Pennsylvania’s Most Popular Campground and a few others in the Keystone state!

Last Thursday I headed north along rainy roads to Locust Lake.

There are 282 sites here but only the electric loop was open. I nabbed site 33.

I quickly walked the open loop because it was going to fill up quickly for the weekend. Even though rain was expected to continue. Which it did.

Number 62 had a nice lake view.

And then I spent the evening watching the water pour off my tarp as a river formed a path through my campsite.

Friday I explored the rest of the park. There’s a beach and a store.

Which opened the day after I left but probably was not too busy that weekend.

Near the store is the best site here. Number 274, although several others near it are on the lakeshore as well.

Life is all about irony and that was made plain to me as I left Locust Lake last Saturday.

The campground had filled up.

The rain had given way to the sun.

Which was fitting as I was leaving and heading many miles north to Hickory Run State Park. Where I enjoyed one day of beautiful sunshine.

One of the cool features of this huge 381 site campground is the boulder field. It’s about three miles away up a mainly dirt road.

I thought they were dropped by glaciers but that was not the case.

Water freezing and thawing.

Like a giant cat litter box. But without the smell.

The photo above was shot raw and processed through an HDR program.

Don’t forget to play with your aperture.

This is f/3.5

Pick a rock, any rock.

Make it stand out and blur the background.

Something different.

I stayed in site 72. A very large site and one of my favorites.

When I arrived and was looking for a site I saw a black bear leaping up from this site and scurrying away. That’s why I picked it. Hoping the little guy would come back and pose for some pictures. He had other plans and never returned.

This is the most popular mountain campground in the state of PA.

A huge beach and several lakes and ponds bring campers from nearby NYC and Philly, less than three hours away.

The sites range from shaded, like numbers 186 and 269, to open grass ones, such as number 341.

There is a huge grassy field in that area. Perfect for tossing a Frisbee around.

Interesting roads lead to interesting trails.

I passed on that one. Didn’t feel quite right.

Tuesday was Tobyhanna.

A small state park with only 140 sites.

I parked in number 119, the best site in the park.

I have outrun spring and the trees are naked again. This could be an ongoing theme since I will be in Maine in a few weeks. I think there is still snow there…

Some sites had some foliage. I liked 3 and 56.

But the best are are by the lake and if you cannot get 119, 117 is a good choice.

It was just myself and one other camper here for my brief stay. And a few flies. Small nasty ones. I had to take precautions while making dinner.

I took some pics of the lake and river as I left on Thursday morning.

It is a gorgeous spot and I would love to come back in the summer. Just to borrow a canoe and paddle some of that water. It’s that good.

That’s it from the Keystone state for now. I’ll be back later in the year. Now I’m off to New York!

Regards, Park Ranger