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Best Tent Camping near Blossburg, PA

536 Reviews

State parks and forests surrounding Blossburg, Pennsylvania offer diverse tent camping options within the scenic Pennsylvania wilderness. Colton Point State Park Campground, located on the western rim of Pine Creek Gorge (often called Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon), provides walk-in tent sites with varying hiking distances to reach them. Tioga State Forest offers several primitive tent camping areas including Darling Run, Hoffman, and Tiadaghton campgrounds, all within a 30-minute drive of Blossburg. Loyalsock State Forest, slightly farther east, maintains multiple tent-friendly sites along Yellow Dog Road, Long Run Road, and Browns Road.

Most tent campsites in the region feature basic amenities with rustic facilities. Colton Point's tent sites include fire rings and picnic tables, but only vault toilets are available. Campers note the park doesn't offer modern bathrooms or advance reservations. Many state forest sites require self-registration at pay stations with first-come, first-served availability. Water access varies significantly between locations, with some sites offering manual pumps while others require bringing all water supplies. The camping season typically runs from mid-April through mid-October, though specific opening dates vary by location. Pet-friendly policies are common throughout the area's tent campgrounds.

In early fall, many backcountry tent sites offer cooler temperatures and fewer crowds. One camper described Colton Point as "unlike Leonard Harrison, not a tourist hub" with private campsites requiring "a small hike, so don't over pack." The walk-in tent sites at Colton Point connect to numerous hiking trails, including the Turkey Trail which follows a stream with waterfalls down into the canyon. Patterson State Park, though small, serves as overflow primitive tent camping for nearby Cherry Springs State Park, with approximately eight tent sites arranged around a gravel loop. According to reviews, Lawrence Recreation Area provides peaceful tent camping with good kayaking opportunities and sites positioned near the water.

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Best Tent Sites Near Blossburg, Pennsylvania (50)

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Recent Tent Camping Photos near Blossburg, PA

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Tent Camping Reviews near Blossburg, PA

536 Reviews of 50 Blossburg Campgrounds

  • Sophie D.
    Oct. 5, 2016

    Watkins Glen State Park Campground

    Friendly, beautiful, and well organized

    I ended a two-day backpacking trek through the Finger Lakes National Forest at Watkins Glen. After grunting all the way up the long hill to the campground, I checked in with a wonderful and helpful employee. She gave me all the information about the campground and park that I could ever want, and then we laughed a little about the antics of young husky mixes (I had my dog with me on the hike). The campground is dog-friendly, provided that you have a current rabies certificate and keep him/her on leash.

    I stayed at a tent site, which has no electricity. RV sites, which cost a little more, provide electric hookups. My camp site and all the neighboring ones were clean. Water from spigots is easily accessible, as are showers and toilets.

    The campground is situated walking distance from the main attractions of the park; during the summer, a large swimming pool is a popular place to hang out with family. Hiking trails parallel the creek with beautiful falls. I was disappointed to find that dogs are not allowed on the Gorge Trail, which is closest to all of the falls.

    All in all, I loved this campground. It was a very relaxing place to spend the night.

  • Amy R.
    Jul. 16, 2019

    Pine Cradle Lake Family Campground

    RV/tent campground in a beautiful setting

    This is a gated campground that we stayed at 6/30/19-7/04/19. We are NOT an RV. We own a Napier tent that hooks to our truck so that we can sleep up in the bed. However, due to it being a holiday week, the tent sites were completely booked and they only have 4(which also have water& electric). The tent sites are located in the back of the campground behind the sports field within the trees. I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to see them but they have them pictured on their website. They let us book an RV site and it was rough setting up on a gravel RV site but we understood that we were not within a normal tent element and placed an extra tarp under the tent. The campground is located at the top of some beautiful and scenic driving through farmland in Pennsylvania and you will be 30 minutes from anything like shopping or small town amenities(we drove to Walmart after setting up to get our perishables since we drive up from Virginia). Our site had water and electric, was a drive through spot for a typical RV with a section to the side of the drive through for the fire pit and picnic table. We were located right next to the shower/bathrooms/playground and had some tree coverage and shade. A lot of the RVs in the campground are permanent sites and our neighbors never showed so we had a quiet buffer but it was not a noisy campground. It appeared that they cleaned the bathrooms twice daily and we were impressed with the cleanliness of the bathroom/showers. There were 4 in the building so we never had to wait. The staff were friendly and helpful. They had a store right next to the pool area that offered common items and RV'er might need with a small grocery area as well which included bundles of wood($6 honor system after hours) and Ice($1.78 per bag). We were allowed to run an account which we paid at the end of our stay. Our campsite was required to be paid at check in. The campground is 18 acres with gravel roads, a sports field, fishing, horse shoes, bocce ball, multiple playgrounds, a rec center with some games, claw machines etc. a splash pad and salt water pool. You will be doing a lot of walking or bring your bicycles like we did. They offer scheduled activities for holidays etc and various weekend activities. You can rent non electric boats and they offer catch& release fishing without a PA license in the lake. My son caught 2 sunfish :) They have guidelines for visitors and quiet hours(my cousin came to visit us in the evenings as she lived close by). We enjoyed camping here even if we were on an RV site. We booked site 211 which had the little bit of tree coverage and was located right next to the showers/bathrooms/playground with a quick walk to the lake for fishing. Most of the other available sites in the road ahead of us had no tree coverage but closer to the lake had more trees and shade. OR, just get an actual tent site :) but they are all the way at the back of the campground, furthest from the lake so I actually preferred our site.

  • T
    Aug. 18, 2022

    Ricketts Glen State Park Campground

    Impromptu trip that we don’t regret!

    This trip was a bit impromptu so we assume most of the good sites were picked over. The site we stayed at was the perfect size for two people, not the biggest site in the campground but we had a bit of a buffer between our neighbors so we weren’t on top of other people. We were located at a bit heavily trafficked area because we were near the entrance of the campground and the restrooms. The state park was beautiful and had a lot of things to do. I recommend doing the Falls trail and to get onto Lake Jean. They have a concessions by Lake Jean that doesn’t only sell food and drinks but some ice and bundle of wood. Definitely bring a hammer because it’s near impossible to stake down your tent by hand because the turf is hard. Would definitely come again and do the primitive group camp option if I can. No cell service (Verizon) but if you drive 10 miles north up towards Lopez we were able to get a signal. This was a nice way to end summer!

  • Mary H.
    Jun. 13, 2019

    Upper Campground — Kettle Creek State Park

    Upper campground: Rustic, remote, restful

    The upper campground has a rustic feel, beautiful views and is a great location for wildlife encounters. While it has some amenities (electric on a few RV sites; scullery area near the pit toilets; showers available at lower campground), these grounds are away from the bustle of the outside world. We are tent campers, and without the need for hookup and never having been there, we reserved site 45--but do not recommend it for its challenging slope. When a loud, disrespectful family set up nearby that first night for a long weekend, we spoke with the camp host (helpful, amenable Jim), who suggested we ask about site 71, the most removed of all the sites. Went to the camp office and obtained it for the rest of our week-long stay--and it was perfect. (While it had a hookup that we didn't need/use, we did pay extra for it--but well worth the seclusion.) Super quiet back there and totally private. Some of the rustic tent sites looked lovely, too (did not note best site numbers; sorry), but we cannot recommend #71 enough. If you're an RV camper, however, the sites with the vista views overlooking the reservoir are amazing, if not somewhat close together. 

    We wanted to encounter wildlife; went looking for it and found it! Everything seemed to be about an hour or more away on winding roads, but that was okay; love the meandering. We went to:  

    • Hyner View (gorgeous vistas -- and also came across a mama rattlesnake sunning on a back road and took photos from the safety of our car!); 
    • Pine Creek Gorge (Leonard Harrison State Park) more amazing views; 
    • Benezette to find elk (wild herd at dusk on Winslow Hill, complete with mama and baby--then three buck sauntering through town!); and 
    • lovely nearby Kettle Creek Vista. We also saw a few elk and lots of deer as we drove along the river's edge over the Leidy Bridge. 

    Pennsylvania is gorgeous!

    We also enjoyed meeting Julie at the Lock Haven Visitors' Center and had our only meal out at Deb's in Cross Fork. For ice cream treats (a weakness): Ice Shack near Lock Haven; Old Bull Cafe in Benezette; the kiosk at the top of Pine Creek Gorge. 

    A very restful, quiet week in early June was just what we needed, and Kettle Creek State Park Upper Campground was wonderful.

  • David A.
    Aug. 23, 2025

    Tiadaghton Campground — Tioga State Forest

    Tiadaghaton State Forest, PA

    Roadside site 1/4 mile from the nearest site. You can drive right to the site on Hackett Rd. Very secluded and peaceful. Picnic table and fire ring, but no water or latrine.

  • Lee D.The Dyrt PRO User
    Oct. 17, 2019

    Ricketts Glen State Park Campground

    Waterfalls!!

    The biggest draw to this state park (which no one in Pennsylvania I spoke with seemed to know about) is the 22 waterfalls! We saw 18 of them on a four-mile moderate hike, but if you want to see the additional four, you could make it a seven-mile hike. The trails are very well marked. 

    We stayed in the large loop, which is a peninsula on Lake Jean. Many of the sites have lake views. The bathhouse was clean but not adequate for 73 sites. The campground was about ¾ full and there was often a wait in the bathroom. Showers looked reasonable but I did not use them.

    There were many tent campers in this loop, which does not allow pets (the other, smaller loop does allow pets). There are no hookups at all in the park. The water had been tested earlier in the season and unsafe levels of manganese were detected. All water spigots were shut off and covered but we were told it was safe to wash our dishes and brush our teeth. However, the water for the dishwashing sink was turned off as well as the water in the restroom at the trailhead. Since we had a reservation, we received a phone call in advance of our stay letting us know about this.

    There are trails to the beach, but we woke to rain the next morning, so we did not explore this. 

    One trash/recycle area a distance away from the campsites which seems typical for PA state parks. Alcohol is strictly forbidden– we were warned that if a ranger saw any alcohol outside of our vehicle, we would be cited. Quiet hours are 9 pm– 8 am, which is more restrictive than other state parks, however, some did not observe these quiet hours (a guitar-playing singing camper thought he was talented, but I disagree!)

  • Jennifer F.
    May. 10, 2020

    Worlds End State Park Campground

    Great campground

    I've been coming here every year for a while now. Overall, it has everything you'd want in a campground. They have one of the cleanest bathrooms I've seen yet while camping. The campsites are a good size. Certain sites have more privacy than others, I'd recommend the higher loop if you can. However, some of the sites on the lower loop are close to the road but the road noise isn't too bad. They have designated sites for pets. There are also primitive free sites that are first come first serve. In the colder months, they even have cabins you can rent out. Plenty of hiking and swimming nearby. We always hit up the Forksville General Store for breakfast before we leave. The food is sooo good. I recommend getting the sausage links. Also, the stars are incredible here! I usually come in the fall in October/early November. It's my favorite time to come because it's not extremely packed with campers and the leaves are beautiful. If you come in the fall, make sure you bring a cold weather sleeping bag or heater because the temp does drop. Seriously, a great campground you wont be disappointed!

  • Craig F.
    Jul. 9, 2019

    Ricketts Glen State Park Campground

    Great Hikes but RR conditions lacking

    Ricketts Glen State Park has amazing waterfall lined hikes and recreational lake activities. 

    The campground is comparable to many PA State Parks with a variety of different sized sites, some very close& small and some more private. There are no hook-ups in the campground. While Ricketts Glen has a lot to offer, the repeated conditions of the restrooms/bathhouses throughout the campground will be a deterrent in the future. The bathhouses were not maintained throughout the weekend and were very filthy by Saturday evening. Since there are no hookups, the number of bathhouses to camping sites is significantly lacking. Be aware that PA State park campgrounds are alcohol free and quiet hours start at 9:00PM.

  • Jonathan F.The Dyrt PRO User
    Jun. 26, 2022

    Canyon Country Campground

    Not bad

    This place was pretty decent. My only complaint was that the trees around our site were dead or at least had a lot of deadfall in them. I was laying in my hammock and the wind picked up so I sat up to observe if anything took off from our site and as soon as I sat up a big dead branch fell out of the tree and struck where my head had been. Needless to say I was very lucky! Other then that it was a great spot you could hike from the campground out to the Turkey trail or go check out the fire tower (It’s $5 per person and credit card only). The whole area is beautiful.

Guide to Blossburg

Tent campsites near Blossburg, Pennsylvania typically receive approximately 40 inches of annual precipitation, with elevation ranges from 1,300 to 2,300 feet across the region's diverse camping areas. The area experiences a humid continental climate with four distinct seasons, making late spring through early fall the primary camping period. Winter camping is generally unavailable at most locations due to road closures and facilities winterization.

What to do

Hiking to canyon overlooks: From Colton Point State Park Campground, access the West Rim Trail system with multiple overlooks of Pine Creek Gorge. A camper noted, "Incredible views, nicknamed the Grand Canyons of Pennsylvania" while highlighting the "highest trail elevation in PA."

Fishing nearby waters: Primitive camping at Lawrence Recreation Area provides direct water access. One visitor mentioned, "Had a great few days here camped in RV next to lake. Amazing driftwood to be had. Good kayaking. Peaceful."

Wildlife observation: Tiadaghton Campground offers secluded sites within Tioga State Forest where campers can spot native wildlife including white-tailed deer and various bird species. A camper described their experience: "Roadside site 1/4 mile from the nearest site. You can drive right to the site on Hackett Rd. Very secluded and peaceful."

What campers like

Secluded campsites: Colton Point State Park Campground offers walk-in sites that provide privacy. One camper shared, "I love this camping area! I used to go with my school when i was in high school. And since i graduated i have always enjoyed coming back to this wonderfull place!"

Riverside locations: Many tent sites throughout the region provide access to streams and creeks. A camper at Lawrence Recreation Area stated, "George was fantastic and helpful. It was one of the most relaxing places. Only negative was when my vacation ended."

Trail connectivity: The network of trails throughout the region allows for multi-day hiking adventures from several campgrounds. A visitor to Colton Point mentioned, "Great hiking with great views!" highlighting the recreational opportunities directly from campsites.

What you should know

Primitive facilities: Most Darling Run Campground sites and other state forest campgrounds have limited amenities. At Colton Point, a camper noted, "Small sites with porta potty's, did not stay found another campground," indicating expectations should be adjusted for rustic conditions.

Packing considerations: When using walk-in sites, lightweight gear becomes essential. Some Colton Point sites require carrying equipment between 100-500 feet from parking areas.

Water availability: Many tent camping areas lack potable water sources. Visitors must transport drinking water or bring purification methods for natural water sources.

Tips for camping with families

Site selection: Choose campgrounds with shorter hiking distances for children. One Colton Point camper advised, "This was our first camping trip of the summer and damn did we pick a good spot. I loved that you can pick your own tucked away spot within the camp area but yet still close enough to other people."

Educational opportunities: Hoffman Campground and surrounding forests provide natural classrooms for geology, ecology and wildlife education with interpretive materials at some trailheads.

Activity planning: Schedule shorter hiking routes (under 2 miles) for younger children. Canyon overlooks often have safer viewing areas suitable for families with clear boundaries and railings.

Tips from RVers

Access limitations: Most primitive camping areas have narrow access roads unsuitable for larger RVs. Sites at Colton Point accommodate smaller campervans but not full-size motorhomes.

Limited hookups: RV campers at most locations should prepare for dry camping. A visitor to Lawrence Recreation Area mentioned camping "in RV next to lake" but noted no hookups were available.

Road conditions: Forest roads to Yellow Dog Road Campsite and other remote areas can become difficult after rain, requiring higher clearance vehicles even for smaller RVs and campervans.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the most popular tent campsite near Blossburg, PA?

According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular tent campground near Blossburg, PA is Colton Point State Park Campground with a 4.1-star rating from 7 reviews.

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