Bethel Recreation Area - Park and FamCamp

First of all, the entry into the park is a nightmare. It's in the middle of a blind curve and then when you turn in you have to say a prayer that you don't break an axle. The sight is trashy. The bathrooms smell like something died in them. But wait, you have to meet Dennis the menace. Apparently, he is an employee. Perhaps he was hired because of some hire the psychotic program. He engages campers in what would normally be called a conversation except that a conversation involves two people taking turns speaking. He does these monologues that are long, outrageous and inappropriate. I wanted to shoot myself an hour into his diatribe. I was thinking I should fake a heart attack but it occurred to me he wouldn't notice if I did. I saw him do his one man psycho show for several campers. Some of them were trying to fix a meal over a fire and he just kept going on and on and on. They ended up eating while he told them his stories. I felt so bad for them. It appears that not only does he work at the park but also lives there. He has a tent there but spends all his time in the office. I suppose it's good having an employee there 24 hours a day. I just wonder if it's not a good thing having a lunatic on staff. What's the hiring criteria? Are you breathing? Okay, you're hired. I'm horribly disappointed that the government would hire someone like this and even more upset that nobody has noticed how insane he is. Perhaps this explains Congress. But, back to the park. If someone would clean things up, have the entry repaired, empty the trash cans, clean and dissinfect the bathrooms, and put a muzzle on Dennis, it might be a decent place to camp.

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.

0/5. I am writing this review with a heavy heart and a deep sense of disappointment after our recent experience with Bethal Camp RV Park. As an active duty military family, the last thing we needed was the kind of treatment and resolution we received from this establishment. Our journey with Bethal Camp RV Park started in September when we made a reservation for a long-term stay from December to March. In the spirit of planning, we even went the extra mile and added ourselves to the waitlist in case an earlier slot became available. Little did we know that this seemingly responsible act would lead to a nightmare. A few days before our intended arrival, we decided to scout the area and discuss which spot we would be allocated. To our surprise, the staff at Bethal Camp RV Park were equally surprised to see us. Why? Because, according to them, we had apparently canceled our reservation two weeks prior to our arrival. Imagine our shock, given that we had made no such cancellation. Upon further investigation, it was revealed that Bethal Camp RV Park had randomly called a person, who had no knowledge of our long-term reservation, and that person unknowingly canceled our booking. To add insult to injury, the staff had the wrong phone number and even my last name was incorrectly recorded. Consequently, our spot was given away without any attempt to contact us directly. What's more concerning is the park's attempt to negate responsibility for their actions. Initially confirming that they indeed canceled our reservation, they later changed their stance, asserting that we were only on the waitlist and never had a reservation. This conflicting information only adds to the frustration and highlights a lack of transparency and accountability. While mistakes can happen in any business, it is the resolution that truly defines a company's professionalism. In our case, Bethal Camp RV Park fell woefully short. Despite their acknowledgment of the error, they only offered us a two-week stay at our own expense as compensation for their gross negligence. As active duty military personnel, we face numerous challenges and uncertainties on a daily basis. The least we expect from a campsite is reliability and professionalism, qualities sorely lacking at Bethal Camp RV Park. Their reliance on phone reservations and the apparent lack of attention to detail by their staff have proven to be a recipe for disaster. I write this review not out of spite but as a cautionary tale for other military families who may consider Bethal Camp RV Park. The stress and frustration we experienced are not something any family, especially those in the military, should have to endure. In conclusion, I strongly advise against using this campsite in the future, as their unreliability, unprofessionalism, and attempts to deflect responsibility cast a shadow over what should have been a simple and stress-free experience for our family.

The location is excellent if you want to be in the area. There are other famcamps in the immediate area but they were all booked up for the weekend. The entry to the park isn't as bad as others make it out to be. You can pull forward enough to see in both directions. There is obvious signs that some work is being put into the park and I talked with the park manager and they are making an effort to move out some of the homesteaders. The showers do need work but if campers would cleanup after themselves it would help. There are no amenities or facilities here and it's a drive to Langley. The value is dependent on your reason for staying. It was valuable to me as I had friends near the park. My overall experience was good. We would definitely stay here again.

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.

Nice Famcamp, only 25 sites, not all paved. Lots of trees, two of my neighbors had severe damage due to falling limbs and large branches. Famcamp is not gated and is open to public who use the paintball field near the back of sites. Felt secure, as Langley AFB police Force patrol the area periodically. Melanie, who is at office was very friendly and knowledgeable about the area. There is a boat & Marina adjacent to Famcamp but is needs a lot of attention due to deterioration. Main base is about two miles from Famcamp.

We stayed there just one night, but I was really impressed with the cleanliness and the QUIET! i don't believe I have ever stayed in a quieter park. Granted, there was the occasional papapapapapp from the paintball park there, but it was daylight. You can fish or boat on the lake. Lots to do. It is close to town and shopping, shopping, shopping. We were flabbergasted at the changes in Hampton since we left nearly 40 years ago! The laundry facility was very clean, albeit a bit expensive for a famcamp ($2 a load...not used to that) Definitely worth a visit, though!

We stopped here again on our way south and spent 2 weeks. The office is now located on the campground side of the recreation facility, so you don't have to take a long walk to check in and pay for your site. Isaac and Bill are friendly and responsive, however the base facilities took 2 days to replace a 50 amp circuit breaker. The base needs to put some funds and effort into supporting this campground.

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.

Drove through CG today since I was in general area for the week. Winding busy road to get here and dangerous entering and exiting the area. The CG is on base property but not secured other than signage stating military property. The road to and around the CG are hard surface, sites are decent size not huge, concrete pads that would look a lot better if the pine needles were blown off. Kind of a dreary look to the CG which could be improved with a little effort. Bathrooms and laundry in same building as office, all showing age but kept fairly clean. There were only 5 or 6 campers in the CG. This would not be one of my first choices of CG spots for the area but I would stay here based on what I have seen.

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 :)

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.

We stopped here looking for a new site from Williamsburg, VA. The campground has gone down hill. As previously noted drainage is nonexistent. The bathroom facilities are ok but limited space in washer/dryer area. Unable to talk to camp host since they had the door shut and apparently a really good BS session going on. Expected much more from an USAF FamCamp, we won't be stopping here.

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.

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.

We are one week into a three week stay here and so far not bad. The staff is friendly and helpful. The door to the office is closed but it looks like that is just to keep it cool and there is an "open" sign on the door when there is someone there. The bath and laundry facilities could definitely use some upgrades. The city street leading to the campground is pretty narrow and curvy so if you have a big rig, be careful.