Best Tent Camping near Penn Run, PA

The park is on the scenic Clarion River and offers tent camping, some sites are paddle in only, RV sites, small and larger rustic cabins, and even a couple of yurts. It’s very well maintained, including the restroom/shower houses which were very clean. The upper loop tent sites are a bit more secluded and there is plenty of space for the larger cabins. The smaller cabins are more clustered but we enjoyed staying in them on a couple occasions. Be sure to bring kayaks or inner tubes for lazy hours on the river. There are kayak rentals nearby also. The Clarion River is full of wildlife including bald eagles hunting the river and an occasional black bear nearby.

Be sure to visit Beartown Rocks that is close by. It offers a nice view of the rolling hills of Pennsylvania.

A Pennsylvania favorite, Clear Creek State Park is a beautifully maintained, scenic park, right on the Clarion River in the Clear Creek State Park. The Park offers movies on an outdoor screen, regular nature talks and walks and has an onsite museum. The park has tent sites, RV sites and cabins. Clear Creek runs through the campground and is a perfect spot for a BBQ or Picnic. It also has a designated swimming beach with sand. There are multiple hiking trails leaving the campground. There is a general store just 5min from the park, plus multiple private firewood options on the road in. The park also sells firewood bundles. The Clarion is a crystal clear, shallow, rock bottom river perfect for a cool off, fishing or kayaking. There are two kayaking/tubing companies in Cook Forest to hire watercraft to float the river. Both floats don’t go as high as Clear Creek State Park so you won’t float past the campground, with the longest being 9 miles. The facilities are always clean, with large shower areas and always fully stocked with tissue. All sites have fire rings with adjustable grills. The best un-powered RV site is site 40– private and waterfront. The best powered-RV site is 39– private and waterfront. There are also two very private tent sites that are waterfront(classified as Kayak In tent sites) numbered CR-001& CR-002. Both waterfront, shaded with fire rings. Excellent tent sites! Note you can only book them for 1 night at a time. No phone reception at this one! They welcome furry friends at selected sites!

I love this park, and for tent camping, I think this is one of the best. Their tent camping sites are a very good distance from other sites, so you feel much more secluded. Nothing bothers me more than when I have to set up my tent 15 feet away from someone else's that I don't even know. This park does not jam you in like others do, they give you the space you need to enjoy it the best way possible. Love this place!

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)

August 2020 Stay

We camped for 1 night.  We chose site 102 because it looked decent in the picture and seemed a little apart and more private than other areas.  Unfortunately, it was not great for tent camping as there wasn't really a spot to set up our 4-person tent.  We squeezed it in by the fire pit, but if we had wanted to use the fire pit it would have been a fire hazard.  Elsewhere in the site it was rocky or uneven ground.

Looking around the rest of the campground, the loop up near the cabins was a typical RV area with sites lined up with little privacy in between.  I would look at the other loops for our next tent-camping visit.

We were hoping to do some hiking in the morning but got rained out.  However the trails looked nice and we hope to be back soon.

The pet loop mixes tent camping with RVs, which isn't our preference. The sites are arranged around a big field, which means many of them have no trees or shade. If you planned to hang a hammock at some of these sites, you would be in trouble.

But it's a good park. They've got firewood at the contact station.

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.

Kooser State Park sits on the border of Forbes State Forest in the Laurel Highlands. It has a mix of camper & tent sites around a central clearing, and offers a few cabins. There is a central bathroom with showers, flush toilets and a sink to wash your dishes.

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.

My son and I tent camped here in July to escape the head down in Pittsburgh.  Sits up high in the mountains close to 3000ft elevation.  Park and campground are very small and almost desolate during the week.  There is a main road nearby and you hear industrial trucks rolling by constantly.  There are some great private tent only wooded sites that sit above the main park of the campground so you really feel secluded.

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.

Stayed at one of the two "Tent Only" sites in the campground. These two sites are shaded, surrounded by trees and pretty much private to the rest of the "Modern" campground. When staying in these sites, you can see from tent site to tent site, noise was not an issue though. You can quickly walk down to the Dam from these sites (like a 5 min easy walk, down a stepped hill).

Bathrooms are really nice and clean, with showers. Bathrooms have lights, heat, and exhaust fans. Everything was kept really clean on a packed July weekend.

I ventured around the "Cabin" area, cabins look really nice (comfortably primative with an external bathhouse, with cabin key only access, containing a potty and shower) some cabins were more.private than others.

Swimming at the beach was surprisingly nice. Water depth is very suitable for young kids. There roped off "Swimming Area" only reached maybe 4-5ft. Row Boats, Kayaks, Peddleboats, Canoes can be rented cheaply to explore the lake. The concession stand at the swimming beach has a very large menu, from fried foods to ice cream.

Hiking trails are really nice, the one that my family did was a few miles of easy hiking, mostly graveled thru nice lush forrested and marshy areas. My young kids had no issues.

Will definitely visit this park again.

I was amazed at the shear size of this campground. It is immense. Granted most of the grounds are devoted to cabins, but the tent sites are great too. I got a lone site tucked half way up a hill, hidden under a dark canopy and at least 500 yards away from my nearest neighbors. Water is readily available. Bathrooms are just as large and very clean. Showers available. Bears congregate frequently. Trails nearby, as are quite a few other natural areas.

My family has stayed here so many times throughout my lifetime. We always prefer tent camping, but there are spots for RVs, plus there are cabins and yurts available. It has always been clean, quiet and family-friendly.

There's so much to do here--hiking, swimming, rafting, biking, disc golf, etc. There's also a really nice playground and a great little beach at the entrance of the campground (water is always cold though!) Plus plenty of picnic shelters.

This is also a great place to go year-round for kids interested in learning about nature. There is a nature museum. Seek out Ranger Susanne--she is a really great teacher!

The campground is small but it is quiet and clean. Route 31 is nearby but it wasn’t all that noticeable. There was a nice playground area for kids and some nice overflow tent sites nearby. Several pull thru sites are available along with some nice sites near the creek. My only complaint is that many of the sites are not level at all and take some serious work to get your rig level. The campground is close to many places in the Laurel Highlands which makes it convenient. Firewood is available 24/7 for $5 a bundle.

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.

Long drive (almost a mile) into the campground from the main road. You follow the creek into the campground where it also meets the Clarion River. Lot of crayfish to catch in frigid cold Clear Creek and great tubing in the Clarion River. Cabins, RV and tent sites available. I’ll be honest, the tent only loop l, sites 43 and higher are not that great. Nothing flat and very difficult to find a good spot on them for a tent. But they are also the most private sites. Clear Creek State Forest is just next door and offers lots of hiking and biking trails. Farmers Inn is just outside of the campground with great food and Cooks Forest is a short drive away with go carts tubing and canoeing and kayaking.

Loved this campsite. I was the only tent site in a 3 tent space so I had my privacy as I was the only one booked. They had beautiful hiking trails in the area that I did not have to drive. The kids from the camp grounds came to play on the playground while I was in and out. Only thing that was disappointing was the fact it was on a highway and all night I could hear the trucks driving. Over all it was beautiful just not the peaceful getaway from trafic you need. Major plus for the showers though. I want to add the call center after 5, help was so amazing and she took care of me so well after I was having a rough time getting there. Very genuine people.