drove from Dulles to here at 11pm Thursday night.Easy with GPS. Driveway entry is ( from Dulles) upward left turn through gates. Large flat car park at rear , with grassed flat yard. Can see the rivers from the rear property boundary. Very clean inside, great modern sperate toilets. Good kitchen & lounge. Twin bunked room was sufficient for 2 people. Short drive to Harpers Ferry village

I'm surprised to see that others enjoyed this hostel--I was treated like a second class citizen during a stay here as a camper and it was the worst treatment I've ever received. I highly recommend you go to the Brunswick Family Campground instead (http://www.brunswickmd.gov/campground.htm) which seemed lovely and was much closer to the C&O trail! I had to pay $5 to use "bathroom facilities", but in reality this meant I could take one shower. Every time I tried to use the facilities afterwards, a staff member essentially guarded the door and questioned me. Their rationale was that it was too crowded, but the bathroom was empty! We were forced to use a disgusting port-a-potty that had no hand sanitizer and smelled awful, and a garden hose was our sink/water supply. The sanitary conditions were definitely questionable. The worst part about the whole place was how poorly we were treated--the staff was rude and refused to let us come in despite a mixed message on the door. As someone who respects the place they stay in, I was horrified.

Beware camping at this hostel. You are not welcome generally. You can pay for bathroom access, but soon after doing this the staff decided that they would only allow us to use the bathroom once, although we were not previously informed of this policy. Apparently this is their new policy because they changed their signs the next morning to say that you only get to use the bathroom once. We were a clean group of middle-aged cyclists. Otherwise you have to use a port-a-john outside, with no sink. So you are not getting your money's worth when you pay for the bathroom. Overall the staff were rude. Getting to the hostel walking or biking is dangerous because it is at the top of a steep hill and is on a busy, winding road with fast driving trucks and cars. The yard also has a ton of no-see-ums. Generally very unpleasant place.

I've stayed in quite a few hostels in various parts of the world and this is one of the ones that seems to have remained true to the original hostel spirit. .

1) ,The manager is very welcoming and helpful. (can't mention her name to give credit since you aren't allowed to mention names onTripAdvisor, unfortunately)
2) , it is in a rural setting and very quiet.
3) It has a very nice kitchen/common area. You can cook your own dinner here. There is only a small convenience store nearby with no much in it so you might want to bring things to cook if you're going to eat there. If you didn't bring any food the hostel does have a few items for sale such as mac & cheese & ramen soup.
4) Free pancake breakfast in the morning. -- if you like pancakes, that is.
5) Free WiFi and internet computer.
6) No TV! -- This is a huge plus. (Sadly, some hostels have put in a television and it generally completely ruins the atmosphere. A hostel is all about meeting other travelers, but once a TV is on, all conversation stops. ) Hats off to the hostel management for saying NO to television!

You can walk to the Harper's Ferry National Historic Park, a town that is sort of an indoor/outdoor museum of the revolutionary war / civil war era. It is two miles down the Appalachian trail.

There is also tent camping at the hostel. BUT, if you camp there you are not allowed to use the hostel facilities. This seems strange to me since the whole point of staying there is being able to enjoy the hostel and meet other travelers staying at the hostel.

We stayed in a private room which cost $45 (plus $5 extra for non-members). This seems like quite a lot for a hostel. But it is still worth it since it's a completely different experience than an impersonal motel.

The dorm, priced at $18 (member rate) is quite reasonable if you're a single traveler and don't mind sharing a room.

Although the focus of hostels has traditionally been young people, people of all ages are welcome.