Best Dog-Friendly Camping near Tionesta, PA

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.

We have tented and RV'd at Clear Creek. A must do when camping in Pennsylvania. The Clarian river is great for kayaking . Multiple trails off of park. Biking and breweries close by. if you have RV/travel trailer do NOT recommend the non-power sites, they are not level enough, you may really have to bring up the trailer. There were wonderful campsites hosts when we there

Pros; excellent location, great friendly people, clean and stocked bathrooms which include showers. Some sites are separated.. great camp hosts

Cons…a few sites are really close, however not a bad thing here as we got to meet a lot of great people, so for us it was kind of a Pro.

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.

This is my favorite campground so far in PA.

For the most part, there isn’t a bad site (although we didn’t see any of the walk up sites, and I recommend not booking a site immediately next to the bathrooms since the ones without showers are more like “outhouse” toilets and can stink). The sites are private, flat, surrounded by trees, and have plenty of space. The ground is quite rocky though, so bring plenty of heavy duty tent steaks.

Highlights include: the reservoir (beautiful and clean! You can swim with your dog from the access points at the campground), quiet, friendly staff (a kind older gentleman helped us jump my car and refused to take any money as a thank you), updated/very clean showers, not buggy, reception is great (we have Verizon), plenty of room to social distance, and 2 trading posts about 1 mile away with milk, eggs, basic supplies, etc.

Cons: the bathrooms without showers aren’t flush toilets, and there is no campground office so you must see the hosts for any issues.

Things to do nearby (last 5 pictures): the Kinzua Skywalk Bridge free- an old train bridge that was partially destroyed by a tornado in the early 2000’s. The bridge is handicap/stroller accessible, pets are allowed. There is a small indoor museum & gift shop, and a hiking trail along the wreckage. If you hike, wear good sneakers, the path is rocky and VERY steep. The hiking path is not recommended for small children). Bathrooms on site.

The Kinzua Dam free - beautiful. Handicap/stroller accessible, pets permitted. Bathrooms were closed due to social distancing.

Rimmrock overlook free- just a small distance from the parking lot. NOT stroller/handicap accessible, and there are rock steps, however we saw numerous families with small children go through the path with no issues. Pets permitted. Bathrooms on site.

Nearby towns of Kane and Ridgway looked cute, but we didn’t spend time there due to our efforts to social distance.

We had a great experience at this site. It’s very dog friendly and everyone with dogs was respectful and had them on a leash. Our site numbers were perfect -sites 46 and 48. They felt much more private than some of the other sites we saw and backed right up to the Tionesta River. We had decent access down to the water so the dogs could swim - they are big dogs and swimming breeds but the current is strong. The site had a lot of great tree coverage and nice well maintained fire rings. A nice guy drive around to purchase firewood.

We took a 30 minute drive to cook Forrest State Park to do a hike and it was great. It was the Longfellow -Kilmer trail and it couldn’t have been more perfect. After the hike we stopped by the quaint little town and bought some veggies at an open air market with some very friendly store owners. The highlight was being two sites away from a group of guitar and banjo playing trio who played some awesome Bluegrass each night - what a treat!!