Best Tent Camping near Hollidaysburg, PA

We went to Cowans gap last full for a Halloween weekend and the children loved it. We even won the campsite decorating contest. We went this summer and camped in A-tent with friends of ours who had never done it Before & After the amazing trip at callans gap they want to do it again. Awesome beach, nice sights, And a quiet area what more could you want.

On the lake. Good private tent sites in the woods.Rv sites too.

A dingy place. The ground was swampy the only dry places are the gravel pads in the sites. I wouldn't tent camp here.

On the plus side, strong AT&T and T-Mobile cell signals. (I don't have a verizon device)

This is a great place for a long weekend away. The tent sites are nice and they have a number of dog friendly sites. Fun beach area, hikes and fishing.

Nice campground, wooded sites and most were okay for tent camping however some required your tent to be set up a small distance from the fire ring. Clean showerhouses and bathrooms. Big Lake and a few miles of hiking and biking trails right from the campground.

The Iron Ore mines from the past have left the creek water stained red which is why its called the Red Mo with the locals.

Plenty of trails to hike from easy to difficult. Local history is right around the corner with the Lost Children of the Alleghenies Monument. Blue Knob houses the second highest peak in PA. The bathrooms were clean. Camp sites are rocky so be sure to bring a mat if tent camping. The park does not offer fire wood for purchase; bring extra.

We used the group tent sites for our Girl Scout weekend. It was a fun weekend. We participated in the Outdoors for Everyone event. The site was clean, decently level area for tents, accessible to potable water and bathrooms with showers. Rangers were wonderful to work with in setting up teaching opportunities for the girls. We will definately go back.

Make a reservation way ahead of your date as this campground is very popular and sites book early. It has sites to accommodate any R.V. and lot of tent sites. The lake has lots to offer. Swimming, boating, fishing, wildlife watching and a big sky view for star gazing.

We do a lot of dispersed camping but we spoiled ourselves with this spot. It was $50 for a tent site but I have never used a cleaner camp shower or seen so many amenities on a campground. They were also very accommodating of our late check-in as we travel across the country.

We stayed at one of the tent sites. There was an issue with the electric hookup, but the ranger was able to relocate us without issue. It’s small, but peaceful and the ‘regulars’ (as they referred to themselves) were friendly and welcoming. The grounds were well-maintained and the bathrooms very clean.

Beautiful campgrounds with spacious camp sites. Well maintained bathroom and firewood plus ice available at the entrance (this is a great plus for those car/tent camping.

extremely close to the rothrock forest mountain biking trails. Less than a mile to trails that take you to the IMBA epic coopers gap loop.

Campgrounds and surround park area were well maintained with a few picnic shelters, a beach and sand volleyball courts. Camp was full and all day use areas were occupied during our stay.

We had a terrible experience here. We were at tent site #29 but for only an hour...the "water hookup" was BROWN. The bathroom has no lights or sink... Our 16x16 tent didn't fit the "17x17" tent pad. We had bug spray on and had two ThermaCELLs running and we're literally eaten alive by mosquitoes. And just to top it off there's absolutely 0 cell service. We have Verizon. We ended up packing up and going to a different campground. Holiday KOA about 10min away was incredible. Bathrooms are the nicest I've seen at a campground.

2 night stay in a tent site. Sites were small, but doable. Very clean and spacious showerhouses/bathrooms in each section. Some sections do not allow pets, even for walking. Lake was large with 26 miles of shoreline. The lake was virtually empty, especially for a holiday weekend. There is a swimming area, also empty. The only boats we saw were pontoons and kayaks. Check their website, maybe that is all that are allowed. We don't have a boat, so didn't ask. Some hiking trails around the park. Surprisingly, we saw NO wildlife, and had no campsite "visitors". The park offered many family friendly programs.

My wife and I stayed for two nights at this campground and enjoyed it greatly.  We happened to be assigned what I believe was the best of the RV sites, a pull through that had full hook up.  We have a 32 foot trailer.  The site we were assigned was easily accessed and had a nice view of the campground.  However, as we drove through the rest of the RV park area we noted that many of the sites had very awkward back-in approaches that did not provide sufficient area to maneuver a large rig into them.  The lake is gorgeous and has a large, sandy beach.  Would love to spend more time there to explore the park further.  There are numerous tent sites, some with electric, that appear to be large and fairly level.

This is a small campground with about half the sites being rustic electric back-in sites and the other being rustic walk-to tent sites. We stayed in the walk-to section. A lot of them are labeled "waterfront" by the park site but ours did not live up to that criteria so be aware of that. We were hoping to be truly stream-side but were not that near to it. The bathrooms were modern and clean. The park is extremely quiet and peaceful, probably one of the most remote PA state parks we've been to. The camper side was pretty full while we were the only ones on the walk-to side. We enjoyed walking the roads and little trails around the campground and seeing the old stone fireplaces/chimneys. There was  a dog park area on the walk-to side which was nice. We liked it here.

We arrived after dark, way past the 3pm check-in time, but didn't have any trouble finding our reserved campsite. There were plenty of signs; everything is well marked. We stayed at site 23, a tent site. Sites 1-30 allow pets. This loop was full. I would recommend booking in advance if you plan on bringing your dogs. Vet records or proof of vaccines weren't required.

The tent sites are paved so you can't hammer stakes into the ground. It was windy so we had to get the gear into tent so we wouldn't get blown away.

The water pump is located right in front of site 23. This was convenient but we also had a lot of visitors. If we stay again we would probably choose a more private site with less foot traffic.

The bathrooms were very clean. However, the closest bathroom didn't have showers. It also only had cold water. The bathhouse with showers was located at the other end of the loop; a little bit of a walk. It had three regular showers and one large handicap accessible shower. The sinks at this one did have hot water.

Check-in the next morning was very quick and easy. I had paid online when I made the reservation so I didn't have to do anything. The park rangers were very friendly.

We drove down to the lake from our site after we finished packing up. The lake was beautiful. There's a beach and swimming area. There's a little viewing area/dock with information on the bald eagles and osprey that live there. They have a little concession stand that sold drinks, French fries and some other snacks. They have a little gift shop with t-shirts for sale.

Overall we enjoyed our stayed. The only complaint we had, and it's a pretty big one, is that there's NO CAMP STORE. No place to buy bags of ice, extra batteries, lighters, or any other supplies that people usually need when camping. And this campground is in the middle of nowhere. There's no Walmart's or grocery stores for several miles. Luckily we were only staying for one night and had what little we needed. If you plan on staying for more than a couple days, make sure you come very prepared! There is a little diner though called Milky Way's that we stopped at for breakfast on the way home, not far from the campground entrance. I give them a thumbs up. Very good food for very cheap.

This campground helped me finally convince my fiance that not all 'campgrounds' are actually waterpark/family fun/RV parking lots, and that there are a lot of secluded, forest, nature-oriented campgrounds!  We came here in mid June so it was a bit chilly  at night and warm during the day - bring layers + raincoats as the PA mountain weather can be iffy! The campground can host tents, as well as RVs/campers, and includes clean bath houses with both toilets and showers. You can also buy firewood at the entrance. Sites have a picnic table + fire ring. There is little to no phone service here and it's not super close to town, so come prepared. It's a short distance to some amazing hikes, as well! The park itself has a playground and lake to swim in (though it was too cold for us to use it), as well as the historical furnace itself to explore.  The campground is also about 30minutes from State College in case you crave a night on the town during your stay.  As typical for campgrounds, some spots are more secluded than others. We stayed in one (forgive me, I can't remember the site #, perhaps 020?) where we were able to plop our tent into a nice tree-surrounded plot. There are also a few tent sites (18A)  right next to a hidden creek in the back corner of the campground which we explored while there - these sites are very secluded and you really feel like you're away from it all. We reserved this site for later this summer and will update with pictures & info afterwards.

This was my 3rd trip to Cowan's Gap, and this year I reserved the large group tent site for mainly families of my son's soccer team. We had about 40 people, most of which were kids. Last year, we all stayed at a few of the single campsites for RVs but used tents. This was not ideal as the ground was all gravel, and it was right next to the road. The group site is much better, because it is set back into the woods reasonably far from the road, providing quieter and more natural surroundings. Also, many of the kids had bikes, so they were able to ride around the campsite without us worrying about cars on the road. The group site has tent pads which are flat and gravel covered, but the rest of the area is natural forest floor with some grassy and mossy areas.

Probably the best feature of the group site is that it is right next to a clean, shallow stream, so the kids could play in it non stop, catching minnows and throwing rocks with minimal parental supervision.

There is a private bathhouse for the group area, reasonably clean and with running water. No showers though. There are showers at the lake/beach area, but I'm not sure if they are open past Labor Day, and we went one week after. The place was not crowded at all while we were there this time, but during the summer season when I've been there in the past, the beach area can get pretty packed.

Firewood is somewhat challenging and pricey, as it is only sold by a guy who appears to be a permanent RV resident (living at camp site #1 for reference) in the off season. The park asks that no out of state firewood be brought in for fear of spreading pests like emerald ash borer.

Rangers are friendly and helpful, and we learned from one that the closest ER is only 11 miles away (Fulton County medical center in Mcconnellsburg) when my youngest split open his chin and needed stitches. There is generally poor to no cell service across most of the park, although by the lake you can sometimes get a few bars for texts to go thru.

Overall, everyone loved the weekend at Cowan's Gap. We had perfect weather, which certainly was nice. I'm guessing we'll go back again next year with an even bigger crew.

UPDATED reviews for rustic and modern cabins.

March 2020, Modern Cabins: Before COVID-19 hit PA we stayed in one of the modern cabins. Wow...everything was seemingly quite new and it was extremely comfortable. Nice bathrooms, nice kitchen, etc. One of the best things about Black Mo is how isolated it feels and it's never crowded in the off-months. The Moss Hanne is still a thrilling trail even in the winter months and there's been a lot of beaver activity since we last visited including a very impressive dam. 

October 2019, Rustic Cabins: We stayed in one of the rustic cabins on a cold October weekend. Very charming small cabins with robust woodstoves. Although we probably could have been more careful, there were unfortunately some very bothersome mice who kept us awake each night...and were seemingly not very afraid of us! The construction of the rustic cabins is such that there probably isn't much you can do about mice getting in. If this doesn't bother you, these cabins are really cute and cozy.

July 2019, Tent Camping: As far as camping goes, the loop area is a bit cramped for my taste, but if that doesn't bother you it's fine. Clean bathhouse and convenient outdoor sink for washing up after dinner. Overall one of the best PA parks and well maintained.

I really have to address some of these other reviews, though:

"Water was thick with weeds& lilies but ok nonetheless." Wow! Pitcher plants, sundews and water lilies are not "weeds." They are unique to bog environments and don't grow in other places. The vegetation in the lake is what makes Black Mo black, so picturesque and unlike other PA parks!

"The overall area has nothing to do. And I mean NOTHING. We drove 45 minutes to Altoona to see the famous Horseshoe Curve but there’s literally nothing else around for miles and miles. Not even an ice cream stand, or not one we could find. And, since there’s no cell service, we couldn’t figure out any options either." Like many state parks in this part of the world there is no cell service, so you need to bring a real map (Purple Lizard) and look a few things up on the internet ahead of time. Black Mo is literally ten minutes from Philipsburg where there is surely an ice cream stand, 25 minutes from State College, which has tons of touristy offerings…I could go on but really this is laughable.

Nestled in the mountains of Pennsylvania, this gem of a campground.
There is a beautiful lake across the road from camping area, which consists of; a very nice hiking trail the whole way around, boating, fishing,swimming & in season concession stand. Also, many hiking trails.