Whether you’re in town to see Penn State sports or just for a fun overnight, Seven Mountains Campground is a fantastic option for families. It’s located only 15 miles East of State College, and surrounded by a variety of other cool places to visit, such as Penn’s Caves and the Poe Valley State Park. Seven Mountains offers several different choices for lodgings. Families can camp in tents, park RVs, or stay in an assortment of cabins if you feel more like “glamping”.
The Cabins
We stayed in a Deluxe Log Cabin with four other family members, including two children, ages 7 and 5. Inside the cabin, there is one bedroom with two bunk beds. One of the bottom bunks is a double, the other three are all singles. The beds were comfortable. Outside the bedroom, there is a kitchen area equipped with a stovetop, mini fridge, microwave, coffee maker and a sink. Directly across was a small bathroom with a toilet, sink, shelves and a shower. The shower was only big enough to turn around in, but it did the job.
The cabin also came with a fire pit! The tree line surrounding the campground was great for finding kindling, and we built fires both nights we stayed (yes, believe it or not it was cool enough in July to do so). Firewood is available for purchase for $9 a bundle. A picnic table was also placed outside in front of the cabin and it seemed all campsites came equipped with this amenity. For those that can’t unplug, free WiFi is included with your stay, however, to keep it accessible for all guests, sites such as Netflix and YouTube aren’t allowed.
For those staying in any of the rentals, note that you must bring your bedding, towels, cookware, utensils, plates, cups, etc. Pricing for cabins starts at $80/night depending on what cabin you rent and what time of year/day of week it is. There is a two night minimum on weekends and 3 night minimum on holidays.
The campground is small but does have a volleyball net, a picnic pavilion, bathrooms (if you are tenting), and a large field for playing whatever games you desire.
Local AttractionsOn our second day, we visited Penn’s Cave, a local cavern that is entirely in water. We took a cave tour by boat, which lasted about an hour long. The length of the tour varies due to weather conditions and younger children may have trouble staying still near the end of the journey. To get to this tour, you have to walk down 48 steep steps to the entrance of the cave. It is not wheelchair accessible. The caves are always 52 degrees Fahrenheit, and we recommend you bring a jacket. Cameras are permitted inside the caves, which is fortunate given how beautiful the rock formations are.
In addition to this tour, Penn’s Cave offers wildlife tours, a 4800 square foot maze, a Cave Rock Mountain tour (June-November) and Gemstone Panning, the latter of which we did. Gemstone Panning is great fun, especially for the kids. You choose from a small ($5.95) or large ($10.50) bag of pre-mixed gem sand and then you take it outside to the Prospector Pete’s Sluice. Each bag contains treasures and it’s fun to see what you get.
Is Seven Mountain Campground a destination unto itself? Probably not, but if you’re in the area and want to check out some of the local attractions, it’s definitely worth a stay.
