“Fish and Birdwatch in Wellsboro!”
Located in scenic Tioga County, the 407-acre Hills Creek State Park abounds in wildlife. Osprey, loon and waterfowl visit the lake that boasts a variety of warm-water fish species. Camping, cabins, swimming and picnicking make this an ideal spot for a family vacation. The 85-site camping area is at the north end of the park and can be reached by the main park road. The campsites range from grassy open areas to sites dominated by immense hemlock trees. The campground opens the second Friday in April and closes the third weekend in October. Modern washhouses with warm showers, restrooms, and water fountains are in central locations throughout the camping area. A sanitary dump station is just outside the camping area. Six sites are ADA accessible. Pets are permitted on designated sites. The warm waters of the 137-acre Hills Creek Lake provide excellent fishing for warm-water species. Common fish are muskellunge, walleye, largemouth bass, carp, bullhead catfish, bluegill, crappie and yellow perch. The lake record for largemouth bass is just over eight pounds. A fishing pier for people with disabilities is at the Pines Boat Launch. A valid PA fishing license is required. All Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission laws apply.
Reviews of Hills Creek State Park
10 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G
Confirmed by 4 users | Last reported on September 23, 2021AT&T 4G
Confirmed by 3 users | Last reported on September 06, 2021T-Mobile 4G/5G
Confirmed by 2 users | Last reported on May 04, 2021Northern Central to Eastern Pennsylvania is known as the Pennsylvania Wilds, and rightly so. There are more dirt roads, Elk crossings and long bouts down winding two-lanes here than in any other part of the state I’ve ever ventured through. This state park is no exception, and in fact is more like a subsection of this entire region cut out and placed into a containable little area.
Group sites, tent sites and RV parking is available, and there is plenty of the latter. The roads through the park are generally flat, with small rolling hills that make for leisurely strolls on a bike. There are a few short hiking trails and you could walk around the lake that makes up the vast majority of the western edge of the park if you really wanted to get out on your feet. The park also has plenty of day use space available if you just want to stop through and take a break from the open road (the beautiful and well known PA Route 6 runs very nearby).
A small concession stand sells ice cream, hot dogs and fire wood, as well as renting out rafts, kayaks and paddle boats that allow you to get out on the lake and enjoy yourself. The lake itself is very calm, and chock-full of little alcoves harboring lilly pads, the occasional crane or two, and who knows what other untold treasures tucked away.
We stayed here in late September a couple of years back, and the leaves were already very much beginning to change. The park ranger mentioned that the first three weeks in October are spectacular here, and the park is about 18 miles away from Pine Creek Gorge, also known as “Pennsylvania’s Grand Canyon.”
Oh and if you weren't in the know, there is no alcohol allowed in PA state parks.
Nightly Rate: $24.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: -
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
Our Garmin 660 LMT RV got us here off Route 6, although we were on a one lane road at some point, perhaps it wasn't the best route. The campground roads are narrow with sharp turns and may be more suited for smaller rigs like our 26 ft. Class C. We were in the A loop and our site was called on the reserve website a "modern electric" site, no other hookups. We have a pull through site that was very level for us but might not be for a big rig. There was 20, 30 and 50 amp receptacles at our site. There was an additional $6 transaction fee to reserve. The shower rooms on our loop were very clean and had either been recently remodeled or were new and functioned very well. There was a laundry room in loop B we used, $2.25 to wash and $.25 per 8 minutes to dry, only one washer and one dryer. We parked our RV in a nearby vacant site while we did laundry, there are 2 small parking spots at the laundry, one is for handicap, you might get a small RV in one if you backed it in over the curb. The machines worked well and the room was clean. There are nice trails here and large well kept lawns in the day use areas. The ranger where we checked in was very friendly and helpful. It is about a 30 minute drive from here to Leonard Harrison State Park where there are viewpoints and trails along the rim of Pennsylvania's Grand Canyon. We chose to camp here instead because of the availability of cell service for our mobile internet hotpot and making calls. Verizon service was 2 bars and increased to 4 bars 4g LTE with our Weboost cellular booster. There is an available dump station and potable water. It was quiet while we were here. Would definitely stay here again.
Nightly Rate: $32.00
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 12
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Large campground with variety of site types. I was able to get a shady site that was fairly level. Me and my cat were happy with it. Had electricity but not water. Quiet. Moderate walk to restroom. Only issue was that it was a long way down twisty roads to get there.
Nightly Rate: $32.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: -
We wanted to visit the Grand Canyon of PA and looked at several choices in the area. Given the heat, we chose this state park because we were able to get a full hookup site. The campground was nice, well taken care of. We loved the location of our site (47), but it was frustratingly not level. Didn’t use the bathrooms or showers. We did drive thru the other state parks nearby (Colton Point and Leonard Harrison). CP was beautiful but rustic and probably would be best for small RVs or tents. LH had some nice sites with electric, but it wasn’t as woodsy and private it seems as where we were. Would stay again for sure. The hike around the lake was a nice 3 mile walk too. Overall, really glad we chose this park.
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 47
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
T-Mobile
typical of the great job that PA does with its state parks. we cut short our stay at nearby Leonard Harrison because we needed some cell phone signal to work. LH was nice, but Hills Creek is just beautiful. just enough little hills to make it interesting. lots of trees and well groomed grassy areas. many of the sites are separated from others. we stayed during third week of April 2021 just after the park opened, so only loops A and B were open. we walked through C and D and they are similarly scenic. our site (50) was listed as 50A, but it had 20A, 30A, and 50A. other nearby sites were the same. we also had water and sewer at our site. there is also a dump station. some lakefront sites that are close together and only fit small RVs. there was a warning about cyanobacteria in the lake, so check before you go if you or your pets plan on getting in the water.
the roads getting there are typical twisting turning narrow PA back roads. scary fun with an SUV pulling a 24' trailer. we really enjoyed the hiking trails and imagine our grandchildren would have loved riding their bikes around the campground and exploring the trails. deer walked through in the morning and evening. saw a big red-headed woodpecker across from our site.
nearby Wellsboro is a gem of a small city with several cool places to eat and shop.
Pine Creek Gorge is about 30 minutes drive.
T-Mobile signal was sometimes ok for messages and short calls, AT&T was a little better, Verizon was good for our hotspot for emails and low speed upload/downloads. we did not try streaming. because of the hills, signal varied around the park.
Nightly Rate: $66.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: 50
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
AT&T 4G
T-Mobile 4G
Nice State Park.
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 2
Stopped here for an overnight before heading north.
Dirt roads leading up to the park made for a dirty camper.
Stayed in C loop, site 55. Electric hookup only. Site had a weird lot size and was not level, but backed up to trees. Some sites had crushed gravel, but ours did not. If I came back, I'd choose a different site.
We had cell service (so we were able to work remotely) but in areas close to park, we had no cell service and had a dead zone.
We were happy to be only 10 minutes to Mansfield where we grabbed dinner at the local brewery.
Nightly Rate: $32.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 55
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
We had to change sites to stay two nights but it was workable. Site 48 was ok but very open and not very level. The bath house for this loop was newer and had a laundry that was nice. Site 25 was on the lake side in trees so shady. We liked the town of Wellsboro and we loved the bike trail Pine Creek rail trail. We started at the north point just outside of Wellsboro. The nort section of the trail has had some wash out areas that were manageable. With e bikes we did 33 miles 16 out and back to Wellsboro. Would like to see the south part from Jersey Shore. We visited the Flight 93 Memorial after we left this park. Very worthwhile experience.
Nightly Rate: -
Days Stayed: 2
Site Number: 48 and 25
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
We had a full hook up site on a Memorial Day weekend that was very spacious with a small stream on the edge of the site. Very quiet site that was level. Even know if was a holiday weekend, the park was quiet and did not seem crowded at all.
Nightly Rate: $45.00
Days Stayed: 3
Site Number: Loop A Site 2
Our site was level as was the ones around us. Some separation between sites but little vegetation. Full hook ups and no cell service. Great hiking and access to water activities.
Nightly Rate: $59.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 1
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Hills Creek State Park
Hours
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Parking
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Pets Allowed
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Restrooms
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Wifi
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Wheelchair Accessible
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Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- State park or forest
- Back In RV Sites Count
- 20
- Last Nightly Rate
- 24.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 37.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 24.0
- Max Stay
- 14
- Season End
- Oct.
- Season Start
- April
- Sites Count
- 78
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Paved Sites
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Fifty Amp
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Full Hookup
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Rec Facilities
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Pull Through
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Tent Sites
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Dump Station
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Big Rigs
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Open Seasonally
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Age Restricted
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Back In RV Sites
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Boondock
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Cabin Sites
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Dispersed Sites
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Firewood
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Fulltime Residents
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Group Tent Sites
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Laundry
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Mobile Homes
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Permit Required
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Potable Water
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Propane
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Public Water
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Pull Through RV Sites
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Reservations
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Sewer Hookup
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Showers
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Sites
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Standard Tent Sites
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Vehicle Wash Permitted
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Water Hookup
Campground, Restrooms
Nearby Hotels
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