Big Timber Lake Camping Resort

There are, as the name suggests, trees all around Big Timber Lake Camping Resort. Big trees. And lots of them.
You’re surrounded by acres of pretty pine forest here on the Cape May peninsula, with the peaceful setting perhaps giving the impression that you’ve travelled miles out into the wilderness.

As it happens, you won't have to tackle miles of country roads to arrive at your forest retreat, as it’s only a 10-minute drive from Highway 9 to here. Atlantic City is a 45-minute drive away, and downtown Philadelphia is less than an hour and a half.

You may be surrounded by nature but back to basics camping this is not – there are facilities to keep you busy for weeks. Two lakes are within the grounds, one for fishing and the other with a beach area for swimming and kayaks or paddleboards to rent. An outdoor pool is open in high season too.

For a bird’s eye view, climb up into the trees to tackle a high ropes course, finishing with a zipline over the lake to bring you back to earth. Energy left over? Work it off at the gym or (for smaller guests) the playground. More? Staff organise a busy programme of activities during holiday seasons, so you’ll also need to fit in craft sessions, ceramics classes, candy bar bingo, magic shows and outdoor movie screenings.

Fuelling all this activity will require a regular intake of food (hurrah) and you’ll not have to venture far to reach the campground’s café and snack bar, open all day for breakfasts, lunches and dinners. (But do make sure to save a bit of space for a visit to the ice cream shop for a fudge sundae, milkshake or couple of scoops of the cold stuff.)

For communications, guests can log on to the free wifi service or use the facilities of the computer centre.