday). We had a lakefront site but there were a bunch of trees so there wasn’t exactly an ideal waterfront view. We did however have a cute 20 foot path to the water where a beautiful view awaited us.
As a side note the best things we found to do in the general area was mini golf/​go karts/​batting cages at Lahey Family Fun Park and Twist and Shout Ice Cream both in North Scranton about 20−30min away. Panorama Golf Course about 15min away in Forest City, PA, and the Circle Drive-​In Theater and Flea Fair in nearby Dickson City, PA. If you’re coming from the south you can even stop by the George W Child’s Park where you’ll see some of the most beautiful waterfalls, go to an amazing shooting range, Sunset Hill Shooting Ranger in Henryville, PA (near Mt Pocono, PA). Or do something more involved at Mount Airy Casino Resort or Camelbeach Waterpark all about an hour or so south of the campground.