Circle M Cabin Review

Site M-11, Park Model with Covered Porch, Sleeps 7, No Pets

Overview

Cabin Type: Park Model with Covered Porch, Sleeps 7, No Pets

Beds: BR 1- 1 Queen, BR 2- Twin over Full Bunk (no ladder), Pull out couch in Living Room

Bathroom: 1 Full Bath with Tub/Shower

Towels and Linens: Bring your own. Pillows were provided, but we brought our own.

WiFi: Available for purchase, $5 per day

Kitchen: Full size refrigerator, full size stove/oven, microwave, toaster, coffee maker. Dishes, cutlery, pots, pans included. Dish soap, trash bags, paper towels, toilet paper provided.

AC/Heat: Yes

Cleanliness: 3 out of 5

We just returned from our second stay at Circle M Campground in Lancaster, Pennsylvania using our Thousand Trails Cabin Pass. Our cabin pass is the number one reason we are able to travel as often as we do. This stay alone would have cost about 25% of what we paid for the entire year and it was only for 2 nights.

During our first stay in September 2022, I chose the 29’ Park Model and was assigned site L2. That cabin was clean, well-maintained and extremely close to the outdoor pool. It had 2 bedrooms, one with a queen bed and one with twin bunks. The only downside to this cabin, and it was not a major issue for us, is that there is no oven, just a two burner stove. We were only there for the weekend and had not planned any meals that necessitated an oven.

I had a little more difficulty finding availability for this stay, so our only options were the Park Model with a covered front porch or a loft cabin. My kids are still young, so I try to avoid the loft cabins for now. We have satyed in the covered porch models at other campgrounds and enjoy having a bug-free place for the kids to play or a place for us to enjoy some quiet after they go to sleep. We were assigned site M-11. I don’t know if this cabin was older than our last one, or if maintenance/housekeeping isn’t in full gear for the season, but we did not find this cabin to be as clean or well-maintained as the last one. It was nothing that would make us check out early or not return, but I did voice my concerns to management upon checkout and they were very apologetic. Things like crumbs left on the porch, which then got rained on and turned into piles of goo, cobwebs not swept out of the corners of the bathroom, a very dirty dish drying rack, and ant traps left on window sills where my toddler could easily grab them, gave us a little bit of an “ick” feeling when checking in. There was a tear in the linoleum next to the couch, and the floors were dirtier than I would expect. There was also a strong food smell when we got there. Due to the rain and the cold temperatures, I could not air it out as much as I would have liked. It did lessen during the course of our stay, but it was still present when we left. The only somewhat significant issue, which I called maintenance about immediately because I did not want to be held liable, was a broken screen on the front door. Maintenance responded quickly and patched it as best he could, saying he would repair it properly next week. It was fine for our use, we just exercised a little more caution when opening and closing the door. Outside of those issues, we did enjoy our stay and the general layout of the cabin worked well for us.

You enter the cabin via the screened-in front porch which is furnished with 2 Adirondack style plastic chairs. We would normally get a lot of use out of this area, but we just happened to have visited on a particularly rainy weekend, and the wind was blowing the rain into the porch, so we did not spend much time out there this time.

Once inside, you have a small round table that seats four, a couch with an end table, and a flat screen TV mounted in the corner. The couch was comfortable, and although we did not use it, there is a full size pull out bed, if needed. There were a couple dozen TV channels available, but the picture quality was not the best. We don’t visit these campgrounds for the TV, but if it’s a priority for you, it’s something to keep in mind. Channels with anything for young kids were virtually nonexistent.

The kitchen was equipped with everything you would need to cook in the cabin including a full size refrgierator/freezer, a gas stove/oven, a microwave, a toaster and a coffee maker. I don’t know if the microwave was new, or just extremely well-maintained, but it was very clean and large, with both a turn table and a rack above. Dishes, cups and cutlery are included as well. There is a decent sized cupboard above the hot water heater that can be used to store food.

Across from the kitchen are the two bedrooms. The first is a small room with a twin over full bunk. There is no ladder, but you can step onto the full to pull yourself up on the twin. There is also a safety bar on the twin. There are two drawers below the full bed for storage and I was thrilled to see a 4 hook hanger mounted on the wall. One of my biggest complaints about the cabins in general is a lack of space for drying bath towels, beach towels and bathing suits. In the past I have brought along over the door hangers, as well as a full drying rack to remedy this. I would have loved to see even more of these throughout the cabin.

The master bedroom has a queen bed, a small TV mounted on the wall, and a small wardrobe built into the corner. There are several small drawers for storage and the top has a rack for hanging. There are no hangers included, so be sure to pack some if you plan to utilize this space.

The bathroom is in the back of cabin with a tub/shower combo. There is ample counter space, as well as storage below the sink and in the medicine cabinet. As I mentioned, places to hang towels are minimal, with one standard size towel rack mounted behind the door. I would recommend bringing over the door hooks or a drying rack if you have more than one person needing to hang bath towels.

Outside is a picnic table, charcoal grill and fire pit. We did not get to utilize this area due to weather, but this site did have a significantly large grassy area, which is nice for the kids to play. It’s also on the corner of two very quiet roads. We saw very little vehicle or golf cart traffic. I was very comfortable letting the kids play both on our site and on the large field adjacent to it. If you are looking for a little extra space with no immediate neighbors, this was a great site. The campground map shows site M12 right next door, but because it’s all on a hill, they are actually about 40 feet below your site. You can barely see them, and I did not hear them at all. Our site was the largest site we have had at a Thousand Trails campground and had no immediate neighbors.

The cabin is located just down the hill from the indoor pool. In nicer weather, we would have walked to the pool, but we opted to drive. Although the map shows it close by, that green space is two steep hills. The hills and distance would not be an issue for able-bodied adults, but I was not about to attempt it with two young kids in wet bathing suits, walking in the cold rain, on wet grass. The activities center, basketball court, pickle ball, mini golf, and playground were just up the hill as well, and an easy walk on the paved roads.

Despite the issues mentioned above, this is a perfectly acceptable cabin located in a wonderful campground. My campground review can be found here. I would absolutely return to Circle M and plan to do so in the fall. I will likely book a model similar to our first cabin for our next stay, as we really enjoyed that one.

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