Best Glamping near Gaines, PA

Absolutely beautiful well kept campground situated between Pine Creek and the rail trail! Great facilities...there's even glamping tents!

my family loves going here and relaxing in the fall. We will even take a day during the winter and just drive up for a visit. the pitures i have were from last winter. this state park has yurts you can rent to stay in and also so very good campsites too and good facilities. hikeing trails, a lake, huge picnic area too

This is one of the main attractions for the area. Locals come here when the weather is nice.

We stayed in yurts, which are round tents ($38 per night). We had a cozy wooden deck and slept four people in two bunk beds. We also had a cooking stove, refrigerator, heat and electricity.

There is plenty of fishing and hiking to go around.

Really recommend this campsite if you have a little extra money to spend and are looking for a light getaway with friends.

If you're looking for a secluded place for yourself or with a loved one, I would look around the area for a less-popular campsite.

We stayed at site 78 on the Sycamore loop at the end of April in a tent, which isn't the best equipment for this campground. Our site had a blacktop driveway, a very small amount of gravel, and a ton of mud. There was standing water toward the back of our site, and no really solid place to pitch our tent.

It was very windy the night we stayed and the following morning was as well. Because our tent stakes were anchored in mud, our tent blew over and collapsed. Our neighbor's tent did as well.

With the exception of our neighbors, we were the only tents in the loop (the other sites had RVs, and there are 2 cabins and 2 yurts on the loop as well). Firewood is for sale at the camp host site.  Bathrooms are clean and the showers are delightfully warm.

The sites are flat and open. There is a lack of trees, so no real wind break. Each site has a fire ring and a hook to hang food from small animals.

If the primitive sites weren't all booked out (it was the first day of turkey season) we would've stayed there. I'd give this place another chance, but only if we can snag a site at the primitive campground.

Incredible views, nicknamed the Grand Canyons of Pennsylvania

Very well kept state park. Bathrooms are super clean.. Sites and huge and we had one of the lakes right behind our site. If you like nature this is a great place. Wildlife everywhere. Hiking, fishing, kayaking...you name it. Pennsylvania Grand Canyon is amazing.

Our family loved the modern cabins which are available in my of Pennsylvania's state parks. I'd rank any other park that we visit with a five star rating. The staff at other parks will let my family check in before 3:00pm if the cabin is ready.The swim area is one of the best around. Playgrounds are fun& the snack stand is a little expensive, but delicious!I think we picked the week with the most rain of the year to camp but it was still a lot of fun. The hike around the lake is not that long and a pretty easy walk. We did it with a 5 year old and he had no complaints. The nature talks were really fun for the kids and interesting for the adults.

We have stayed at Bald Eagle several times and have enjoyed our stay. The park has basic, water & electric as well as a few full hookup up sites. The sites are very spacious with a picnic table and fire rings and are easy to back into even with a rig as big as ours. We stayed recently and the park office was undergoing rennovations and expanding their camp store. We discovered one of the evening talks about the eagles nesting in the park and the ranger set up binoculars for us to try and see the nest. Very peaceful place to stay with lots to explore. The views are spectacular in the fall with beautiful foliage! If you are not the camping type you can stay at the Nature Inn and enjoy the beautiful lodge in an amazing location! Definitely tops on our list of state parks in Pennsylvania!

Stayed in the modern camping section. Easy access to camp ground. The check in process was just to drive to the site and set up which was different but very easy. The sites are private on the sides with some green space to play on. Lots of extra places to park extra cars or bring a second vehicle with a boat.

The kids had fun riding the bikes around the loop and taking the short cuts cut in around the loop. We had fun walking to the foot bridge to go fishing.

The camping area was very quite both mornings and evenings. We saw the park rangers drive through multiple times per day.

The bathrooms were clean. There are no shelfs in the showers (except for a bar of soap) but they had hooks to hang your clothes.

The racoons were a fun surprise on our last night! We left the grease trap from the Blackstone out and the they found it. We did not see any bears though we heard they are there.

We had smoke from Canadian forest fires so haze in the pictures is smoke not haze or rainy days! The walking trails are great. You can see the largest white swamp oak in Pennsylvania!

Definitely check out Penns Cave too.

PROS

Senior discount $18 

Able to reserve 334 days prior to arriving

Campground quiet but can hear PA 150 road noise 

Great night sky viewing 

Nice privacy from side neighbor's campsite 

Asphalt parking pad 

Large gravel around pad to include firepit and utility hook up 

Grass around gravel, but was mid-calf high 

Metal fire pit which was cleaned out upon arrival 

Lantern pole 

8 miles off of Interstate 80 

Firewood for sale at the campground; $6 bundle 

Park is good proximity to Penn State University and Central Pennsylvania 

Country Pride Restaurant Milesburg (TA truck stop off of Interstate 80) has some terrific food! 

4 bars Verizon 

CONS

$6.50 reservation fee for self made online reservation 

One day while away from our campsite, park personnel mowed  mid-cafe high grass at and around our site and the mowers threw grass all over our table with a table cloth, chairs, trailer, driveway...you name it...it was covered with grass. Why the mowers didn’t direct the mowed grass AWAY from our items is beyond me. What a mess!!! 

Check-in clerk at park office was disturbed we checked in with her. Told us just to go to site. Could not tell us if site was vacated. We had to ask for a park map and directions to campground/campsite since this was first time visiting 

Site MO45 unlevel from side to side 

Site MO45 NO shade as was the case with most of the FHU campsites

Metal frame wood top table in bad condition 

Need pathway from upper campsite to toilet/shower building…have to wade thru mid-calf high grass if you don’t walk on the roadway 

Toilet/shower facility lit up like a Christmas tree 

Toilet/shower facility cleaned on Wednesdays only, according to sign on door 

No WiFi

They have games for the kids, a small playground, bingo games for the adults, movie nights, clean outhouse restrooms, and a nice atmosphere. I would definitely camp here again.

Sites right on the creek! Great for trout fisherman, and those with dogs who love water like ours. Bathrooms were super clean. All the kids seem to love the playgrounds. Staff is awesome and friendly!

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! It is full of adventure and just a great place to camp!

Small sites with porta potty’s, did not stay found another campground

For whatever reason it's expensive to stay at this state Park. It doesn't have modern bathrooms, and you can't pre-book your stay. But nonetheless it's absolutely awesome. I love the walk in sites. They take a small hike so don't over pack! There is so much that this park has to offer. So many hikes, so many scenic overlooks. I highly suggest this parks Turkey trail. Unlike Lenard Harrison's trail it's not so easy for EVERYONE to access, so you won't see near as many tourists. It's a rougher climb but you follow a small stream filled with waterfalls down into the canyon. I would absolutely recommend visiting.

Great hiking with great views!

Unlike Leonard Harrison, Colton Point on the western rim of the Pine Creek Gorge isn't a tourist hub. The campsites are private and you get to hike in (varying amounts of distance.) The trails aren't built up with steps and the like, but I think the Colton Point Turkey trail is much more manageable even without them. You can connect to the West Rim Trail if you'd like. My only warning is that I managed to get turned around on the trails, nothing too serious, but I recommend a reliable map.

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. ~$20 a night which isn't to bad. Hiking trails close by, wish I brought my fishing pole to fish down in Pine Creek. Water was low enough the weekend we went, we crossed the river and hiked some of the rails to trail pathway. Bathrooms are an easy 5min walk or just pee in the woods lol. Overall awesome campground. Beautiful views just 2 minute walk away overlooking PA Grand Canyon