Primitive Camping Area — Bald Eagle State Park, near Howard, Pennsylvania, is a fantastic spot for those who want to immerse themselves in nature without the distractions of modern life. This campground offers a mix of tent and RV sites, with many tucked away in the woods for a more secluded experience.

The amenities include picnic tables and fire rings, perfect for cozy evenings around the campfire. Visitors have noted the friendly site personnel and the overall cleanliness of the area, making it a welcoming place to unwind. One camper mentioned, “The sites are very spacious and help you feel closer to nature,” which sums up the vibe here nicely.

For outdoor activities, you’re in luck! The campground is close to several hiking trails and a beautiful lake, ideal for swimming and kayaking. Many campers enjoyed the nearby beach, although it’s a bit of a trek to get there. If you’re looking for a rustic experience with a touch of comfort, this campground has got you covered. Just remember, no alcohol is allowed, so keep it chill and enjoy the natural surroundings.

Primitive Camping Area — Bald Eagle State Park

Looking for the best campgrounds near Howard, PA? Camping, hiking, biking: however you want to spend your days near Howard, you'll find great campgrounds with The Dyrt. Find the best campgrounds near Howard, PA. Read reviews from campers like you and find your perfect campsite.

Howard

The Best Camping Near Howard, Pennsylvania

The campground was primitive and the area is very nice. We had a great time here.

Fine campground

Stayed in Primitive Area with RV which is MUCH QUIETER &amp; MUCH MORE PRIVATE with many trees than the full hookups down in the main park area. The developed Campground is very "exposed" - not private, sites close to each other, no trees. Yuk. But closer to the water. It's a bit of a drive to Primitive Campground on not so good road, but worth it, I think.

Not bad

this is my favorite campground been coming here for the past 4 years. some of the sites are a little hard to get into because of the loop. I have camped at a few campground, but this is a campground I can’t wait to come back too! there isn’t a bad site, the water is a good water, but once you get there you will love the beach! we love to camp here over the 4 of July, there are spots that if it rains we can still have our cook out with our group. we go back in August this year and I can’t wait!

my 1st pick every time!

Bald Eagle State Park is a great place to camp, fish, kayak, boat, bike and hike. We camped here in the off season. The two commercial camping areas are great and provide all of the comforts of commercial camping, complete with yurts and cabins. We drove around the lake to check out the primitive camping locations also. They are very well maintained with an outhouse toilet facility. I was impressed at how clean every site was

The lake is huge with a beautiful beach to spread out on and play in the sand! We kayaked and biked all over the park. We also fished a lot. Due to the large size of the lake we didn’t feel like we were on top of other people fishing.

Our kids loved the freedom of riding their bike and exploring the park with other kids who were camping. We are glad we camped here!!

Perfect for Family Camping, Kayaking, & Fishing

Well maintained, sites are spacious, lots to do in the park, clean bathrooms and friendly staff. We will be back for sure!

We loved it!

A small campground on the large Bald Eagle Lake. the campground is actually a short drive down the road from the bulk of the park, but still has a boat launch area. 

Campaites vary from nice large sites set back from the road up some stone stairs or pathway, to small grassy pull offs on the side of the road.  We stayed at one of the set back sites. 

There is not much in the area in terms of supplies or stores. there was an old Unimart Gas station on Howard PA that is now closed. There is a pizza place that sells bags of ice as well as a small outdoors store we didn’t visit. 

There is are a few vault toilets in the loop as well as a plethora of water pumps. 

Other campers were very loud and didn’t follow much in terms of usual campground etiquette.

Mostly A place to Stay while boating

Clean facilities, nice little beach with playground, warm showers available— all-around good place!

Great Getaway

I throughly enjoyed my time at Bald Eagle State Park. We stayed at a tent site, I believe 58 in the rustic camping section. The rustic section was located around a large loop with each site ranging in a few feet from the car-friendly loop to about the 50 foot walk where our site was located. While this is a primitive site, planning ahead you can place yourself near the vault toilets. If there was running water in the bathrooms– we didn’t find it! There are several water pumps located around the loop and we used that for washing dishes. Our site had space for two tents with a nice fire ring and picnic table. The fire ring was actually one of the best I have experienced– featuring a grill grate with adjustable levels for exposure to heat. The site also had a hook for keeping food or garage elevated from critters. Hammock lovers: we had plenty of trees to easily string our hammock near the picnic table/fire ring. Now the trains. An active railroad sits about 75 feet away from several of the rustic sites. We noticed the 7 p.m. train on Saturday evening. What we didn’t expect was being awoken at 5 a.m. to a freight train blowing through full steam– really gets your heart pumping– did not need coffee that morning. The rustic area also has access to a trail that loops about two miles near the lake and rustic campground. It was a fun place! 

Watch for trains

The rustic campground has some parking sites, but we are most fond of the sites with a short walk in. Usually they’re very private. Some clusters allow dogs. Nearby lake access through a tunnel under the tracks near the bathrooms. Two points for trail access along the campground road.

Rustic Campground: Cozy and Private

The area is beautiful, but the campground is not wooded. It was cleared, some landscaped trees but not enough, grassy areas and paved areas. The campground is surround by woods. The beach is not easily walkable from the campground, 3 mile walk on a muddy overgrown path, then on the street with no sidewalk. Beach is beautiful, very calm, warm water for early July, soft sand and nice large trees for shade. 

Beautiful area, sparse trees

We needed a break from the rest area sleeping. We found this site on here and on iOverlander. 

The sites are clean, flat and spread out. You can see everyone but you don’t feel like you are on top of one another. 

The bathrooms were clean and the shower was hot and much needed. The fireflies were in rare form and the wildflowers that outline the camping were beautiful. 

I would stay here again when passing through Pennsylvania. 

Quiet, Clean & Convenient

Rustic campsites, pretty quiet, great lake nearby. We enjoyed it over a three day weekend doing tent camping with our two bulldogs. 

Nice remote location with a town nearby

Bald Eagle camp ground is set in the center of a beautiful state park. There are ~60+ camping sites-- some close to the road and others set back into the woods. We slept so well, hiked and relaxed on the beach. Attn LOVE BIRDS there is also a hotel/ wedding venue within this state park. 

Sleep here. You'll be back. 

We stayed at the campground while visiting the State Forest in early September 2019. We enjoyed our stay. We camped very close to the shower houses which was a plus.

Amazing

We stayed at a tent site, T35 and it was wonderfully secluded. The site itself was fairly uneven and rocky so we had to always use caution when walking around the site but it added to the rugged experience. There are 3 sets of vault toilets around the one way loop and they seemed clean but definitely smelled like vault toilets do. There are usually a lot of spigots around the campsite to get water but right before we left for our trip I got a notification that there was a waterline issue and there would be centrally located water. It ended up being a big portable water truck near the first set of vault toilets on the loop. The primitive campsite is a mix of RV and tent sites and has a good mix of both. The tent sites are definitely more secluded and situated back in the woods, you do have to walk a small path to get to your site and the parking is on the road. We really enjoyed our long weekend kayaking, swimming in the lake (there is a really nice beach on the other side of the lake) and just generally relaxing at our campsite. The rest of the park is situated about a 10 minute drive across the lake. Firewood is very accessible and some right at the beginning of the loop (cash only). Overall we really enjoyed the campsite as well at the State Park, it has a lot to offer. 

A Relaxing Getaway is 

The sites are very cool at this campground. They are very spacious and help you feel closer to nature. The bathrooms are very bad though

Neat campground but sketchy bathrooms 

I really loved these private walk-to sites. Each site had a spot along the road and then their own path back into the woods. The site itself was very roomy and level with a picnic table, fire ring, and big spot for a tent. The bathroom had a dishwashing sink around the back and there were potable water spigots throughout the campground.

Private Walk-to Sites

Primitive campsite on south side of lake. Very helpful and friendly site personnel. Midweek was very quiet with maybe only 2 or 3 sites taken and no one on our stretch (perfect). Damp this time of year due to mist etc. but ok. We were on lower part of site closer to rail line but no big deal ie. 4 trained in 2 days, latest one at 9:20PM and not a long one (plus trainers are cool so all good) hiked two of the three trails at the site, both nice. Used one of the drive through sites just because everything was open hence liked how it worked out for us.

Photos of Primitive Camping Area — Bald Eagle State Park

Real photos from real campers