Twin Lakes Recreation Area - Allegheny National Forest

This campground used to be run by the forest service, but was closed several years ago. My understanding is that so much infrastructure had gone by the wayside that the forest service didn't want to deal with it. A local nonprofit group has since taken it over and they are slowly getting things fixed. That being said, there were no amenities when we stayed - no bath houses, no toilets, no water to fill up our rig with, no sanitary dump station. The latter was obviously a huge inconvenience because we had to stop at our local Treasure Lake KOA to dump our tanks (which they charged an arm and a leg for.)

The reason for the three stars is just the fact that we didn't realize there was not going to be any amenities available. Otherwise it's a very nice campground. The sites are relatively private and they have been nicely fixed up with crushed stone pads and beautiful new fire pits.

The water was extremely low when we visited (labor day weekend 2022) so the pond there was pretty mucky. I think it's probably lovely when rainfall is more normal.

There is a nice loop of well maintained trails that connects to even more expansive trails (I think going all the way out to Cooks Forest...too ambitious for me) that we enjoyed walking.

Unfortunately I don't think we'll camp here again until they have the dump station up and running. They are working on it, from what I understand. It was just too inconvenient to dump elsewhere.

Twin Lakes is a beautiful spot, tucked away in a stream valley in the Allegheny National Forest. It's mainly locals who come here, since few outsiders know about it. If you come in the spring or fall, you're likely to have the whole recreation area to yourself, though the swimming beach can get crowded in summer. Originally, there were supposed to be two small lakes--more like ponds--on this site. But money for the second pond was redirected elsewhere--to construct the swimming area at the Lolita Campground instead. And so, the little body of water called "Twin Lake" sits solitary and with a misleading name. The campground is quiet and pleasant, with large, sunny sites for trailers in the lower loop and shaded tent sites in the upper loop. Unfortunately, nearby gas drilling has made the drinking water unsafe, and so the National Forest Service first closed the upper loop, and now for the 2018 "camping year" it has closed the entire campground. The ANF website promises that this is temporary, and the campground will reopen. In every way, Twin Lakes is a lovely location, with dark, towering hemlock trees, rustic old CCC architecture, and a serene little lake completely encircled by a walking trail. Black bears have long been habituated to humans at Twin Lakes! Keep your food and toiletries in the car. To my knowledge, no one has ever been attacked by a bear here. The wild and overrun Twin Lakes Trail is a linear backpacking route that starts here and heads westward toward the North Country National Scenic Trail. But unfortunately, the Twin Lakes Trail ends up getting lost in those dismal parts of the forest that have been completely trashed by gas drillers. I hope this campground reopens. I have fond memories of bringing my kids here when they were little, flying kites, picking berries, swimming in the frigid spring water! PS: If you've got a tall trailer, be sure to check the Twin Lakes page on the ANF website; there's a way in, but it's not all that easy to find.