Best Equestrian Camping near Verona, PA

Family Campground on Leslie Road [map]

• 6 electric sites
• 44 non-electric sites
• Dump station
• No showers; no flush toilets
• Pets are permitted on all sites

Equestrian Camp on Sprucevale Road

• 59 primitive sites (no electric)
• Vault latrines
• Tie-ups
• 12 sites may be reserved; the remaining are first-come, first-served.

Group Camp on Sprucevale Road

• Two group camp sites
• Can accommodate organized groups up to 30 people
• Available by reservation

I live near by to this state park and have spent much time exploring the entirety of it.

The trails are all nice, nothing too strenuous, and each have something unique compared to the others in the park. During the spring the Salamander trail is filled with thousands of Trilliums, a truly majestic experience. Lots of flowing water to enjoy throughout the park, some are off the trails but never hard to reach. A good park to enjoy with family and friends because you can fish, kayak, bike, skate, hike, horseback, and picnic. In addition, there are numerous historical cabins, locks, shelters, and a water run mill to sight-see. Then for those in search of a bit of spookiness, Gretchen’s Lock is notoriously a haunted location with certainly eerie vibes.

The family campground is small, but the park as a whole is not far from civilization so if any supplies are needed it is not a far endeavor. 

I do not horseback, so I cannot comment on that campground, but many of the trails are friendly for horses to travel.

OH! And if you are there on the weekends the Wildlife Center is a must! The staff are so nice, it is by donation to visit so is in everyone’s price range. An astounding display of animals and nature information! You can even hold the snakes and see a bee hive in action.

Moraine is a great park, but camping here is limited. As I understand it, this park was created so that Pittsburghers would have a place to go sailing--so camping has never been its primary draw. But it's a scenic park that has a beautiful, meandering lake with lots of coves and estuaries. There are bike trails and hiking trails all throughout, plus a bike rental shop, and two swimming beaches. The North Country National Scenic Trail (NCT) has an Adirondack shelter and small tenting area within the park that's reserved for backpackers. But what's to say you're not just a one-day backpacker, doing a small portion of the trail, who needs a place to spend the night? You could hike into the backpacking campground known as the Link Road Overnight Shelter and set up your tent. It would have to be primitive camping; there are no facilities of any kind. The only other way to camp at Moraine is to reserve one of the two rustic group tenting areas--which are actually very pleasant despite the absence of showers. In order to see if your group qualifies to use the group tenting area, go to this website.

Moraine is a really large state park with a huge lake, nice beaches, and tons of trails.  The north country trail runs for over a dozen miles from end to end.  This review is of the shelter sites, of which there is one, for backpacking along the trail.  There are three shelters which are all very mouse infested.  I believe this is because the site does not have a bear pole or bear box, so I think most people probably don't hang their food like they should and thus the mice move in to forage.  Of the 3, the Hilltop shelter 2, which we stayed in is the nicest and private.  There is a rustic vault toilet but no water at the site.  I asked the lady at the park office if there was water nearby and she said yes, just hike down to the access road and over to the group tenting site to fillup.  I'll tell you, this is not close - easily a 2-3 mile round trip.