Laurel Hill State Park

A late May stay was great timing for Laurel Hill - the weather was warm but cool in the evenings at the higher elevations. We stayed in the 172-205 loop in site 189 - it was a challenge swinging in our 25' Airstream with the foliage very close to the paved driveway but a few pivots and patience paid off. In that loop, site 173 would be the most preferred: more cleared opening and a private little seating area with firepit and picnic table somewhat removed from trailer parking and along a small rocky stream perfect for kids to play along. If you have anything more than a 25' trailer and a large SUV, you may be limited to the other open-field sites. Note, water access was very limited on the 172-205 loop (nearest was only a fountain in the middle of a thicket of woods; definitely need to fill at campground entrance to save a trip. Firewood $5 on honor system at entrance (which is quite convenient). In late May, we were the ONLY camper in the loop on a Sunday night so we felt like we had the woods and space to ourselves.

Bathrooms were variable across the several bathhouses we used - some seemed more recently renovated some dated. Laundry and outdoor washer/dryer spaces were well maintained. Campground playgrounds were what I remember as 1980s vintage (stainless steel slides, metal, and painted wood). Updated playground space is located along the scenic lake where you can rent kayaks ($10/hr) and a concession stand (not yet open) serves the sandy beach space which was nicely groomed (though not yet warm enough to use in May).

Worth a visit, especially if passing through and you'd preferred quiet wooded space over open field campgrounds like those nearby that pack you in beside your neighbors. It's a solid 30+ minute drive to a grocer but a few pizza, deli, etc. spots are not too far so plan accordingly. Definitely consider bringing a kayak - access from the beach side parking would make dropping in very easy for a leisure paddle.

Arrived here 07/07/2018 - Expected to be part of the post July 4th crowd, To our pleasant surprise only about 2/3 of our pet free loop had campers. By Monday we were 1 of only 3 on this 35 site loop. Site #138 was a paved and level back-in spot. We had a short walk to the showers, They were older but worked fine. Plenty of hot water.
We had no TV Air channels and cell service was not enough to stream. Our site had electric but no water. Fuel and supplies should be brought in from Somerset (about 10 miles).
We totally enjoyed our time here and will be back. Nice and cool, daytime highs 75+/-, nighttime low 50's. Elevation just over 2000 Ft
Several deer wondered thru our site each evening. Good sized lake to play in.
Firewood & ice is available next to the gatehouse and it's on the honor system, $5 per bundle and $2 per bag.

Lots of campsites and lots to do here! There are a very few full hookup sites, with the rest being about half electric and half for dry camping. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. Sites 103 -171 are deep in a forested area and were gravel. Sites 6 - 97 are the pet campsites, much more open and mostly grass. Sites 172 - 269 seemed to be a mix. Plan to do some leveling. We arrived without a reservation and the entrance booth sign said it was not manned until 3:00. However there was a list several pages long with available campsites and the cost for each one, along with envelopes to pay by the honor system. A ranger did come around later and bring a permanent tag for the post. The bath house was clean, but very basic. Plenty of hot water and pressure. There are numerous trails, a beach area with kayak and bike rentals, playgrounds, and a Visitor Center with information about the CCC which built the dam here that formed lake. During the winter when the campground is closed, the map shows several snow mobile trails. This is definitely a destination park. Note that the directions to the park take you to an entrance, but not the campground. It’s 4 miles further, but signs will direct you.

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Wonderful, relaxed campground. The nearby lake is beautiful, and there is a beautiful level trail from the campground entrance, past the beach, and along the lake which is highly recommended. Go there at dusk in early June and hear hundreds of frogs; we heard three different kinds in that chorus. Highly recommended!

I wish I had had more time to spend at this park as it had some appealing trails I would have liked to have checked out. My site was in an electric (only) loop. Also I was in the "no pet" area which as someone not used to pets was very nice. My site seemed typical: it had decent space from adjoining sites and lots of trees all around. I needed little help in getting my camper level. One oddity was the fire ring was located way too far away - almost in the next camp site. It occurred to me later that maybe I could have moved it. The bathrooms are quite dated. The one near me was not heated. With the temps dropping below 40 that was a bit unpleasant. My cell signal on Verizon was weak but with my booster I was able to get a good enough signal to conduct a Zoom meeting. It was quiet at night (except for the person some distance away who shot off fireworks at 9 for about 10 minutes). Everyone I dealt with at the park was polite and professional.

Join us on a video tour of Laurel Hill State Park in Pennsylvania; video uploaded here on Campendium for your immediate reference. We visit some prime RV campsites and the scenic lakeside picnic and day use area. A dump station and fresh water fill is available within the Laurel Hill State Park Campground. Verizon cellular service clocked in at 11.0 Mbps download speed and 0.12 Mbps upload speed. AT&T cellular service clocked in at 67.5 Mbps download speed and 2.17 Mbps upload speed. T-Mobile cellular service clocked in at 3.08 Mbps download speed and 1.43 Mbps upload speed.

Beautiful park in an away from it all location.

CELLULAR COVERAGE IS QUESTIONABLE. If you're near the creek, don't expect any coverage at all. One of our group was completely freaking out with coverage. It made for a less than optimal experience.

My blog post has more, for sure, but here's the essential info:

Two loops, one for pets, and one where no pets are allowed. Check carefully when making reservations if you’re traveling with pets. Sites 172-185 (non-pet loop) back up to the stream, Sites in the non-pet loop are decidely more shady than in the pet loop, which is more of an open field.

Services: electric only, 30 amp, 30/50 amp, dry. Potable water only at the dump station or at water fountains at bath houses.. Each loop has a bath house with showers. The bath house in the pet loop has a washer and dryer.

Weak ATT, no Verizon (hotspot), no T-Mobile (hotspot). ATT got better at the beach/boat launch parking nearest the campground (3 minute drive). ATT was phone, not hotspot.

Groceries: 15 minutes to a Giant Eagle grocery store; nearest Walmart is a half hour away.

Camped here for the first time and it is in a wonderful location with friendly and helpful staff. Its a great choice if you want to see fabulous tourist sites like Falling Water, Kentuck Knob, ride the GAP bike trail or go rafting from Ohiopyle. That said there are several things you should know about the park.

Our sites had no gravel or pad and sloped considerably, so much that we didn't have enough levelling material to get our unit reasonably flat. The electric post is shared between 2 sites, so if you and the person next to you do not have long cords, your trailers will be right next to each other. The site next to us was total shade and had no grass, so after it poured rain it was a total mess. Not sure if they allow you to buy straw and put it down like they do in Ohio, but if we had had that site and could not put down straw we likely would've left because of all the mud.

The showerhouse lights were on a timer and had not been adjusted for the shortened days--so there was a period of about an hour where there were no lights and you could not see very well because of the twilight. There were 3 showers and 2 of them had great water pressure and hot water, but the third one just dribbled--not sure if that's because the other 2 were in use or if it just didn't work.

Only other complaint was that the fire rings are only about 6 feet from the road and can't be moved, so dont expect to have a quiet campfire away from the traffic.

Firewood (nice split pieces, not vile slabs) and ice are available 24/7 on the honor system, which is something we've NEVER seen before.

TV reception with our antennae got us 4 channels (not that we cared) and our AT&T service only had 1 bar most of the time in the campground. Fellow campers were extremely nice and friendly!

We liked this park and will definitely be back!

I’ve stayed here several times both at RV sites and tent sites. Overall it’s a pretty good campground with nice access to the rest of the park and nearby attractions. I usually book this in the spring time for a few days as a base camp for exploring the different trout streams nearby. The sites are a little close together and some of the sites are pretty exposed, but if you come up mid-weeks it’s not a huge deal. Friendly staff and rangers.