Best Tent Camping near Turtle Creek, PA

Kooser State Park is a small campground nestled in the Laurel Highlands, close to Hidden Valley and Seven Springs ski resorts. The park has great amenities just a short walk from all sites. All sites have fire rings, with grills, however note they are double walled so do not expel a lot of heat outward. Great for cooking however. 

Most sites are not level, but very grassy. Firewood is available at the entrance for$5 bundle supporting a local club. A beautiful walk through the park leads you to the Kooser Lake, great for fishing. It is also close to the Laurel Hill State Park which is great for hiking and water activities. The park is close to the road so you will experience some road noise. 

The park is 15min from Somerset. No phone reception at this one! They welcome all furry friends!

Our first visit to this campground and we actually found from using this website! We wanted a secluded site and close to Pittsburgh. 

We arrived around 7pm and there was no check in, we drove around for a while trying to find a spot with a fire ring per some helpful campers. There are two really nice spots by the water which were taken, and we only saw one other in the woods (the other 2 were hidden by a large group of people).

We ended up finding a flat spot with some tree cover what was far enough from our neighbors but about as close as a bigger campground. Would be good for larger groups. Ton of flat land for tents but saw some people with smaller campers. Firewood is $5 a bucket and clean and dry. Bring a table cloth for the tables. 

Portapot close by but full bath rooms and showers by main lodge. Lots of tent platforms that overlooked into the woods which would be fun, for a smaller 4 person tent though. 

As another reviewer stated, there was a super loud group Friday night but Saturday was very peaceful and quiet and we met the owner who checked us in and apologized for the loud group and said he was still getting the campground ready for the season. The price is the same for either spots. 

Short walk down cheeseman road to trail entrances to McConnells Mills State Park. Short drive to hells hallow or the covered bridge. 

Overall we had a great time and will be back!

Electric Site 37 - pad is pretty level, plenty for our small camper and truck, on a slight hill to get to fire ring but lots of space to spread out. You could tent but not really a flat spot. We were near the non-electric cul de sac and a neighbor right across but not on top of each other. Trees are everywhere and wonderful during the fall season. We had a big night of rain and with the wind it dried up pretty quickly.

Camp store - small, not a lot in it but may be end of the season items only. Mostly shirts and mugs and very little snack food. The camp store staff were all very friendly and helpful and the store has limited WiFi if you stood in the right spot. There is a laundry room available there as well.

Dump station- 2 way and potable water on the other side of it. The only place to drop your trash too.

Trails - lots of trails to choose from. Some were pretty easy some were a little hilly. My favorite was the fern trail - lots of ferns and a very pretty stream. Hiking poles are recommended especially if it rains.

Playground - is available for kids and a huge shelter house too.

Firewood is $6 a bundle and burns well, no slab cut.

Water - have to go up to entrance as the water spouts are still shut off.

Showers - in womens the shower on the left never got warm, other two were fine. There are 4 flush toilets.

PROS 

Able to reserve 129 days prior to arriving 

Melissa at check-in was very friendly and helpful 

Good overnight stop to visit Flight 93 Memorial 22 miles from campground 

Site #391 level 

Gravel site surrounded by grass 

Moveable wooden picnic table 

Large concrete fire ring 

Clean toilet-shower building that are heavily used 

Mostly quiet except for road noise 

Firewood for sale in Park

CONS 

No discount 

Site #391 no shade 

Park cable connection failed 

Sewer connection“up hill” 

Never found trash dumpster and wasn’t marked on campground map 

Very loud radio station blaring in the toilet/shower building that could be heard outside the building 

2 bars Verizon 

No WIFI

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!

This tiny gem of a campground is actually quite decent. Each site is furnished with a small fire ring and picnic table. The fire rings do not have a grill grate. The pit toilets in the restroom are "fragrant" when you enter the women's side of the building but not so terribly that they can't be used. My friend did gag upon entering the men's room. There are designated wastewater areas to dump grey water, but you'll have to bring your own water for drinking, washing, etc. There are no electric hookups.

As others have mentioned, there is a gun range nearby and you can hear occasional firing. Helicopter traffic at night was a slight distraction from the otherwise quiet night I spent here.

There is an easy orange-blazed trail behind site 10 but as of this writing, a there are several downed trees blocking the trail a good distance in.

I'd definitely stay again.

5/3/2021 Edited to add:. Well, our second stay here is decidedly less positive. We are at site 9 this time. No fire ring here. The women's bathroom is filthy and it made me gag (there is feces all over one toilet seat and the other smells so bad that I just peed in the woods). It's turkey season so lots of noise in the woods.

Spent the first camping trip of the summer here on Memorial Day weekend and it was a beautiful spot. There are a number of sites set up in a circle, the initial sites are better suited for RVs while the sites along the back of the loop are flatter and can accommodate a tent. This was our first car camping in an actual campground experience in a while - our last few trips were all backcountry sites - and it felt very luxurious. The campground is situated near shooting ranges so the gunfire lasts late into the evening and begins early in the morning disrupting the serenity a bit.

The best part - it's free! Just register at the box. There are vault toilets and each site has a fire ring, picnic table, garbage cans, and there are spots to dump waste water. It's very well-organized and well maintained.

Round Bottom Camping Area at Slush Run is a free camping area directly on the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) Trail around Mile 99 (East of West Newton roughly 15 miles).  For those not familiar with the GAP Trail, it is a Rails-to-Trails initiative that travels from Pittsburgh, PA to Cumberland, MD…meandering through numerous Trail Towns that were former thriving railroad towns at the end of the 1800's.

Round Bottom Camping Area at Slush Run can only be accessed by the GAP Trail, which means on foot or bicycle…or paddlers on the Youghioheny River. Being positioned directly off the GAP Trail grants easy access to those traveling the trail. 

Amenities:

• Raised Tent pads (4)
• Vault Toilet
• Adirondack Shelters (2)
• Firepits
• Picnic tables

No potable water…there is hand pump but the water was discolored.  It is a short walk down a trail to the river's edge, where I filtered water for drinking.

There is plenty of grassy area for scores of tents in this area.   So if you are not fortunate enough to secure one of the two Shelters or tent pads, you can still set up a tent in the nicely mowed areas, which are still level.

We were bikepacking the GAP Trail east from Pittsburgh and arrived on a Sunday evening mid-June. We secured the only open Adirondack Shelter and were able to set up our tent inside, along with keeping our bicycles inside and out of the elements. Which made it wonderfully convenient when it started to rain. Sites and shelters are first come, first served.

Usually the vault toilets along this trail are clean, maintained and stocked…but on this visit, piles of trash were inside likely from an overly busy weekend.

The only negative was the train traffic on the opposite side of the River…it is loud when they rumble through. If you don't sleep with ear-plugs, you will wish you had.

Bicycle traffic was fairly light during the week, so not only did you have the GAP Trail mostly to oneself, the camping areas were either sparsely filled or empty. Although, things just did start opening up from the Covid-19 shutdown.

Apart from the train noise during sleeping hours, Round Bottom Camping Area is very peaceful and though you can still visually see the GAP Trail, you are not disturbed by passing cyclists.

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.