Best Campgrounds near Indiana, PA

Our first time at Cook Forest and the state park campgrounds. The park itself is very hilly and beautiful. Trails in area are well marked and maintained. Nothing beyond moderate difficulty, but some are one direction and miles can add North Country Trail is one example of this. 

The highlight of the park is the old growth forest. 300+year old evergreen trees and ancient stumps, moss, ferns. Some areas are fairy tail gorgeous. Offseason, which is when we were there (mid May) can be dead quiet. Like test your tinnitus quiet. This includes the campgrounds, where there were probably less than 20 campsites in use, most in the pets/full hookup area. 

The campsite is large and winding. Site quality and size and levelness is mixed.  And the services aren’t localized.  There are electric, electric and water, or even full service sites all over the place. Makes it nice, as you can be in a lesser used  ‘no services’ tent area, but find an electric site. Northern most loops are the more wooded and private ones. 

We went Sunday-Wednesday. Apparently it fills up on weekends, but we felt practically alone much of the time. Bath houses are consistent old, tired looking, but functional. No heat/open door style. Cleaned daily and plenty of hot, good pressure water. 

Cell coverage for Verizon was one bar or no bars. But typically one. On top of the fire tower hill across rt 36, there are two bars.

General: 300+ site campground with a mix of FHU, 30 and 50-amp electric, and non-electric tent sites, yurts, and cabins. Select loops allow pets but not all do. 

Site Quality: Varies by type and location within the park. I heeded the advice of other reviewers warning that many sites were not level and did not reserve ahead of time. A Monday in mid-October had many open sites. Most of the non-electric sites were decidedly not level but many of the FHU and electric sites were fairly level, and we did not have a problem finding one. Some sites have gravel pads that were level and vary in length from 20’ to 115’ Most of the non-electric sites had no definable pads at all and as mentioned, were not level. Some roads in the campground were paved but a few were not. 

Bath/Shower House: was clean. Did not use the shower. 

Activities: A somewhat dated playground was located in the A Loop. A lake and beach are a short distance from the campground. We did see a boat launch and what appeared to be kayak rentals, but we were there out of season. 

As remote as the campground feels, there was a surprising amount of road noise. This was just an overnight stay for us. We’ve been to many stellar Pennsylvania state park campgrounds, but this one was not as good as many others.

General: Large campground in four loops with a variety of sites ranging from tent-only, 30-amp electric, 50-amp electric, and 30/50-amp electric, along with eight camper cabins. 

Site Quality: All sites are gravel; most appeared level, but some did not. All sites are wooded but some have more separation than others. Our site backed up to the creek but surprisingly, there was not a lot of water flowing in the spring, 

Bath/Shower house: Basic and dated, but reasonably clean. Did not use the shower.

Activities/Amenities: Many include fishing, swimming, boating, bicycling, hiking, geocaching, and hunting. The lake is separate from the campground, but it is less than a mile away and a reasonable distance walk. There is also a playground, volleyball, shuffleboard, and a large picnic area at the end of one of the loops. Bike and boat rentals are available in the summer season; the season was set to open the day after we left so aside from hiking, we could not avail ourselves of any of the activities (and my husband had a foot injury so even hiking was out for us). There are also laundry facilities, but I did not check these out. 

We were surprised that just a few days before Memorial Day, only a handful of sites were occupied. We’ve been very impressed by the pristine conditions of many Pennsylvania state parks, but this one had a more rustic feel and had not been modernized. Fleeting cell at best on Verizon.

Cooks forest is absolutely gorgeous. I look forward to returning as there are a lot of hiking opportunities we missed. We stayed in the pet friendly area, which was nice. There is a pet trail through the woods that was really great to take our dog rather than walking around the campground. Our site was right next to a drinking water spigot and a path to the bath house. The sites near ours were in a wooded area, which felt more private than many of the other sites we saw. There was a fore pit and a picnic table. Our fire pit was behind where the camper was parked, which also felt more private. There is no alcohol permitted in PA state parks, so alcohol is prohibited in the campground as well. It was a great spot, and we look forward to returning.

I came up for an event at the farm show grounds(yes the event you’re thinking of). I made a reservation and paid in full the day after it was announced 6 days beforehand. I got a call the day before Friday stating that I wasn’t able to check in until 1PM and the latest was 8PM. I asked if I could park there before the event and deal with it later. The owner reluctantly agreed, however said that my vehicle would be towed if I came after 8. He also stated that I couldn’t check in early or wait a little. Gates closed at 1; and was over at 8 and couldn’t leave the parking lot until 10. Needless to say I just drove home 3 hours instead. Mind you the“campground” is a quarter mile from the farm show grounds. I honestly just wanted somewhere to rest my eyes for a couple of hours in my car before I left early on the morning. I understand that places like this have policies, however this was probably the largest congregation of people Butler and the Farm Show has ever hosted. There was 10s of thousands of people in town and as a bonus the rounds were closed to due construction. If you lean even a little right, caveat emptor. The guy knew exactly what was doing. This will be the most expensive$35 this guy ever stole.