Best Tent Camping near Gaines, PA

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.

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

Adults and Children alike will love the park office / Wildlife Center at Sinnemahoning State Park. Learn about this buildings green construction (LEED)geo thermal heat, rain water harvesting system, recycled materials and more! Step inside to view elk bear birds and other wildlife! Learn about the building of the dam and the early days of the CCC camps. If you can get the children out of the office or bring yourself to leave ... make a souvenir penny on your way out before walking across the parking lot and around the corner to visit the arch tree. This park is a long narrow park with a road running through it that is perfect for a bike ride or stroll. On one end is a wildlife viewing area, the other end offers great fishing and a boat launch. Between is a picnic day use area and a 35 site campground with a dump station, a modern restroom with flush toilets and showers. The restrooms and some campsites are ADA accessible. Electric hookups are available and each pet friendly camp site has its own picnic table, lantern hold and fire ring. Elk, eagles deer and many other varieties of wild life can be seen here on a regular basis! There is much to explore here during any season and even on a rainy day the kids will have the opportunity to learn about the world around them! 5 stars Sinnemahoning! What a treasure in the PA Wilds!

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.

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!

We tent camped and they had openings on Memorial Day weekend. The weather turned out to be bad for camping but management was very accommodating with our requests to change dates and spots. Unlike many campgrounds that cater primarily to campers/RVs, they have nice spots in wooded areas for tenters. Some even have water and electric hookups. There was a decent playground area but the bathrooms could use a remodel. Our spot had a nice soft, flat spot for our tent but was a little cramped (they did have larger spots) and it would be nice to have a grill attached to the fire pit. The camp ground fire wood was kiln dried but cost $15 for a bag that lasted less than a day (and we used it pretty sparingly) so I would suggest buying wood nearby where it can be found much cheaper (please don't transport wood from far away as this contributes to the spread of invasive species like the spotted lanternfly). The proximity to Little Pine State Park was nice.

This park is in Potter County in the PA Wilds.  The campsites are flat, some in full shade and others out in the open.  Electric sites are available with water access to fill tanks but no water hookups.  The bath houses are well maintained with newer renovations, tiled floors, shelves over the sinks, large stainless steel utility sinks for dish washing.  Firewood is available 24 hours on the honor system for $6 per bundle.  The campground hosts are right next to the ranger station in case the ranger isn't in. 

There is a lot to do in the park; hiking, fishing, swimming in Kettle Creek, horseshoes, swings and playsets, and several charcoal grills and picnic tables for day use.  This is a great location if you want to explore the area, Ole Bull is less than 20 minutes away from Cherry Springs Dark Sky preserve.  It is an hour and 30 minutes from Kinzua Bridge State Park, The PA Grand Canyon is near by, and the Town of Wellsboro.  Its also near Route 6 Scenic Highway.