Best Glamping near Allegheny National Forest

We have tented and RV'd at Clear Creek. A must do when camping in Pennsylvania. The Clarian river is great for kayaking . Multiple trails off of park. Biking and breweries close by. if you have RV/travel trailer do NOT recommend the non-power sites, they are not level enough, you may really have to bring up the trailer. There were wonderful campsites hosts when we there

Pros; excellent location, great friendly people, clean and stocked bathrooms which include showers. Some sites are separated.. great camp hosts

Cons…a few sites are really close, however not a bad thing here as we got to meet a lot of great people, so for us it was kind of a Pro.

So I’ll be honest: Sometimes I camp just so I can get close to flyfishing. This particular review has less to do with the specifics of the site (although this campground is great!), and more to do with the flyfishing in the area (also great!).

Pennsylvania is home to some of the best wilderness trout streams that you’re ever going to find. The area is just plain beautiful! If you like hiking, fishing, and getting it to enjoy some of the pristine wilderness of the Allegheny National Forest, this campground is your gateway to its natural beauty.

The campground near Tionesta (pronounced: “ty-NES-ta” for those out-of-town) is standard, but pretty nice. Everything you would expect for camping near ANF. The sites are well-maintained, and most of the locals seem pretty respectful.

The little town of President (and Porcupine Creek) is just up the road. This is one of the most pristine wilderness brook trout fisheries in the area. You can even find a wild, native Rainbow if you‘re lucky enough ;-)

Quick tip: spend more than a day here. If you like scenic drives, you’ll in for a nice surprise.

This is my favorite campground so far in PA.

For the most part, there isn’t a bad site (although we didn’t see any of the walk up sites, and I recommend not booking a site immediately next to the bathrooms since the ones without showers are more like “outhouse” toilets and can stink). The sites are private, flat, surrounded by trees, and have plenty of space. The ground is quite rocky though, so bring plenty of heavy duty tent steaks.

Highlights include: the reservoir (beautiful and clean! You can swim with your dog from the access points at the campground), quiet, friendly staff (a kind older gentleman helped us jump my car and refused to take any money as a thank you), updated/very clean showers, not buggy, reception is great (we have Verizon), plenty of room to social distance, and 2 trading posts about 1 mile away with milk, eggs, basic supplies, etc.

Cons: the bathrooms without showers aren’t flush toilets, and there is no campground office so you must see the hosts for any issues.

Things to do nearby (last 5 pictures): the Kinzua Skywalk Bridge free- an old train bridge that was partially destroyed by a tornado in the early 2000’s. The bridge is handicap/stroller accessible, pets are allowed. There is a small indoor museum & gift shop, and a hiking trail along the wreckage. If you hike, wear good sneakers, the path is rocky and VERY steep. The hiking path is not recommended for small children). Bathrooms on site.

The Kinzua Dam free - beautiful. Handicap/stroller accessible, pets permitted. Bathrooms were closed due to social distancing.

Rimmrock overlook free- just a small distance from the parking lot. NOT stroller/handicap accessible, and there are rock steps, however we saw numerous families with small children go through the path with no issues. Pets permitted. Bathrooms on site.

Nearby towns of Kane and Ridgway looked cute, but we didn’t spend time there due to our efforts to social distance.

Campground Review: Red Oak is located in the Alleghany River area of Wahyrren County PA, near the Kinzua Dam. It's a private campground with all kinds of amenities: a pool, gameroom, store, brick oven pizza shop, cermanics hut, activity center and large playground. They host activities like "yard sale weekend" and "mini-carnivals". A large portion of the campground serves as a seasonal campground for campers and other recreational vehicles, and has an adorable little side trail of newer "tiny home" style cabins available for rent. These areas are beautiful, quiet and treed, with large sites including ample space for campfire parties and hammocks. The owners live on site and are very gracious hosts and shop keepers!

The "tent" and daily camper camping area centers primarily around a very large open space, which houses a field, a little kids play area (many huge sized Legos for fort building mini-golf, horseshoes and an inflatable jump pad). This was amazing for my kids and they enjoyed every minute of their camp experience, however, for the adults, we found it a bit busy. Quiet hours are not really enforced, and bands of wild and (let's face it) thrilled, kids played until all hours of the dark night, illuminated at the playground by a bright street light. They are very dog friendly. Campers themselves were fairly quiet and non disruptive, but make no mistake, this is an activity campground focusing on kids and activities. The pool is sunny and well kept, with an added bonus of a lifeguard on duty. Bathrooms were very clean and newer, and the lack of showers didn't seem to be a problem, as most of the campers here use their own RV stalls, and so we never found a wait, which was nice.

Area: this area is unique. It's near a small industrial town on the banks of the Alleghany River, where you can find basic dining and stores for convenience, and is only about 25 mins from the Kinzua Dam Recreational Area which is lush and green and beautiful. Aside from the dam, which is one of the largest in the country, the accompanying reservoir is beautiful. Boating, fishing and relaxing are abundant on this beautiful quiet lake in the mountains. There's a small public beach, park area, and boat docks. The recreational area and surrounding forest include several trailheads for exploring, and mountain hikes at the top of which you can overlook the dam and reservoir. One hidden gem is a small parking area and trailhead just past the dam on the reservoir side, called Bent Run Waterfalls. A short hike in reveals a set of fairy-garden like waterfalls stepping down the side of a mountain that overlooks the reservoir. It's beautiful, and we even let the dog and kids play in their little pools of fresh water. This area is often uncrowded and a gem of the area.

Product Review:

As a Dyrt Ranger, I get the opportunity to review items from time to time. This trip we tried out the Belmont Blanket! First off, let me say that it was unseasonably cold and windy in the evenings for August, so this blanket ended up being a welcome addition to our trip. Deceptively thin and easily packable, this LARGE blanket unrolls to a really usable size of 5'x6' - and has a unique construction. It's outside layer is a soft brushed waterPROOF shell, which seriously works. It blocked out the wind and sprinkling rain of one of our campfire nights. I'll never use a poncho again. The interior of it is a VERY soft brushed fleece, which is shiny and actuallly feels more like a ultra-soft pelt. Its construction is wildly durable, and hand made (by someone who actually signed a little note inside the box!). Being so big, it was able to completely wrap around me, including a hood, and was shareable between myself and 2 kids seated next to me in chairs. Then I brought it home and popped it in the washer! Like new! This blanket is well worth the cost, but I likely wouldn't have known that had I not gotten the opportunity to try it out throughout Dyrt. I even used it over my bed while camping to keep the damp out and the warmth in, and it worked perfectly without unnecessary weight. This is an item that we have since gotten far more use out of than just camping. It's been to the beach, park, and even back yard and we just roll it up and keep it out at this point. I'd highly recommend the investment in this top of the line "adventure blanket". It's also kind of beautiful, with its bold colors and leather hook-loop and strap. Overall - we're huge fans of this über-functional blanket!