RV Rental for Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire in Lancaster, PA

Every August, once the Faire opens at Mount Hope Estate & Winery up on PA-72 just off the Turnpike, my phone starts ringing with the same question: “Can we just camp right there?” The honest answer is no — Mount Hope is a day-use grounds and doesn’t have on-site RV camping. So what I do instead is set people up at a campground 15–25 minutes out and deliver the rig before they arrive. That’s the practical version of an RV rental for the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, and after years of running these weekends I’ve got the routing down to a science.

The Faire runs weekends from August into late October, and the experience changes a lot across that stretch. August openers are humid and buggy, the kind of day where you want a climate-controlled camper to retreat to between joust shows. By the October weekends — the big Halloween-themed ones — you’re in crisp Pennsylvania Dutch Country fall, and those are far and away the busiest dates I book. If you want a camper rental near Mount Hope Estate for any of the October weekends, reach out early.

Why an RV Beats a Hotel for a Ren Faire Weekend

Mount Hope sits in a corner of the county where there isn’t much lodging right at the gate. The closest hotels are clustered down US-30 and PA-72 toward Lancaster and Manheim, and on those October weekends they book up and the rates climb. A delivered RV solves two problems at once: a real bed and bathroom close to the venue, and a basecamp you control. When folks come in costume — and a lot do — having your own rig to change in, refill water bottles, and stash the day’s purchases beats a hotel parking lot every time.

It also turns the trip into more than the Faire. Once you’re set up in this part of the county, you’re a short drive from Strasburg Rail Road, Central Market in downtown Lancaster, the outlets, and the Amish farm stands out around Bird-in-Hand. People come for the Faire and end up making a whole long weekend of Pennsylvania Dutch Country out of it.

Where I Park You for the Faire

There’s no camping at the venue itself, so the move is to set up at a campground a short drive out and run over to Mount Hope each morning. The spots I lean on for Faire guests:

• Pinch Pond Family Campground — out near Manheim/Mount Joy, one of the closest options to the venue and an easy run back over to PA-72.
• Old Mill Stream Campground — right on the US-30 strip in Lancaster, handy if you want to mix Faire days with the tourist-corridor attractions.
• Lancaster County KOA Holiday (Narvon) and Country Acres Campground — solid, full-service parks on the east side of the county.
• Hershey RV & Camping Resort — a bit farther north, but worth it if you’re tacking on a Hersheypark day.

If you’ve never booked an RV park before, I’ll walk you through which one fits your plans — that’s half of what I do. We also keep a full guide to local campgrounds and RV parks if you want to read up first. Note that some of the closer parks fill on the October weekends, so the earlier you lock a site, the better.

How Delivery Works

This is the part people love. You don’t have to tow anything or learn to back a trailer into a site. I bring the camper to your campground, level it, hook up water, power, and sewer, and walk you through how everything runs before I leave. When the Faire’s over, I come back and break it down. You just show up, unpack, and head to Mount Hope. Full details are on our RV delivery page.

A note on matching the rig to the site: the closer-in parks around Manheim have a mix of pull-throughs and shorter back-in sites, so I’ll often steer a family toward a travel trailer that fits the loop cleanly rather than the biggest unit available. Tell me your campground and how many people you’re sleeping, and I’ll recommend what actually parks well there. You can see what’s in the fleet on our main page.

Getting to Mount Hope from Your Campsite

Mount Hope Estate sits right where PA-72 meets the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76) interchange, which makes it genuinely easy to reach from most of the county. From the Lancaster/US-30 area it’s roughly a 25-minute drive up PA-72; from the Manheim-side parks you’re closer to 10–15 minutes. On the busy October Saturdays, traffic backs up at the venue entrance mid-morning, so I tell people to either arrive early or roll in after the lunch rush. Leave the camper hooked up at the campground and just take your car or truck over — you don’t want to be moving the RV daily.

Book Early for the October Weekends

The fall and Halloween-themed Faire weekends are my heaviest dates of the season, and both rigs and good campsites go first. If you’re planning a Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire trip, call or text me at 717-429-6102 or email [email protected] with your dates and group size, and I’ll get you set up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there RV camping at Mount Hope Estate?

No — Mount Hope Estate & Winery is a day-use venue for the Faire and doesn’t offer on-site RV camping. What I do is deliver your rental to a nearby campground (Pinch Pond, Old Mill Stream, the Narvon KOA, and others) and you drive over to the Faire each day. Most of those parks are 10–25 minutes out.

Do you deliver the RV and set it up?

Yes. I deliver to your campground, level the unit, connect water, power, and sewer, and walk you through everything before I leave. After the Faire weekend I come back to remove it. You don’t tow or hook up anything.

How far ahead should I book for the Faire?

For the August openers you have a bit more flexibility, but the October weekends are the busiest of the season — both campers and the closer campgrounds fill up. Reach out as early as you can to lock your dates and your site.

What size RV should I rent?

Depends on your group and which campground you’re booking. Some of the closer Manheim-area sites are shorter back-ins, so I’ll match you to something that parks cleanly there rather than the largest available unit. Tell me your headcount and your park and I’ll recommend the right fit.

What’s included with the rental?

Inclusions vary by unit and by location, so contact me directly at 717-429-6102 or [email protected] and I’ll go over exactly what comes with the rig you’re considering.