$60 - $100 / night

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Nature
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Roads
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Facilities
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Activities

Established Camping

Hearts Content Recreation Area

8 Reviews

About

USDA Forest Service

Allegheny National Forest

Overview

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.

Recreation

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.

Facilities

Each of the 26 family campsites contains a picnic table, fire ring and tent pad/RV spur. Two sites also have lean-to shelters. Vault toilets and pressurized water are available. A dump station is located at the exit. There___s lots of open area. Campsites can be reserved or available on a first-come, first-served basis only.

Natural Features

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.

contact_info

For facility specific information, please call (814) 363-9090.

Charges & Cancellations

Cancellations and changes must be made through Recreation.gov

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Access

  • Drive-In
    Park next to your site
  • Walk-In
    Park in a lot, walk to your site.
  • Hike-In
    Backcountry sites.

Stay Connected

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

Site Types

  • Tent Sites
  • RV Sites
  • Standard (Tent/RV)
  • Group
  • Equestrian

Features

For Campers

  • Trash
  • Picnic Table
  • Firewood Available
  • Phone Service
  • Drinking Water
  • Toilets
  • Alcohol
  • Pets
  • Fires

For Vehicles

  • Sanitary Dump
  • Water Hookups
  • Big Rig Friendly

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Reviews

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4.5

out of 5

8 Reviews

Ian B.The Dyrt PRO User
Reviewed Sep. 3, 2023

Good for young kids and new campers

Camping 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.

Site7
Month of VisitOctober
  • Review photo of Hearts Content Recreation Area by Ian B., September 3, 2023
  • Review photo of Hearts Content Recreation Area by Ian B., September 3, 2023
  • Review photo of Hearts Content Recreation Area by Ian B., September 3, 2023
  • (9) View All
M
Reviewed Jul. 22, 2022

Quiet, Fairly Remote, Pleasant National Forest Campground

Allegheny 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.

SiteA02
Month of VisitJuly
Jennifer K.The Dyrt PRO User
Reviewed Jun. 14, 2022

Great quiet little campground

Very 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.

Month of VisitJuly
  • Review photo of Hearts Content Recreation Area by Jennifer K., June 14, 2022
  • Review photo of Hearts Content Recreation Area by Jennifer K., June 14, 2022
  • Review photo of Hearts Content Recreation Area by Jennifer K., June 14, 2022
  • (11) View All

Location

Hearts Content Recreation Area is located in Pennsylvania

Detail location of campground

Directions

Hearts Content Recreation Area is located 15 miles southwest of Warren, PA. From the Mohawk exit of U.S. Route 6, take Pleasant Drive south for 11 miles. Turn left onto State Secondary Route 2002 (Hearts Content Road) and go south for four miles to Hearts Content. The Hearts Content Recreation Area is split by State Route 2002, with the campground on the west side of the road and the scenic area on the east side. Coming from the east, take PA-6 to Sheffield and turn left at the stop lightonto PA-666. Cross the railroad tracks and turn right after 1 block onto Bull Hill Road and cross Tionesta Creek on the iron bridge, heading up the hill to the left. This road changes names several times (Bull Hill, Austin Hill, Hearts Content), but is State Secondary Route 2002. Follow it for 13.3 miles to Hearts Content. The campground will be on the left (west) side of the road and the scenic area will be slightly further ahead on the right.

Coordinates

41.6955556 N
79.2577778 W

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