Welcome to Family Camp

Welcome to our website for the Family Campground at Camp Swatara!

The Family Campground is currently closed for the Winter season and we are not taking reservations for 2019 at this time. We are currently working on updating our web site and brochure to reflect some changes for Next Summer, 2019. These changes should all be completed and posted on-line sometime in December or January of this year. Again, Payment for all individuals or groups will be due by April 1, 2019. One new change – for individuals or groups booking a reservation for after Labor Day in September or October, payment will be due by August 1, 2019. All Reservations made after April 1st will require payment at the time of making the reservation. Also new for 2019 - to comply with mandates from the USDA, Dept of Forestry, there will no longer be any transporting and movement of any firewood onto or from Camp Property due to control issues with damaging insects like the Emerald Ash Borer and the Lantern Light Fly. To help ease the pain with this situation, we will be lowering the Price of Firewood from $7.00 to $5.00 per Level Wheelbarrow Load.

The Reservation Process will re-open to accept on-line Reservation Request Forms beginning February 1st at 12 midnight for all Church of the Brethren Members. ALL OTHERS may submit their Reservation Request Forms beginning at 12 midnight on February 15th. All Reservation Requests will be date and time-stamped, and they will be processed in the order in which they are received. For any questions regarding the Reservation Process, please click HERE for more information or go to our website at campswatara.org and click on the Family Camp tab.

We hope that you will plan to come join us during the 2019 camping season! Our family-friendly campground has lots to offer! We have two playgrounds and lots of open space for recreational activities including soccer, softball, basketball, volleyball, 4-square, BMX Bike Trail, shuffleboard and ping pong. We also have an 18-hole Miniature Golf Course and lots of hiking trails on our 750+ acres. On the Wet ‘n Wild side, we have our own Splash Pad, and we share a Junior Olympic-Sized Swimming Pool with our Resident Youth Campers. Our 4-5 acre lake affords campers the opportunity to go boating and/or fishing, and we carry bait and tackle in our Camp Store. We’re hoping for improved fishing conditions in the lake for 2019 since we’ve added 35 triploid carp to help “eat up” the algae and duck weed. Currently, the lake looks much improved and we hope to see continued improvement for next year. Church Worship services will again be scheduled for Sunday Mornings at 10:00 AM from May 1st through the end of September. If you have any questions while we’re closed in December and January, please feel free to call the Main Office at 717-933-8510.

Did you know that our Family Campground is just one of the three programs of ministry that we offer here at this location? Camp Swatara also offers a Youth Program in their Residential Camp Center, along with a rental and retreat area to the West of our Family Campground. If you would like more information about these other programs, please explore and investigate our website further or call the Main Office at 717-933-8510, Option #1. We hope that you will find this information to be helpful and that you chose to make Camp Swatara one of your favorite destinations for rest and relaxation, spiritual renewal, and reflection about God’s call upon your lives.