I first heard about Camelback Resort (located in the Poconos, Pennsylvania) a few years back. The resort looked like it could be a fun weekend trip but Lucas was a bit too young at the time to make it worthwhile.

When I recently received an invite to check out the resort, I figured that it would be the perfect time for Lucas who is now 7 years old.

Kim couldn’t make it and the resort didn’t seem like a great option for my almost three year old Theo so I invited by brother along with my 13 year old nephew.

Camelback Resort is located around two hours from home in Brooklyn, NY making it a great overnight getaway option.

The resort has plenty of things to do to keep you busy. There’s two waterparks (indoor and outdoor), an arcade, outdoor adventure activities, restaurants and more.

Here’s a recap of what we did during our visit to Camelback Resort.

The Room:Before heading out to try out some of the activities, we dropped our things at the room.

The room was really spacious with two queen-size beds, a couch and desk. As far as amenities go,  the flatscreen TV kept the kids busy while we were in the room. If you want to bring your own food (we saw many people with coolers), the room has a mini-fridge and microwave.

The sink area is outside the bathroom which we always like. While one person is using the bathroom/ showering, it doesn’t stop others from washing up or getting ready at the sink.

Overall, we found the room to be a very nice setup for four people.

Mountain Coaster: I was looking forward to riding the Appalachian Express Mountain Coaster but Lucas was a bit hesitant. Years back, we rode a similar sled down from the Great Wall of China which we really enjoyed. (Lucas seems to have forgotten how much fun it was!)

When you get on the coaster, you’re towed up to a higher point in the mountain before you start going down the slopes and through the woods. What’s great about the Mountain Coaster is that the driver controls the speed.

We kept it to a reasonable speed and by the time our ride was finished, Lucas wanted to go for another round!

Aquatopia Indoor Water Park:Aquatopia admission is included with your stay which is pretty nice.

The park was named the Best Indoor Water Park in USA Today’s 10 Best recently so we were looking forward to checking it out.

The Bombora Flowrider was a popular ride where you can try out surfing. It looked liked most people tried belly-boarding here. The wavepool was another popular option. Lots of people seemed to enjoy this area. I’m not a fan of these kinds of pools due to motion sickness so we moved on.We had a great time playing and sliding at Kartrite’s Quest. We soaked each other by pulling the ropes to dump massive buckets of water from above, made our way up the stairs to shoot water canons and also slid down on some relatively tame and kid-friendly slides. If I brought my almost 3-year old Theo along, I’m sure we would’ve spent a lot of time at the Penguin Play Bay. This area was geared towards little ones so we took a look and moved on.Besides trying out some super-fast slides (my favorite was the one where you go head first down on a mat), we loved the lazy river known as The Lost River.

We must’ve taken 10 laps on the river. This is a tame yet fun and almost relaxing ride.

Arcadia Mega Arcade:If you go downstairs at Camelback, you’ll find a pretty large arcade. At many of the machines you can earn tickets which you can redeem for prizes (kinda like Chuck E Cheese).

We spent some time here playing games like Skee-Ball, whack n win, sharpshooter and more. Lucas was very excited to earn enough tickets to get a little stuffed octopus!

The arcade is a good pitstop if you want some non-watery fun. There’s also a pizzeria and a candy shop if you need something to eat.

Camelbeach Mountain Waterpark:

Camelbeach is a pretty big waterpark although it isn’t massive enough to overwhelm you if you’re not into these kind of parks.

Since we had already checked out of our room, the first thing I wondered about was safety for our valuables. 
Camelbeach has a fair share of lockers (available for a fee) where you can leave your valuables and feel comfortable as you enjoy the water rides.Much like the lazy river at the indoor waterpark, we spent a good portion of our time riding the Blue Nile Adventure River.

I’m not even sure how long we were here or how many laps we did, but it was a favorite for all of us. On the river there are individual and shared tubes. One style tube that we liked the most was more like a partial tube which was almost like a chair.

This lazy river is good for all ages. The water isn’t overly deep so even if you don’t know how to swim, you’ll still have a relaxing time.We stopped for a quick lunch at Big Pocono Eatery. It’s about the quality of what you’d expect at a waterpark but it’s reasonably priced.

The burger and chicken fingers were fine, nothing memorable and the huge portions of fries were on the soggy side.There’s a couple of really nice kids play areas at Camelbeach.You can climb up and slide down while you play and cool off. These are fun areas for kids and adults!I didn’t give this slide a try but Lucas and I watched as groups of teens raced down the Checkered Flag Challenge. Lucas isn’t really fond of the water slides but he did  get up  the courage to join me on a ride on a double-person tube.

From what I recall, the speeds of the tubes vary. We stuck to a slower slide which Lucas ended up really loving!We ended our visit by taking a ride over the park on the ski lift. Besides getting aerial views of the huge slides, we also soared up the mountain through the woods getting glimpses of the ski runs.During our visit to Camelbeach, we were given a private cabana by the wave pool.

The spacious cabana is basically a large tent. Inside were a bunch of lounge chairs, a table with chairs and a mini-fridge filled with cold drinks.

This is a nice option to consider if you’re visiting the park with a big group. It’s a good place to leave your change of clothes, relax out of the sun and just hang out.

Before we left, a dessert tray with cookies and brownies was brought over; a sweet way to end our time at the waterpark!

Final Thoughts:

Camelback Resort is a great option for a one or two night getaway from NYC. We all had a fun time checking out the different activities the resort had to offer. Another thing we liked was that the lines for rides never seemed too long.

Camelback Resort is located at 193 Resort Drive in Tannersville, Pennsylvania.

(Disclaimer: I was invited to Camelback Resort as a way to experience all they have to offer and to review. All thoughts in this post are my own and in no way influenced what was written.)