Watch for trains
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!