Do you love the outdoors and horses? If you're looking for a rustic but comfortable experience, horse camping in Branchton is the way to go. Camping with horses is a beautiful way to experience nature. Search horse campsites and discover top-rated spots, as reviewed by other campers.
From the website:
Primitive tenting not allowed, only group camping as described below. Backpacking site (shelter) with permit.
Update 9/14/2020: All state park day-use and overnight lodging facilities are open according to standard seasons and hours. Group cabin camps remain closed for 2020.
Modern Cabins
Eleven modern cabins are available for rent year round. These cabins sleep six people and have:
Two bedrooms
Bathroom with shower
Kitchen
Dining/living area
Electric heat
Dock on Lake Arthur during the summer seasonRenters must provide:
Linens
Towels
Cookware
TablewarePlay equipment for children is in a central area.
This activity or structure is ADA accessible.
Dogs are permitted in Cabins #7 and #11 for a fee.
Moraine State Park Cabin Map (PDF)
GPS DD: Lat. 40.96586 Long. -80.11389 No Camping
Camping is prohibited in the park. Private campgrounds nearby offer camping. Information is available at the park office. Backpacking
The Link Road Overnight Shelter on the North Country National Scenic Trail is available to backpackers by reservation only. Organized Group Tenting
There are two tent camping areas available for organized groups:
Muskrat Cove
Five PointsThese rustic camps have:
Restrooms
Picnic tables
Cooking grills
Water, but no showersAdvance reservations are required. To reserve a group tent campsite, call 888-PA-PARKS (888-727-2757), Monday to Saturday, 7:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. except on the Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day holidays.
Campground Closed for Renovation: The campground on Leslie Road will be completely unavailable during renovations beginning October 20, 2019. NOTE: A one-lane bridge on Echo Dell Road CANNOT accommodate vehicles with trailers or RVs. You must approach the Park Office, Wildlife Education Center, Gaston's Mill, and Pioneer Village from the south if you are traveling in a large vehicle.
$18 - $50 / night
This recreation area is part of Mosquito Creek Lake
Primitive Camping Area; Permit required for more than one night stay.
500 acres Heavily forested hardwood stand with lots of wildlife and activities in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Many trails for hiking, biking. Peaceful solitude.
$50 / night
Extends through out the camping season. It includes holiday celebrations, pancake breakfasts, contests, various entertainment, etc. Non-denominational church service is scheduled for Sunday mornings. Dress is casual.
$20 - $30 / night
Guide
When you pull into Beaver Creek Family Campground you pretty much have two choices: either you go left into multiple Pine tree sites or right into two cabins and more RV friendly open sites. A few of the RV sites have electric, but no water for their tanks. I suggest the pine sites for any tent or hammock campers. I stayed in one of the first set of 3 pine sites numbered 43, 44, and 45. There is some brush and cover between these sites, but each has a pull in parking pad. If 45 was occupied with a RV, 44 would not be as nice as it was. Backing into 44 and 45 would be tricky as well. To be fair any larger RV that came in better know how to get through tight quarters.
The back area of each of those 3 sites looked best to get even ground for a tent. My buddy hung his hammock between the tree to the left of the picnic bench and to a tree back and left in the picture of site 44. Site was fairly clean, but be sure to move the pine tree duff away from the fire pits to be safe.
Probably the nicest pit toilets I have experienced and while we didn't use, it the sun shower building would give anyone privacy if they had packed a portable shower. Lots of trails to choose from and the pioneer village in the state park gives you many options to spend the day. Had some luck fishing at the Canoe/Kayak area in the South East area of the park close to the Group Camp Sites.
Scout
This campsite was close to an archery tournament for me. It is a huge campsite that is remote and peaceful. I will try to get this place again next year.
Ranger
My wife and I stayed here in late September so it wasn't overly crowded. The camp sites were fairly spacious and level. There seemed to be water fill stations scattered around the campground for convenience. I was actually able to fill me fresh water tank from one near by. The campground is fairly large and we rode our bikes around quite a bit, including our to the campground store at the entrance. There were numerous playgrounds and activities for kids. They have full hookup sections, but most of the campground is electric only. All in all the best review I can give is to say that we would go back.
Traveler
We stayed in site C6 one of the reservable sites. Every site has plenty of room. Campground overall is quiet. And most if not all of the full hookups are pull throughs. But seems many of the tent sites are on grades. Couple beautiful walk in tent sites right on the water. Plenty of nice hiking trails. Great beach for kids.
TravelerSmall quiet state park. Nice trails and very big sites on the one side.
Guide
Moraine State Park doesn't allow camping within the park and there is no campground affiated with park. The one exception is along the North Country Trail, there are 2 rustic shelters that must be reserved through the park office. There are several private campgrounds in the area
GuideWe just got back from our first trip to Mosquito Lake State Park Campground. All in all, it was a great experience.
We stayed in site 67, which is a waterfront site, with electric. The water is about 25 yards from the pad, but is visible from the entire site. The site was spacious, but not as private as some of the others. There is some woods between this site and the sites on either side, but other sites are visible. The fire pits and picnic tables were staggered, so it created some distance to make it feel more private.
The campground as a whole, was very quiet. We stayed from Wednesday to Friday. The group next to us seemed a little rowdy when we first pulled in, but by 10:00 there was no noise anywhere near us.
Most sites seemed pretty level from side to side, but where we were, several had a slope from front to back. Away from the waterfront, most sites looked pretty level. The amount of space between sites varied from site to site. Some sites had woods on both sides, while others were pretty open. Some had nice large grassy areas, others were much smaller. Sites from 214-224 are in a cul de sac and are water front, but they were pretty close together with very little privacy between sites, if any. They are very close to the water though.
There are bathrooms and water scatter about, but from what I saw there was only 1 shower house.
Wal-mart and other shopping and restaurants were about 3 miles away. Park was easy to get to, only one turn for us off the highway. Lake was great for kayaking and paddleboarding. Very nice dog park in a different part of the park. There is a boat launch accessible from inside the campground.
Dump station has 2 lanes which was nice when checking out. Fresh water fill up was also located near the dump station.
TravelerBooked a one night stay a day ahead of time on Ohio State Park site with full hookup. when we arrived the site had been given away by staff to move someone from a noisy area. Gave us the choice of a couple of other electric only sites. Found one right near the water and couldn't have been happier! Site 222 was on a cul de sac right across from the water. Site is probably under water in early year. Had a Pileated woodpecker visit us within 10 yards.
Can't say how nice Wilma from the park office was. She was very apologetic and at the end of our stay gave us a gift card to use for another stay. Both Wilam and the camp host checked on us to make sure we were happy.
Bring your kayaks and bikes.
ScoutBig campsite lots of fishing area Archery rang
Scout
My family stayed over Memorial Day weekend. It was so much fun. They have a lot of activities. My favorite was the disc golf. Their course is really nice!
ScoutThe sites that were around us had a perfect view of the Beaver Creek Valley. Our site was more in the corner with trees and brush blocking the view but we still enjoyed our site. Check in was easy since you can go right to your site and they have your trip details already pin to you campsite post. We stayed during the week so we didn’t share the campground with that many people. The campground was mixture of large sites and some small sites. The smaller sites were near the playground. We were thoroughly impressed by this campground, even if it was a smaller state park. We only stayed a night but we had a really nice and relaxing time at the state park. We were able to check out two of there trails but they have a quite a few trails. They had the pioneer village which was cute and interesting to walk through. Overall, a perfect low stress one night trip.
GuideNice level sites, wooded with partial lake view, wood is 6$ a bundle, large beach and plenty of activities
TravelerThis is my second favorite State Park. Sites are large, private and some on the water. Clean restrooms and great staff.
RangerIf you like peace and quiet this is not the place. No privacy. Dogs barking constantly, cars driving up and down the road constantly...kids screaming and running up and down the road especially young ones that definitely need adult supervision. Most of the sites are small and too close together. Not much room to maneuver a trailer into the narrow uneven pads. The rest of the site was full of rocks, cigarette butts and bottle caps. Came for a relaxing weekend and so far just been annoyed by rude people. Drinking water available but rvs are not allowed to fill tanks. Vault toilets. Full at&t reception. Quiet time 10pm-7am
TravelerHubby and I rented an RV and stayed one night at oil creek campground. We really liked it and wish we could’ve stayed longer. Would definitely go back if we’re back in the area. The owner was such a sweetheart too, very friendly and informative. Two Thumbs up👍🏻
GuideI’ve always loved this quite, small campground. It’s been closed over the last 2 seasons due to the Ash bore, but the future is bright for this area.
Be sure to take in the Pioneer Village
Ranger
I have not yet camped here but passed it on my hike the other day and knew I hadn’t seen it in the Dyrt yet, so I wanted to add it for others. This is a hike in or paddle in only campground. The shortest distance is about 2 miles from the trailhead at the Kennerdell bridge, but there are other trailheads throughout the tract also. This is meant more to be a stop along a paddling or hiking trip than a destination camping trip - you must get a permit to stay more than one night. They are first come first serve. There are 8 sites spread out along the edge of the river, some being closer together than others. They are level and clear, each with a new picnic table and nice fire rings with adjustable grates. A few of the sites had stairs to the water for paddler access. The first 2 sites had wheelchair friendly picnic tables, so I'm not sure if you can arrange to be able to drive back for that situation or what other reason they would put them there. That's nice if the case, I'm just not sure as there is a gate locked at the trailhead that's only opened during hunting season. Plus there's no pavement or gravel down at the sites so I imagine it could be difficult to access. But something to investigate. There are vault toilets that were clean and well maintained, with hand sanitizer. There is a spring for water which says to boil before drinking. There is also a big display board with state forest info and maps. Another thing to note, while the travel in makes it feel very remote, there are cabins all along the opposite site of the river, including directly across from the campsites. This could be a positive or negative depending on your thoughts, I personally would like it because it would make me feel a little safer. All in all, it’s a nice little campground, in better shape than some of the regular bigger campgrounds I’ve seen.
TravelerAffordable, lots of things to do like fishing, hiking trails,, canoeing kayaking, clean shower house, good signal for Verizon,
TravelerBig park. Lots of trees. The shower houses are nice. The bathrooms could use some updating. They are the old outhouse style. Lots of mosquitoes. We rented a pontoon boat. There was a lot of sea weed. Has to stay strictly in the middle. The park is beautiful.
ScoutShen staying at two mile you will find the sites are separated by trees and offer you your own little private area. The prices are good and you truly are in nature.
TravelerHad an amazing 1 night tent camping. When we arrived it was just after a big rain storm and at check in she warned some spots can be flooded. We went to look at our reserved spot and it was super wet muddy and almost under water. They let us pick a new spot that was dry. It was really peaceful. The bathrooms were insanely clean. Didn't check out the showers but I imagine they were just as clean
ScoutAs with most campsites, depending on your site the situation varies greatly. We stayed at site 136 which is great if you are looking for semi-decent privacy and lots of shade. Sites are close but with your fire ring off the back at this campsite you have plenty of trees between you and the next campsite. Other sites have more space and privacy and some sites are wide open spaces giving you many options here. Biggest complaint, we tried to do the right thing and not bring firewood, but the wood we bought even from inside a shed was so wet it took a lot to get it started and keep it going. I'm not a newbie fire person either. Cell phone service for Verizon at this site 136 was very spotty for any internet use.
GuideClose to home for us. Sites are close together. Pretty lake and great fishing.
Traveler
Lots of activities, tons of nearby attractions, fishing, hunting, and hiking. Great store and owners, a nice place to visit.
ScoutStayed here several times in the summer of 2020 bc it was only an hour and a half from home and usually had sites available on or near the lake.
The algae was kind of thick, which made fishing impossible,so we stopped bringing the kayak.
ScoutOil F.C. is a hidden gem nestled in the woods not far from Oil Creek State Park. They have a great playground, a maze, a catch and release pond. Lots of things to do to keep the kids, or in our case the grandkids occupied. They have a well stocked camp store, in case you don't want to make the 4 mile ride into town. Their firewood prices are very reasonable. Rachel is a great in accommodating her campers. We were there 3 times this year. Its become our goto campground that's only an hour away from Erie.
GuideI live near by to this state park and have spent much time exploring the entirety of it.
The trails are all nice, nothing too strenuous, and each have something unique compared to the others in the park. During the spring the Salamander trail is filled with thousands of Trilliums, a truly majestic experience. Lots of flowing water to enjoy throughout the park, some are off the trails but never hard to reach. A good park to enjoy with family and friends because you can fish, kayak, bike, skate, hike, horseback, and picnic. In addition, there are numerous historical cabins, locks, shelters, and a water run mill to sight-see. Then for those in search of a bit of spookiness, Gretchen’s Lock is notoriously a haunted location with certainly eerie vibes.
The family campground is small, but the park as a whole is not far from civilization so if any supplies are needed it is not a far endeavor.
I do not horseback, so I cannot comment on that campground, but many of the trails are friendly for horses to travel.
OH! And if you are there on the weekends the Wildlife Center is a must! The staff are so nice, it is by donation to visit so is in everyone’s price range. An astounding display of animals and nature information! You can even hold the snakes and see a bee hive in action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the most popular equestrian campsite near Branchton, PA?
According to TheDyrt.com, the most popular equestrian campground near Branchton, PA is Group Camping and Cabins — Moraine State Park with a 4.2-star rating from 9 reviews.
What is the best site to find equestrian camping near Branchton, PA?
TheDyrt.com has all 8 equestrian camping locations near Branchton, PA, with real photos and reviews from campers.