Best Tent Camping near Tarentum, PA

Breakneck is a private campground on the edge of the McConnell’s Mill State Park. They offer RV sites, tent camping and cabins. The tent camping is either grassy, flat sites or on an elevated timber platform overlooking a gorge. They also offer walk-in tent sites down by the creek which are beautiful. 

We were lucky enough to be able to to camp down by the stream. There are designated fireplaces. It is quite a walk up the hill to the campground amenities, but worth it to feel secluded down by the creek. From our campsite we walked along the creek into McConnells Mill State Park and joined the covered bridge trail. Approx. 30min walk along the creek down into McConnells Mill State Park. 

The campground sells firewood and has great amenities. Note: there is no phone reception at the tent sites by the creek. They welcome fury friends!

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!

Went tent camping with my fiancée. Had a great time other than the loud neighbors. Bathrooms were also a bit dirty.

I enjoyed my stay at this park. We had a tent site for the weekend. It was a beautiful area and I really enjoyed exploring. Looking forward to going back soon!

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.

I had the most wonderful time on my first tent camping at Racoon Creek. We made a fire, hiked by the moonlight and swam at the warm lake at night. There were other campers around but we rarely noticed them and only when walking to restrooms at the daylight. I will be back soon

We stayed here overnight on a trip to Pittsburgh. Tent sites were nicely spaced apart, but were often on inclines, like ours. We saw deer and turkeys, so be on the lookout for lots of animals! Bathrooms were fairly clean! Fun hiking to mineral springs!

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.

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.

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.

We stayed in a Ranger Smith Cabin in the upper campground. I give this 3 stars because I'm a state park camper at heart: I prefer more room between sites,  more relaxation and nature when camping. But your kids will love it here: two pools, splashgrounds, fire truck rides, arcades, meeting Yogi and friends, nightly movies...the list goes on. Be prepared for an endless parade of golf carts during your stay. We were underwhelmed by the expensive cabin as it had dorm room furniture and uncomfortable beds. The walk-in tent sites were in a hilly area without pavilions, but reservable tent sites in the lower campground had pavilions and more level ground. This is a great base camp for exploring area attractions in the Laurel Highlands such as Idlewild,  Fort Necessity and the beautiful Ohiopyle State Park. If you go to Idlewild, then stop by Gino's pizza in Ligonier; order the sampler pizza (includes pierogi,  taco, white and margherita)--you won't be disappointed.

Older type bathhouses but very clean, stainless steel fixtures. The campground is in two areas but split into about 5 loops. A lot are paved with electric sites, a couple loops are I paved roads and mostly tent sites but very nice! Pretty peaceful place, well patrolled by park rangers!water access in all loops. Outside of camping area are picnic areas and a lovely swimming beach, nice electric only fishing lake!

Plenty to do with it’s ups and downs. Has a pool but it isn’t the cleanest and with small children you have to be within arms reach of them. Fine for one not so much with two. For 37 dollars a night you have check in at 3 and have to be checked out by 12. 5 dollars per hour before or after those times. The saving grace to this place is the back primitive tent site and the private beach.

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.

We visited this campground 3 years ago and had an absolute blast!! We ended with a very private tent site with no amenities but around the corner from a pavilion with an outside washing station and flush toilets. There were multiple bathhouses in the upper and lower camp. This is a great RESORT type location for families with store, restaurant, pools, slides, mini golf, picnic basket wagon rides, yogi bear fire truck rides, and snowless snow tubing! We stayed for 4 days and 3 nights! I encouraged everyone from PA to book a few nights there with their kids/grandkids! My children still talk about the fun we had!!

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.

My girlfriend and I stayed at tent site 40 Friday August 9th and Saturday August 10th. Most of the sites were pretty private and ours was probably the most private and had a lot of space since we were on the very end of the road / cul-de-sac. I would definitely recommend this site if you like privacy but it is a longer walk to the bath house but we didn't mind that at all. The only thing I didn't like about the campground is that there is no wash tub / sink to wash your dishes which made clean up a little more of a chore. Other than that the staff were very friendly and it is overall a great campground.

We had a really nice camping experience here. Tent camping at an electrical site. We were on the outside edge of the pet loop so there was some nice shade there. Everyone was friendly. And what a lovely state park. The beaches were great. We went canoeing on the lake. And had fun just hiking around a bit. No luck fishing, but there was one fella who found a good spot. Note: sites can be a bit small or awkward for campers. Our neighbor had a bit of a rough time accessing our shared electric box and we had to put our tent right on the edge because the rest of the campsite was a little muddy and there were roots sticking up—minor issues! Some of the sites were on an incline or i the middle of a field—which is good for some. Just make sure you check the pictures so you know what you’re getting!

In the past 5 years, I've made 13 trips to Raccoon Creek State Park and spent 16 nights in a tent there. It is my local state park and I can tell you lots about it.

The D loop is really great tent camping at Raccoon Creek State Park. It's tents only, no RVs. So it gets a really fun, party vibe on Saturday nights during the summer. There's a trail right to the beach near the D loop, so it's a great place for families to go with pets. The sites are big, wooded, and all close to the bathroom.

The C loop, however, doesn't take pets (which stinks). When we have our dogs with us, we gravitate towards the C loop. It's fine, but it's not as fun as the D loop.

When we don't make a reservation and we have our dog, we end up in the F loop. It's not our preference (but--let's be clear--even the worst site in the F loop is better than NO trip!).