Ryerson Station State Park Campground

This is truly a spectacular campground. Spacious separation between lots, very well kept, the bathrooms are immaculate. An absolutely beautiful setting on the crest of a mountain. There are 3 trails you can take right within the campground. The downside is no cell service for Verizon. I don’t take these trips to remain connected, but this spot is quite isolated and if there was ever an emergency, help would be difficult to obtain. The trails are really all the “entertainment” available. It looks like they are building a swimming pool water park a few miles away from the campground. It is definitely not walking distance, nor for biking due to the narrow road and steep hill. In addition, we have a 26 foot motor home. To get to the campground, you have to drive several miles on a two lane winding road. Hard to navigate a vehicle in those road conditions. You’re in a mountainous area so don’t depend on your GPS to get you there. Make sure you print off directions from the state park website, not your GPS web page.

We took our 8 month old on his first camping trip here Memorial Day weekend  and really lucked out.  After talking to some park rangers it was the first weekend in over a year that they had the campground open and fully operational.  There are brand new bathrooms and a shower house, water hook-ups, big sites that are mostly shaded. (They reduced the numbers of sites from around 50 to 35.)  There are some new looking cabins that we did not stay in.  Although the campsite was very nice, there isn't too much around to do yet.  The dam that used to be in the park has not been rebuilt so the lake is still drained, and the new swimming pool is under construction. Parts of the park seem like they have been abandoned, probably when they were forced to drain the lake.  The trails could use some work but are still there if you want to hike, and the ranger also mentioned their plans to build a new bike trail somewhere in the park.  If you are just trying to sleep in the woods and spend some nights camping this is perfect, take advantage while the facilities are new and it's easy to get a reservation.  And with the future improvements it will easily be 5/5.

This is a nice little park that used to have a lake…until it was undermined (literally) and destroyed by the nearby coal company. The trails are pleasant, especially the one leading to the old Chess Cemetery. The PADCNR works hard to make this park into an attraction despite the fact that it no longer has its lake as a focal point. This means that they maintain a cold water swimming pool in the summer. And they keep the campground open year-round, which makes it a rarity. If you want to go camping in January, this might be the only conventional campground in PA where you can do that. The campground is pleasant, if a little…spooky. None of the spots are very secluded, but that's okay because you'll probably be the only camper here. Like much of the park, it's bordered by a public road, which means that there's some traffic--usually loud pickups and frack trucks. I've only ever camped here in the fall, when Greene County is at its most beautiful, and I've always had the campground (and most of the park) entirely to myself. There are two tiny cabins as well as sites for tents or campers. Ryerson is worth a visit. Not sure why the state can't make the coal company pay for its destruction of the lake.