Glamping in the Poconos: Best Resorts and Tips

Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains are easily accessible, affordable and offer plenty of outdoor activities, including hiking, water sports and camping. If the idea of sleeping on the ground makes your back hurt, consider glamping instead. You’ll have a bed, but there’s still enough roughing it to make you feel like you’ve earned your camping badge!

3 Glamping Destinations in the Poconos

Here are 3 glamping options in the Poconos to consider. They’re very different in style. One’s a nostalgic family-style campground. The second’s for those who want solitude and adventure activities.

And the Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort, is for travelers who normally choose luxury hotel properties.

Yes. They will make your fire for you.

Read on for profiles of the Poconos glamping options and some tips from the pros at Shawnee, including how to handle snoring.

Read More: Camelback Resort in Spring: Family Fun in the Poconos

Keen Lake Camping & Cottage Resort

Family owned and operated for over 60 years, Keen Lake Resort offers families an opportunity to reconnect and unwind in throwback style. Accommodations include cabin rental units, RV camping sites and tent camping. And, for those who prefer their outdoors with a touch of comfort, Keen Lake Resort offers glamping sites for couples. And families too, if camping with kids in a tent is too terrifying to consider!

Keen Lake has several glamping options including a lakefront safari tent (3-night minimum). It comes with a queen size bed, Keurig, side tables, lighting and a mini fridge. Guests must provide their own linens, including pillows and comforters, and towels. Chairs, rockers and a fire ring are located outside of the tent.

Guests share three bathhouses.

Although Keen Lake is a pet-friendly resort with a dog beach, pets are not permitted on the glamping sites.

Blue Mountain Resort

“You don’t have to be in nature!” Blue Mountain Resort knows that there are those of us who like the idea of nature more than the reality. Guests check in and then are chauffered to one of the 25 glamping sites via UTV (utility terrain vehicle).

Bring your linens to outfit your queen bunk beds. Glampers have personal solar showers and loo toilets at their sites.

Blue Mountain is a good fit for adventure enthusiasts. Mountain biking, disc golf and the Summit Adventure Park with zip lines and rock climbing are available. Laser tag and archery are additional options. Or, just take in the view from a scenic chair lift ride.

Read More: First Time Shooting Sporting Clays: What You Need to Know

The Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort

True luxury abounds at the Shawnee Inn’s glamping sites. Yurt-style tents are set up on the Delaware River and North Lawn. Shawnee includes a guided canoe trip, firemaking assistance for those looking to hone their Survivor skills and s’mores kits.

Glamping guests have access to all of Shawnee’s activities including championship golf, an onsite brewery, riverfront beach, indoor pool and full service spa.

Unlike Blue Mountain and Keen, Shawnee provides guests with linens and towels. The bathroom facilities are communal. Shawnee’s implemented deep cleaning procedures, in response to COVID, that exceed the CDC guidelines.

I asked Jeromy Wo, Shawnee’s marketing director about the delicate snoring issue. “Anyone who shares a bed with a partner who snores understands the struggle. All of our glamping tents include fans. Aside from providing a gentle breeze, the fans also lend a steady stream of white noise.”

Excellent advice for campers who’ve been kept awake at night by a noisy neighbor!

Tips for Glamping in the Poconos

• Glamping is still camping. Be sure to bring insect repellant and sunscreen to protect yourself from nature’s villains.
• Know before you go. Are all linens included? Don’t assume your glamping site will be outfitted like a hotel room. Alternatively, you probably don’t need to bring the entire contents of your house with you.
• Be considerate. Your glamping site might be 10 feet away from your neighbors or you might be on a distant mountaintop. Noise travels. It carries particularly far in the solitude of nature and echoes off mountains. Resist your electronics: phone calls, TikTok videos, tablets. Bring a book. Or binoculars. A deck of cards, perhaps?
• Communal bathrooms. Wear flip flops at all times. Hand sanitizer’s a must. Water’s precious. Turn it off when brushing your teeth. Leave the bathroom for the next guest like you would at home.
• Water water everywhere. Or is it? If there’s running water at your glamping site, be sure to ask if it’s potable – fancy word for drinkable. 
• Campfire cookout. If you plan on cooking anything more sophisticated than Jiffypop or s’mores, be sure to bring the utensils you’ll need in addition to the food. A plastic spatula won’t cut it. 
• Bears. They’re a thing. So are raccoons. Be sure you know what to do with your garbage and follow the rules. Or else.

Want More Glamping Info? Check out TravelingMom’s roundup of the most beautiful glamping spots in Texas.

How to Start a Fire

Fire. If you’re a city slicker or suburban spouse and campfires are not a routine part of your day, ask all the questions you need to know. How do I start a fire, is an important question. More important? How do I put it out? 

My attempts at firemaking have resulted in smoky blazes. I asked Jeromy Wo for the secret to a successful campfire.

“The secret to a successful fire is choosing the right wood. First and foremost, it needs to be seasoned – any moisture at all will create a smokey mess and you’ll have to constantly tend to it in order for it to stay ablaze. Shawnee Glampers receive complimentary firewood. We are so very lucky to have over 20,000 acres of wooded property. Our team constantly gathers fallen timber and stores it for seasoning.”

And, if all else fails, the team at Shawnee is happy to craft a fire for you!