Looking for a rustic and comfortable horse camping experience near Great Valley? Camping with your horse in Great Valley just got easier. These scenic and easy-to-reach Great Valley campsites are perfect for equestrian campers.
Darien Lakes State Park's terrain is hilly with woodlands, ravines, streams and 12-acre Harlow Lake. Darien Lake Campground has a total of 154 campsites, 141 with electricity and 13 primitive sites without. Also available are heated comfort stations and showers, a beach, playgrounds, fishing, hiking and horseback riding trails, picnic areas and a rustic bridge over the lake channel to Picnic Island. In winter, multiple-use trails are open for hiking, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. Darien also has two picnic shelters available for a fee by reservation only.
Hearts Content Campground is a semi-primitive family campground bordering the Hickory Creek Wilderness Area and surrounded by native hardwoods and a patch of planted pine forest. There is a large open field and amphitheater that is suitable for other games near the campground entry, and another large field at the back of the campground that serves as both group camping sites and a helispot. Hearts Content Campground is operated under a concession permit by Allegheny Site Management.
Cross-country Ski Trail: This 6.4 mile (10.5 km) trail utilizes old railroad grades, roads and existing trails to form several loops for your skiing pleasure. The Wheeler Loop Trail goes through the campground and connects to the Tom's Run and Ironwood trails in the Hearts Content Scenic Area. These trails are marked with blue plastic diamonds on the trees. Hickory Creek Wilderness: The trailhead is located approximately 1/4 mile north of the campground entrance. This 8,663-acre area provides opportunities for solitude and a primitive and unconfined type of recreation as a refuge from our highly modified and technological world. No motorized equipment of any kind and no mechanical transports are permitted. A 13-mile loop hiking trail weaves its way through the rolling terrain, climbing in and out of the valleys. It is sparsely marked and maintained to promote a feeling of wildness and the unknown. It may not be suitable for novice hikers - please know your limitatons and do not add markings to help with way-finding. Orienteering Course: Enjoy this self-guided course that allows you or your group to follow, at your leisure. It is a permanently marked route as an introduction to the sport of orienteering. It starts in the Hearts Content Scenic Area.
North of the campground, Hearts Content National Scenic Area is located next to the picnic area across the road. Here stands the remnants of a 300 to 400 year old stand of white pine, hemlock, and beech. Time, insects, and disease are changing the look and nature of this stand. The Interpretive Old Growth Trail starts at the north end of the east side parking lot and winds about one mile through the timber stand before returning to the picnic area. All facilities in the day use area are universally accessible to people with disabilities. Facilities include a picnic area, pavilions, toilet and interpretive materials. South of the campground is Hickory Creek Wilderness, an 8,633 acre second-growth forest of dense trees and ferny undergrowth. This area is managed to let natural processes determine what it will be in the future. Wind, insects, disease, and drought are all shaping the species composition of the trees and understory, which will in turn determine what species of wildlife will inhabit this area. A roughly 13-mile trail traverses the plateau of the area, with the trailhead located approximately 1/4 of a mile north of the campground entrance. The trail is only occasionally marked and may not be suitable for novice hikers.
For facility specific information, please call (814) 363-9090.
Cancellations and changes must be made through Recreation.gov
$60 - $100 / night
Quiet and picturesque campground located in the Heart of Amish country and Amish Trail. Hiking trails available on our 52-acre campground. We also feature guided horseback riding available.
$35 - $45 / night
Guide
Check-in was quick and easy. Our site was spacious, clean, and pretty darn level. Bathrooms were dated, but pretty clean for the amount of traffic. Water was hot and had great pressure. We were there for @KingdomBound2024. The campground was 6 minutes from Darien lake Amusement Park. We will definitely be back next year.
Traveler
Like the other review, this site has a lot of litter. Clearly people are camping here at times but there are posted signs that say Day Use Only. It was quiet and dark.
TravelerThe site was fine, fire pit, primitive spot so no services. We arrived late at night so couldn’t see so well but stopped in a clearing on the road toward the coordinates.
Kind of a gross site, the previous people who stayed at our site were messy and left litter, but it served its purpose as a free place to sleep along a longer trip.
Guide
Just stayed the weekend very big and private sites. Very few people so easy to show up and pick a site. Bathrooms were kept very clean for pit toilet. Water spigot throughout camp no elec
GuideCamping during Labor Day holiday weekend. Like most have said there is some connection but limited at least for Verizon. Taking my three oldest boys camping 8, 6 and 5. So far it has been enjoyable. The camp host seamed pretty nice. Not a lot of privacy was a bit of a downer but better than many I’ve stayed at.
Guide
We had a great time on the Cain hallow loop site 18. The satellite pictures do not give away how hilly the terrain is on the loop. We were at the top of the hill with a great view.
We did not expect to have zero cell phone reception, t-mobile, but turned out to be great as we just enjoyed the views and the time at the fire .
Our site had a huge space for the kids to run and play.
The bathrooms were clean and cleaned frequently while we were there. We saw the ranger or park staff drive through once or twice a day and they always waved and were friendly.
Lots of things to do in the park and explore. Definitely planning to go back again!
Guide9/25-9/29/22- The park was nearly empty, perhaps 6 or 8 other campers widely spread out. It was immaculate and the sites well spaced apart. All site have a picnic table and fire pit. Ours had both 30A and 50A power, was pretty level left/right but about 6” high in front before we leveled our 34’ fifth wheel. The park has drinking water faucets at a variety of places throughout, but site#15 has a faucet directly next to it, so we had water available too. Both AT&T 4G and Verizon 5G had 3 bars reception. The dump station was clean and convenient. It looked like a great place for kids that included at least one (probably more) playground.
TravelerAllegheny National Forest is Pennsylvania's only National Forest and a gem of a location for outdoor recreation. Hearts Content itself is a well-maintained, very quiet campground with some of the most private sites we've experienced in 15 years of regular car camping.
Site A02 is very nice for privacy, one of the three front sites which means a bit of road traffic for other arriving campers, but covered by dense old-growth forest on all three sides and well set off the road. Ample tree coverage means an excellent shade canopy, but not-so-great if you're powering your rig with solar.
Clean, good-tasting drinking water at several community water spigots are available, and the central grassy area even contains a clean and well-maintained playground.
The campground itself is actually across the road from the Recreation Area. The Recreation Area is home to 3 nice hiking trails, including one all-season trail that converts to a cross-country skiing trail in the snowy months, as well as some picnic tables and a restroom.
The campground has a couple pit toilets that have been very well maintained by campground hosts each year we've been there. Zero smell or problems here, they appear to be looked after daily. They are still pit toilets so this is not exactly a luxury affair, but as pit toilets go, these definitely suffice.
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INTERNET: One bar of usable Verizon 4G LTE and T-Mobile 4G LTE suitable for slow web browsing and e-mail, but little else. Because of the very dense tree cover here, Starlink is not really a viable option. The most southern facing sites have more of a clearing which may work for Starlink, but are smaller, less private, and also face the group campsite which is well trafficked by Boy Scout troops and other summer camp gatherings, so you're upping your noise quite a bit.
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MAJOR PROS: This is a great campground to just enjoy camping. Set some 15 miles back in old growth forest, the most private of the campsites provide a very pleasant wilderness experience but still some well-maintained amenities like fresh drinking water and good pit toilets. In our experience camping here several times over several years, weekdays are very quiet at this location, perhaps the quietest of any campground of this size and caliber we've experienced anywhere. It's only really Friday evenings and Saturdays where you'll see more than 3-4 other campers in this place.
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The closest nearby town is Warren, PA a small but service-rich town set on the Allegheny River that provides all the necessary stuff - a Wal Mart, a Lowes, and plenty of restaurants and little shops. Warren is the longtime home of a refinery of some sort and on days when the downwind is blowing especially strong, you can catch the faint whiff of a funky but ambiguous smell of…something?
Cell service kicks up to 5G on T-Mobile in Warren itself, but you're still stuck on 4G with Verizon, as of summer 2022.
Back to the campground, I would highly recommend this place for people who can get out there on weekdays and enjoy peace and quiet. Firewood is available for sale at the Camp Host campsite, but there's so much downed wood behind just about every site that purchasing wood really isn't necessary: you can keep a hot fire going all night, for free, just by cleaning out the underbrush.
This is such a pretty, quiet campsite that during weekdays the area deer will often approach from the woods behind the campsites to feast on low hanging leaves. We've seen dozens of them who will get within 10-20 yards of you for a snack later into the night. While never getting too close, it does make for a pleasant wildlife viewing opportunity.
We really like this place. No showers or other running-water facilities and limited internet service prevent this place from being a perfect 5. It is also a bit of a drive into town for provisions or daily ingress if you need these amenities. That aside, tent, trailer or RV, you are likely to enjoy your experience here if you enjoy camping at all.
RangerWe visited in the fall as the leaves were changing color. Very pretty.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Lake Swimming area
Large field to fly kites
NEARBY ATTRACTIONS: Darien Lakes Theme Park
RangerVery nice quiet small wooded campground. No hookups, about 3-4 fresh water spigots, 1 dump station and dumpster. Water pressure was very low and took a while to fill tank. 26 various sized sites, some large with plenty of space for our 22 foot tow behind and truck + some for extra vehicles. Other smaller sites for tents or vans. Self serve ice $2 wood $10. Vault toilets. Fire rings and picnic table at each site. AT&T spotty 0-1 bars. Host camper. Quiet time 10pm-6am. 1 Xlarge site for groups.
LegendThis state park had a nice lake to paddle on, a solid general store, a huge beach area, kayak rentals, tennis courts, a basketball court, and more.
It was a perfect overnight stop as I made my way out of NY, but I would definitely come back for a longer stay!
ScoutThis is a beautiful place! Monday thru Friday the campground is quite and mostly empty. Friday brings the weekend families and their dogs, still very enjoyable and definitely entertaining!
ScoutCabins are great for families and there are also activities and hiking....Close to some attractions for adults and children too.
ScoutDefinitely a family friendly place to camp
GuideOne of our favorite places to camp. Tent and RV sites are nice, clean. The trees offer great shade and privacy between most sites. The park itself is fantastic with plenty to see and do. Family friendly and kids live it.
TravelerEasy to find a site. Nice size sites that are not on top of each of. We could barely see our ‘neighbors’ through the trees. Well shaded spots.
GuideHearts Content is best described as a way station. The sites are nestled within a grove of immense pines. Some are large enough for large RV’s . There are no showers. Bathrooms are vault toilets. Two of the sites include Adirondack type shelters. A picnic table and fire ring are within each site. I used this site as a staging area to explore Allegheny National Forest for a week. Used a camp shower. The closest town is Warren, PA. Firewood is available at the camp host site. Across the road is an hiking area with picnic tables and the like.
TravelerGreat place to explore. Many trailes, boating, swimming, camping... just a great place to go.
ScoutGreat place to relax and have fun with the family , lots of pets , kids loved the beach and it's only minutes from 6 flags
TravelerThe laser show was great. Some of the rides were down so that was annoying. But we all had fun!
TravelerI didn’t see a review mentioning that the park has a fireworks and laser light show from 10-11:30PM every Friday and Saturday. The show is right next to the campground. We had just gotten our two kids down to sleep when it started and of course everyone was back up again until Midnight. Other than that the campground was great, well maintained, and there are security trucks enforcing quiet hours, no one around us made a peep after 10, and we saw the guards snuff out a couple partys quickly and quietly. There was a HUGE line for the dump station on Sunday morning, definitely worth the couple extra bucks for full hookup so you can bypass that.
Travelerkids and parents will love this place as has lots of entertainment for all ages
ScoutWe have made it an immediate family tradition to stay here for Thanksgiving.
This place is great for family camping. It has a nice variety of cabins along several loops.
Cabins range from rustic to downright homey.
The Red House Administration building is a great central location to meet up with other camping families.
Staff is super friendly & helpful.
GuideWe've been coming to this campground since I was a kid, and love the fact that you can have the amenities of home away from home. There is so much to do there including catching crayfish, fishing, going to the amplitheater, hiking, and so much more. This is a favorite and a must see for sure!
GuideThis campground is within Allegheny National Forest near the town of Warren and Tidouette. The sites are few but spacious. Good for car camping, though I’m sure a smaller RVcould get by. Each site has a fire ring. Two sites have Adirondack type shelters. The night sky is promising but light pollution from Warren inhibits a truly awesome night sky. There is a vault toilet. No showers. No water either. Bring what you need! The closest town is about 30 minutes away. Lots of critter life. My dogs loved it here. We spent all days exploring the nearby trails and creeks. Price was cheap. No frills but a quiet respite for sure.
Guideusually pretty crowded but still such a fun place to camp!
GuideSmall and limited, Hearts Content offers serene quiet evenings.i was lucky enough to get a site that provided an additional shelter that provided cover from the extensive rain we received one night. The canopy is dense here. The tent sites are moderately sized and there would be no problem bringing the largest of tents. Though I stayed here alone with just me and the two dogs, there is enough room at some for entire families. Water is available. Showers are not. Bathrooms are if the privy type but are well kept by the host. Firewood and ice is also available from the host. The great thing about this site is it lends availability to the rest of the National Forest. I spent a week here and barely scratched the surface on what was available for hiking and discovering. Go to nearby town of Warren or Tidouette for supplies. (Stop at the store just outside of Tidouette just across from DG- they have the best deli sandwiches around)
Horse camping in New York offers a unique way to explore the great outdoors while enjoying the companionship of your equine friends. With a variety of campgrounds that cater to horse enthusiasts, you can find the perfect spot to set up camp and ride the scenic trails.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Great Valley, NY?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Great Valley, NY is Red House Area — Allegany State Park State Park with a 4.9-star rating from 13 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Great Valley, NY?
TheDyrt.com has all 5 equestrian camping locations near Great Valley, NY, with real photos and reviews from campers.
