Camper submitted image from Twin Lakes Recreation Area - Allegheny National Forest - 1

Camper submitted image from Twin Lakes Recreation Area - Allegheny National Forest - 2

Nature

Camper submitted image from Twin Lakes Recreation Area - Allegheny National Forest - 3

Facilities

Camper submitted image from Twin Lakes Recreation Area - Allegheny National Forest - 4

Roads

Camper submitted image from Twin Lakes Recreation Area - Allegheny National Forest - 5

Official

Established Camping

Twin Lakes Recreation Area - Allegheny National Forest

4 Reviews

About

National Forest

Allegheny National Forest

Overview

Rec.gov campsite availability grid is not reflective of availability. For more information on reservations, please visit http://fotlanf.org/ Twin Lakes Campground is located near a small, spring-fed, trout-stocked lake, popular with families. Visitors enjoy fishing, swimming and exploring local trails, including the Twin Lakes Trail.____The campground was once the site of a chemical factory, and the lake was built as a "splash dam" to raise water levels in a plant downstream.__

Recreation

Campers love Twin Lakes for its swimming beaches and lakeside fishing piers. Mill Creek offers native trout fishing, and can be accessed along the Mill Creek Trail. Hiking and backpacking are available along area trails. The Black Cherry National Recreation Interpretative Trail features nearly 40 interpretive displays along its path, and forms the eastern end of the Twin Lakes Trail, the second longest in the forest.

Facilities

Natural Features

The Twin Lakes area is forested with a mixture of hardwoods. Many natural streams and creeks meander through the landscape within the Allegheny National Forest in northwestern Pennsylvania. The Allegheny is the state's only national forest. It covers nearly half a million acres and is populated primarily with black cherry, maple and other hardwoods.

contact_info

For facility specific information, please call (814) 389-3019.

Fee Info

This 48-site campground includes family campsites (some include electric hookups), 2 double campsites and 1 group tent campsites, for groups up to 50, with pavilions. Other facilities include vault toilets, trailer dump stations, paved paths and roadways and playgrounds. The day use area includes a swimming beach, bathhouse, picnic tables, pavilion, playground, walking trail around the lake and fishing piers. <br><br>

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Location

Twin Lakes Recreation Area - Allegheny National Forest is located in Pennsylvania

Directions

The PA DOT has issued a detour for camping rigs over 5 tons for Wilson Run Bridge on Township Road providing access from Highway 321 to Twin Lakes. The alternate route is Forest Road 191 heading west from the campground. Northwest PA on State Route 321 about 8 miles south of Kane, PA. From State Route 321 at large campground sign, turn onto Forest Road 191. Go 2 miles on Forest Road 191 to the campground. Railroad underpass on entrance road restricts vehicle height to less than 10 feet.

Coordinates

41.6122222 N
78.7608333 W

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Access

Drive-In
Park next to your site

Stay Connected

WiFi
Poor
Verizon
Unknown
AT&T
Unknown
T-Mobile
Unknown

Site Types

Tent Sites
RV Sites
Standard (Tent/RV)
Group

Features

For Campers

Trash
Firewood Available
Electric Hookups
Toilets
Alcohol

For Vehicles

Sanitary Dump
Pull-Through Sites
Big Rig Friendly

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General Info

Megan V.

Scout

Reviewed Mar. 5, 2023

Work in progress

This campground used to be run by the forest service, but was closed several years ago. My understanding is that so much infrastructure had gone by the wayside that the forest service didn't want to deal with it. A local nonprofit group has since taken it over and they are slowly getting things fixed. That being said, there were no amenities when we stayed - no bath houses, no toilets, no water to fill up our rig with, no sanitary dump station. The latter was obviously a huge inconvenience because we had to stop at our local Treasure Lake KOA to dump our tanks (which they charged an arm and a leg for.)

The reason for the three stars is just the fact that we didn't realize there was not going to be any amenities available. Otherwise it's a very nice campground. The sites are relatively private and they have been nicely fixed up with crushed stone pads and beautiful new fire pits.

The water was extremely low when we visited (labor day weekend 2022) so the pond there was pretty mucky. I think it's probably lovely when rainfall is more normal.

There is a nice loop of well maintained trails that connects to even more expansive trails (I think going all the way out to Cooks Forest...too ambitious for me) that we enjoyed walking.

Unfortunately I don't think we'll camp here again until they have the dump station up and running. They are working on it, from what I understand. It was just too inconvenient to dump elsewhere.

Month of VisitOctober

Dave G.

Guide

Reviewed Sep. 18, 2021

Twin Lakes Rec Area ANF

A great place to visit! Camp hosts are friendly and helpful. There are 50 campsites, which 23 have 20 and 30 amp electrical service. At the moment there is NO water here, however the dump station is operative. BTW, we've camped here for over 30 years, and we have loved this place so much we've become camp hosts ourselves!

Site30 upper loop

Month of VisitAugust

Tee J.

Traveler

Reviewed Dec. 29, 2020

Huge private sites with a nice but cold swimming area. There’s also nice hiking trails in the park.

Quiet are far from the highway.

Brian S.

Guide

Reviewed May. 6, 2018

Quiet, Wooded Campground at Backpacking Trailheads

Twin Lakes is a beautiful spot, tucked away in a stream valley in the Allegheny National Forest. It's mainly locals who come here, since few outsiders know about it. If you come in the spring or fall, you're likely to have the whole recreation area to yourself, though the swimming beach can get crowded in summer. Originally, there were supposed to be two small lakes--more like ponds--on this site. But money for the second pond was redirected elsewhere--to construct the swimming area at the Lolita Campground instead. And so, the little body of water called "Twin Lake" sits solitary and with a misleading name. The campground is quiet and pleasant, with large, sunny sites for trailers in the lower loop and shaded tent sites in the upper loop. Unfortunately, nearby gas drilling has made the drinking water unsafe, and so the National Forest Service first closed the upper loop, and now for the 2018 "camping year" it has closed the entire campground. The ANF website promises that this is temporary, and the campground will reopen. In every way, Twin Lakes is a lovely location, with dark, towering hemlock trees, rustic old CCC architecture, and a serene little lake completely encircled by a walking trail. Black bears have long been habituated to humans at Twin Lakes! Keep your food and toiletries in the car. To my knowledge, no one has ever been attacked by a bear here. The wild and overrun Twin Lakes Trail is a linear backpacking route that starts here and heads westward toward the North Country National Scenic Trail. But unfortunately, the Twin Lakes Trail ends up getting lost in those dismal parts of the forest that have been completely trashed by gas drillers. I hope this campground reopens. I have fond memories of bringing my kids here when they were little, flying kites, picking berries, swimming in the frigid spring water! PS: If you've got a tall trailer, be sure to check the Twin Lakes page on the ANF website; there's a way in, but it's not all that easy to find.

SiteUpper Loop

Month of VisitSeptember