TheTaxidermist
A group of 6 of us said here Aug. 15-17th, 2014. This was our second year staying here and both years we camped on sites HR54 & 55, right on the river. Great sites that are a short walk to the restrooms and easy access to the river with a small bank.The good:Water was up this yr on the river. They had a DJ both Friday and Sat. night down at the bar/club.The bad:OMG the bathrooms!!!! Glad I'm a guy and handle quite a bit. OH the SMELL, to say the least. The women in our group said that their facilities were 10 times worse then the mens bathrooms. Bloody tampons all over, puke all over, just down right nasty! This year I see that they had installed electric ventilation fans in the bathrooms. That should of been a plus, but I could see thru the roof and now it stinks just as bad 20yds away outside the bathrooms as it does inside them.Since that the bank in front of our sites in low, everyone and their brother think that they can come and go as they please thru our site to get in and out of the river. We even put up big bull ropes around our sites and extra tents to try to deter ppl.Most likely we will becoming back here for years to come. I just hope that they start to clean the bathrooms once or twice a day!!!!
laurapA1403GP
We rented during the week and they told us they close at 8pm and we were done tubing @ 6:45pm and no bus was there to pick us up and take us back to our car. When a passerby stopped by he called the hideway to tell them that we were waiting 45 minutes for a bus while we watched the river's edge buses come and go 4 times. Whn the owner did pick us up he never said a word, no sorry for your wait, nonthing, but he could just smoke in the bus. the Daughter was no better they bad people to do business with. They know how to charge for everything but do not nonthing the bathroom are dirty and nonthing is kept up. they are living back in the 1980's yet, unkept.I will be sharing this with the local police and health department, about their non caring attitude about making sure the people who rent tubes from them get back to their cars. It was a nightmare to drive in old buses with black painted windows so you have no idea where you are in the town. It was the first time we had been there but now we know go to River's Edge.
nickw843
Writing this review on here because they monitor their facebook and only let the good ones on it...The worst experience i've ever had! I've been going to the Apple River for a long time and this was my first at this place. The campground is run down, you think you get a good deal but they nickel and dime you for everything, we were camping in the middle of a field with no trees, and I spent more time on a bus riding to the river than in the actual river, drinking! I only went here because my friends booked and heard it's where the "party" was at...yeah right...it was a tent with DJ, sh**ty light show, and about 10 people with the workers drinking. My group will definitely be going back to the other camp grounds (River's Edge, Float Rite Park) as we've been to both before! This place is a joke!
CanadianChick43
We spent a Sunday and Monday night with another group of friends. They were able to accommodate our 42 ft toy haulers and we were able to hang our decks over the water.The grounds were very nice and clean and adequately supplied with electric/water and picnic tables. The water was quite high and fast moving during our stay which was great as we are a little more adventuresome, we only has to walk our our door and hop in our tube. Staff came around offering firewood at a reasonable price. Bus and driver was always greeting us at pick up point. We had a fantastic time. Staff was friendly and helpful. There are lounges and restaurants along the river for those who choose. It was pretty slow in the wake of the upcoming long weekend so we had great privacy however the River is winding and large trees grace the property and may not be over intrusive short of Long Weekends. Rates are comparable to other sites with similar services but I feel that ARH had a little better value. Speedway is close by along with town of Somerset. Guest services had lots of supplies for sale, from Beer & Snacks to Charcoal, sunscreen etc. Just a note, you can also rent coolers that come with a tube for $5 rather than rack your brain on what size to bring.
KarinS28
We just spent some time at ARH. First, this place is exactly what you think it will be - close to the tubing river and party central. We had a Groupon for two nights of camping and two days tubing that was a very good deal. We arrived on a Thursday afternoon and it was relatively slow. We had been told that it would pick up Friday and be busy through the weekend. When we checked in, we were happy to able to pay the difference to get a site with water & electric ($15/night extra). We set up our camp site and were on the river tubing promptly thereafter. The tubing set up is very well organized, and you can tell that this is the main point of their business. We opted for the premium tubes ($5/each extra), which I would recommend.Overall, ARH is a very nice spot if you would like to tube then party then repeat. We enjoyed the tubing, not so much the camping. To be fair, however, we knew in advance that we were likely to be dissatisfied with this part, as we're not big on partying and prefer a quite environment. The other guest were loud throughout the evening and well in to the late hours of the night. There is not a "quiet time" as we've experienced in other campgrounds. As well, the camp sites are very small. Approximately 3-4 sites within the same space that would constitute one site in other campgrounds. Tents were about 6-8 feet apart in most instances. Based on the tight quarters and the noise, we actually moved to the State Park campsite about 15 minutes down the road for our second night, which was a much better fit for us. The big positive at ARH was definitely the staff. They were all very friendly and they seem to have everything you would need for a few days of fun. The grounds were well maintained. Tubing, as I mentioned, was very well organized. Finally, I'm posting answers to a few questions I had in advance but couldn't find on the website: 1. There are showers on-site. Take your flip-flops, because they are pretty rustic. They use quarters - $1 gives you 3-4 minutes. You can get change from the concession. 2. They do have sites with power and water hookups.3. There are lots of bathrooms on site, but most of them are vault toilets with hand sanitizer. There is one set of flush toilets up in the same building as the concession. This bathroom also had running water and plugs.4. There isn't any wifi available, but we did have good cell reception. 5. You can buy firewood on site, but it's pricey. $5/bundle - but it's smaller than what I'm used to at other campgrounds. There aren't any fire pits, you just burn your wood on the ground. This means that, unless you have a dutch oven and tripod, you'll have to bring a grill or camp stove or eat cold food. Most people, including us, had little grills of some sort. 6. You can buy ice at the concession. Again, it's pricey, but you get the picture. 7. Lots of yard lights on the premises, which means you don't need a flashlight to find your way to the bathroom at night.8. The float time down the river was about 2.5 hours for us. 9. There are about 1/2 as many picnic tables as there are campsites, so either bring your own table or plan to arrive early.
ljohnson409
I went during the week with children (it is not a place for kids on the weekends) and we had a great time. It was quiet, the grounds were well-kept, the bathrooms cleaned every morning. You could choose an option for electric/water for an additional fee if you wanted that. There were picnic tables at each of the sites. There were plenty of shaded sites by the river. The staff was VERY friendly and went out of their way to make sure you had a great experience. The shuttle that brings you from the bottom to the top of the river was always right there when we got out. They even helped carry my cooler! The only thing that gets a little frustrating is that it takes a very long time to move just a few people through the check-out line (let alone 20 or 30 people). Waivers have to be signed, deposits have to be made via credit card only for the tube(s), then questions such as upgrades, coolers, ice for the coolers, rope for the tubes, etc. An upgraded credit card system would help a lot (instead of the old carbon system). Perhaps a system where people can put their deposit down on-line for a certain day/time, sign their waivers on-line, and specify what they need so they go to a separate line and it's all ready to go so there's no waiting in line and having to deal with a credit card that doesn't have to be run back and forth to the vehicle (or risk losing on the water). A system to leave car keys too there would be great (many tubing places will check in your keys so you don't have to take them on the river if you are just coming for the day and not camping). I would highly recommend this place though and would definitely go again in the future.