Bethel Recreation Area - Park and FamCamp

Too many homesteaders. Entrance is not very accessable. Accident waiting to happen. Very disappointing. If that was my first introduction to Military RV Camps I would have never tried another.

I love this place it is close to my house so I don't have to drive miles and miles to go fishing the people that work here are friendly and nice.

Have never stayed here, but we lived in Hampton for many years before selling the house and going fulltime in 2006. We have driven through each time we come back to the area to see if anything has improved . . . . . it has NOT. In the past we have tried to contact the manager for reservation information without success. On our last drive through we saw much of what has been said in earlier reviews - lots of permanent residents and trashy sites. There were 2 open sites that had "Site Reserved" signs hung on the utility posts. It is amazing that this situation has existed for more than 6 years (possibly longer) according to these reviews without corrective action being taken by the command group. Having been to numerous FamCamps in our travels, this is without doubt the worst! We hope improvements will be made, as this could be a very nice facility especially since the loss of The Colonies FamCamp at now closed Fort Monroe.

After being told over the phone that no vacancies existed for the whole month of September, we stopped by just to check out the facilities, and we were told that a spot had opened up. Our site was sufficiently large for my Class A motorhome and towed vehicle, pretty level, and clean. I would not have been as happy with a few spots, notably #21, because of considerable standing water on the site after a rain shower. The bathhouse was spacious and clean. There is no wi-fi or cable service, but we had good 3G cell service. We had full hookups, although our site had only 50 and 20 amp connections. My only beef with the facility was with apparent homesteaders who could do a much better job of policing their sites, and with one who apparently thought that parking his SUV right in front of the bathhouse instead of real parking spots just feet away was okay. Oh, and you take your life into your own hands as you exit the fam-camp onto Saunders Road. It's on a curve in the highway, and considerable vegetation interferes with your ability to see oncoming traffic in both directions. Regardless, I plan to stay there again whenever I visit Hampton.

D.B. left this review using the Directory software: - Fairly nice campground. All sites are in the trees. The only way that a satellite will work is if it is detached from the rig and moved to the street. I did not see all the permanent residents as previously mentioned.

Location is great and has such great potential, but that’s the end of the nice things I can say. Bethel Park is no longer a FAM Camp; it has turned into a mobile home park. The mobile home park there has 20+ sites, nearly all of them occupied by permanent residents; there is even a family that lives in a cargo trailer with an attached porch! All the other reviews are spot on, and it appears that little has changed since the review that was made in May of 2006. Command needs to issue a few an eviction notices before I’ll visit again. Don’t waste your time here. Cheatham Annex is just a few miles (30) up the road towards Williamsburg and is well worth the drive. It’s quieter, way nicer, and puts you inside the “historic triangle” of Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown which are all just a few minutes away from the gate.

Outdoor rec opens on Mondays at 9:00 am and Tuesday thru Friday at 10:00 am. To reach the campground directly call 747-342-4281. We wanted to stay on May 22, 2010, however could not get in touch with anyone that could give info on the campground. Opted to stay away. Read the reviews and decided it was not worth the effort to try to stay after all.

Lacking is not the word for this FamCamp. Sites are over grown, many sites are permanently occupied, and they have a 90 day max stay. It is easy to tell by the six foot tall tomato plants, insulation wrapped water hoses, attached wooden steps, semi-permanent "tent" garages, should I go on? When it rains all sites flood except those occupied full time. Tent people even use cones to reserve parking places near the laundry/rest room facilities. When we arrived, on a Wednesday, there was no one to assign us a space. Could not find the office. Drove past the laundry/rest room building because that is what it is! Turns out there is some info on how to contact management if you arrive any day outside of Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Not very useful to someone from out of state because all phone numbers lack an area code. This is, without a doubt, the worst military facility I have seen in four years of full time RVing and using all service campgrounds from coast to coast. Must be because it is off base; out of site , out of mind. Place needs command attention.

I agree with the folks who have visited this campground and found it lacking. I drove thru there a while back and it was awful!. The sites were overgrown and people left garbage and old, dirty toys and plastic storage containers in the site which were not removed. I will do another drive thru soon and talk to the 1 SVS CC if it is still trashed. I did not think they paid anyone to watch over the campground due to its condition. I am not proud for anyone to know I retired from Langley recently :)

T. L. left this review using the Directory software: I think cost is high compared to other military campgrounds and mediocre facilities. Campground is part of Betthel Park, which has pavillions, picnic areas, boat rentals, ball fields and paintball field.

We thought this Famcamp was a nice, quiet and safe place to visit. All the sites were "back-in". A few of them seemed vulnerable to flooding in heavy rain. Bathrooms/showers were well used but serviceable. Two very good washers and dryers. The CG Manager was prompt to respond when needed. Security Forces made frequent drives through the CG. Not bad for a short stay.

No question, this is a great location, and certainly it has potential. But the good things to be said stop there. With minimal sites, it is hard to get a reservation. Sadly, this is because a vast majority of sites belong to folks who have made this their permanent residence, and only a few sites left for visitors. During my short stay, I counted two coaches with state registration tags that were expired for greater than two years. Of the remaining sites, some are in low lying areas that tend to flood when it rains. The manager lives on site, and is friendly enough, but very hard to contact. I would not recommend this campground to anybody.

At the entrance of the FAMCAMP, there is a building (previously was office/check-in). There no one there, no instructions for check-in. There is a sign indicating that an envelope with your site number would be posted. No envelope. There is a base phone, but the number to call is not posted. A man passing by told us the number to call. A lady answered the phone and gave us directions to the check-in office. The man told us not to take the RV to the check-in office, because there was a very small bridge we had to cross. From a number 1 to 10, I would rate this campground overall as 3. Although, there are full hook-ups, the FAMCAMP is not very well maintained. There are some long-term people in the FAMCAMP with lots of stuff and children, I would presume they are home-schooled, because the children are at the RV throughout the day. We visited this facility several years ago and it was very well maintained, but it has really gone down since than. It's very distributing, because the FAMCAMP has a high potential, but it seems no emphasis are place to upkeep of the facility.

Considered a part of Langley AFB but is not co-located. Campground is on Saunders Rd which is very curvy and has heavy traffic. Many low hanging trees along Saunders Rd if you approach the campground from Route 17. Best to come off Big Bethel Rd if you have a high profile rv. However, coming from Big Bethel Rd will mean a pretty sharp turn into the campground. You'll need to swing wide. Oncoming traffic on this narrow road may mean you might hold up traffic behind you while you wait for your chance. No biggy. Let 'em wait. They go too fast on that road anyway. Facilities are not kept up. Kind of sad since there is a civil service host who lives on site. Camp office is filthy. Dirt and cobwebs everywhere. Can usually reach host by cell phone. Base paintball field is located at this campground. If you hate being around kids having fun then you'd be better served looking elsewhere. The paintball field is very popular. Campground is located along the arrival/departure corridor for Langley. If you like hearing fighters you'll love this place. A lot of noise during flying hours. Satellite reception is virtually zero. Too many tall trees. People have been lucky in finding a signal but it requires setting your dish a good 50' from your site. If you have a roof-mounted dish you're out of luck. Priced right for this area. $16/night. Rates vary for lengthy stays depending on season. 10% discount if you have a Club Card with a "1st Services" sticker on it. Overall, a good experience. We are completely self-contained and didn't have to use the camp restrooms or laundry. If they were as bad as the office then our experience may have been different.

Went into mens restroom 3 times in 3 mos. Not cleaned between visits. Totally filthy. Health dept would close it. No mail box,closest 1 mile to base ex annex for box. Manager-call on phone. Recommend overnite only.