Best RV Parks & Resorts near St. Marys, PA

Allegheny National Forest is Pennsylvania's only National Forest and a gem of a location for outdoor recreation. Hearts Content itself is a well-maintained, very quiet campground with some of the most private sites we've experienced in 15 years of regular car camping.

Site A02 is very nice for privacy, one of the three front sites which means a bit of road traffic for other arriving campers, but covered by dense old-growth forest on all three sides and well set off the road. Ample tree coverage means an excellent shade canopy, but not-so-great if you're powering your rig with solar.

Clean, good-tasting drinking water at several community water spigots are available, and the central grassy area even contains a clean and well-maintained playground.

The campground itself is actually across the road from the Recreation Area. The Recreation Area is home to 3 nice hiking trails, including one all-season trail that converts to a cross-country skiing trail in the snowy months, as well as some picnic tables and a restroom.

The campground has a couple pit toilets that have been very well maintained by campground hosts each year we've been there. Zero smell or problems here, they appear to be looked after daily. They are still pit toilets so this is not exactly a luxury affair, but as pit toilets go, these definitely suffice.

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INTERNET: One bar of usable Verizon 4G LTE and T-Mobile 4G LTE suitable for slow web browsing and e-mail, but little else. Because of the very dense tree cover here, Starlink is not really a viable option. The most southern facing sites have more of a clearing which may work for Starlink, but are smaller, less private, and also face the group campsite which is well trafficked by Boy Scout troops and other summer camp gatherings, so you're upping your noise quite a bit.

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MAJOR PROS: This is a great campground to just enjoy camping. Set some 15 miles back in old growth forest, the most private of the campsites provide a very pleasant wilderness experience but still some well-maintained amenities like fresh drinking water and good pit toilets. In our experience camping here several times over several years, weekdays are very quiet at this location, perhaps the quietest of any campground of this size and caliber we've experienced anywhere. It's only really Friday evenings and Saturdays where you'll see more than 3-4 other campers in this place.

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The closest nearby town is Warren, PA a small but service-rich town set on the Allegheny River that provides all the necessary stuff - a Wal Mart,  a Lowes, and plenty of restaurants and little shops. Warren is the longtime home of a refinery of some sort and on days when the downwind is blowing especially strong, you can catch the faint whiff of a funky but ambiguous smell of…something?

Cell service kicks up to 5G on T-Mobile in Warren itself, but you're still stuck on 4G with Verizon, as of summer 2022.

Back to the campground, I would highly recommend this place for people who can get out there on weekdays and enjoy peace and quiet. Firewood is available for sale at the Camp Host campsite, but there's so much downed wood behind just about every site that purchasing wood really isn't necessary: you can keep a hot fire going all night, for free, just by cleaning out the underbrush.

This is such a pretty, quiet campsite that during weekdays the area deer will often approach from the woods behind the campsites to feast on low hanging leaves. We've seen dozens of them who will get within 10-20 yards of you for a snack later into the night. While never getting too close, it does make for a pleasant wildlife viewing opportunity.

We really like this place. No showers or other running-water facilities and limited internet service prevent this place from being a perfect 5. It is also a bit of a drive into town for provisions or daily ingress if you need these amenities. That aside, tent, trailer or RV, you are likely to enjoy your experience here if you enjoy camping at all.

General: 73-site campground; most have electric hookups, and some are FHU. Pets are only permitted at selected sites. There are also 20 (13 rustic and 6 modern) cabins. Cell service is extremely limited to non-existent (Verizon). 

Site Quality: Pads are gravel and most appeared to be level. Site 70 was at the end of the loop which is why we picked it. A picnic table, fire ring, and lantern hook complete each site. 

Bathhouse: As has been our experience in all PA state parks, the bathhouse was pristine, and the shower (for no additional cost) was clean with plentiful hot water and was very much appreciated. 

Activities/Amenities: Coin-operated laundry. A playground is in the campground and there is an additional one at the swimming beach. The swimming beach is open from mid-May to mid-September, from 8 am– sunset. Electric motorboats are permitted on Moshannon Lake. Boat rentals are available in season. Permits are required. 24 miles of hiking trails, including two trails directly from the campground to the lake. In the summer, there is a camper store/concession stand. Hunting is allowed in season. There are 4.3 miles of mountain biking trails. 

I used to think Oregon State Parks were the best, but Pennsylvania State Parks have them beat by a mile. We have yet to be disappointed by the amenities(especially the clean bathrooms) offered at the half-dozen state parks we have visited so far.

There was not a real address to set our RV GPS. Waze and Google maps will pull up directions by entering Tionesta Recreation Area. We came in from the west on US-6 to PA-66, and up PA-36. From I-80, take the exit for PA-36 then follow the signs to Tionesta and once you get near you'll see the Tionesta Recreation Area Signs. There are signs to the boat launch area so pay attention and follow the camping signs; the campground(CG) is on the right. If you come in from Tionesta, once you clear the town the CG area is to the left. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon around 3:00 PM and the COE entrance building was not manned, so we took a picture of the CG map and proceeded to back-in site 100 with 50 AMP FHUs. There were no obstacles so our back-in was one and done. The site was just long enough for our 39’ fifth wheel(recreation.gov stated max length 48 ft RV) and we had to park our F450 diagonally in front. We noticed that the site post already had our names and dates of stay. The utilities were about 3/4 the way to the back of the site so no problems with sewer, water, or electric cord lengths. The water pressure was okay at about 42 psi. We did not receive any OTA channels but this site and several others back up to a huge berm so you can get satellite. Most of the sites in the CG have mature trees so the satellite is iffy. We got 2 bars on Verizon. The site lengths vary in the CG and the lengths from the reservation site seemed to be fairly correct. There were quite a few larger rigs here. Most if not all of the sites in this CG are full hookups. We noticed that some were 30/20 AMP. Sites closer to the front of the CG, especially along the river, tend to be close to each other. We found that the 90s- 100s area has the best site spacing with site 100 being one of the most spacious sites. After watching a 40’ 5th wheel struggle to back into site 113, we decided this site is not a good choice for rigs over 35 feet or for someone with below-average backing abilities due to the obstacles getting into the site. The pad angles at 90 degrees, there’s a ditch across the road from the site making it difficult to swing the tow vehicle, and there are trees to avoid. We enjoyed walking our dogs through the CG and watching the groundhogs in the rocks behind our site. We noted during our 4-day stay towards the end of June that restaurants and other sights such as museums may be closed Monday, Tuesday, and/or Wednesday. Get out and explore PA Route 666, which includes the Nebraska bridge, Tall Oaks Gift Shop, and Frog rock.

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!

We don’t live far from this campground, so it was a quick weekend trip in early April. Early April in western Pennsylvania means overnight temperatures in the 40’s and highs in the 50/60’s. The campground sits at the top of a ridge, with an uphill climb if coming from the south. We stayed in site #50, which was in the middle of the loop. Once there, backing in the site was easy, although the narrow road on the loop can be a little challenging, especially if you have a big rig. Once parked, leveling was easy and we were set up in no time. Our site was a little short, so the back door to our camper was near the fire ring, which resulted in smoke blowing through our camper, but nothing a can of Fabreze didn’t fix when we got home. The campground has a nice playground, volleyball court and open grass area for tossing a football or playing soccer. There are a couple of fresh water stations around the loop, so plan accordingly before arriving or be prepared to block traffic on the narrow road while you fill up with fresh water. The dump station was very open and convenient, so departure was quick. We will definitely visit this campground again, but will probably pick something with more shade, especially if visiting in the summer. We have a Winegard Air 360*, but Verizon 4G LTE was non-existent. OTA TV signal picked up a couple of TV stations.

Getting to the park had some sharp turns and windy roads.  Small campground but nicely equipped.  2 bath houses were dated but clean.  Nice playground at the campground and also one at the beach.  Small camp concessions with a few camping items as well as ice cream cones.  Great hiking and a beautiful lake for kayaking.  Site 22 is a full hookup.  Utilities worked nicely.  However, our picnic table had seen better days.  The site sat down off the road but once you were backed in the spot it was pretty level.  This site also had a separate tent pad located down a few stone steps.  Verizon and AT&T cell service were basically non existent.  Every once in a while a text would come in or send but very spotty.  Sorry I failed to get a pic of the site in the daylight.  It was spacious and we had plenty of room for our 30' trailer, truck, and easy up over the table.  6+ chairs around the fire pit, cooking ring could have been better.  Grassy area for cornhole or playing.