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The next time you go camping in Pennsylvania (PA) there are some things you should consider. When you think of camping and the outdoors most think of Yosemite Yellowstone and large famous parks. Pennsylvania, though not on the top of the list has other attractions that you should be aware of.

Most state parks are open seasonal. Pennsylvania has three state parks that are open year round. These parks are Little Pine, Ole bull, and Promised Land. The cold might be a factor for some campers. The state is located in the upper northeast and winters see snowfall and cold temperatures. This can be remedy by the cabins available at the campsites.

There are numerous different activities to do in winter months then during the regular season. Campers in Pennsylvania enjoy cross country skiing, twenty three miles of snowmobile trails and ice fishing. Promised Lake is 422 acres large. During the winter season ice fishing is also a big hit among visitors. That is not the only attraction during the long winter months. There are hundreds of trails open for cross county skiing. Twenty three miles of trail is also open for snowmobiles. Along with the trailers and RV you can take to the campsite log cabins are available.

Seasonal parks in Pennsylvania have other attractions. Among these seasonal state parks are Parker Dam, Shawnee, Prince Gallitzin, Champan, Gifford Pinchot, Pine Grove Furnace and the large Pymatuning. Tourist and avid campers alike flock to Pymatining State Park. It is one of the most visited parks in Pennsylvania. This maybe due to is vast size of 21, 122 acres and its reservoir that is over 17, 000 acres. Both being some of the biggest Pennsylvania state parks have to offer.

Before any camper voyages to their campsite, they must know the rules and regulations. Pennsylvania parks have textbook rules. You  can bring your pets a long as its dog, cat or a caged animal, that being a bird or something  of the sort. Of course, no fires outside of the fire rings and grills. There is one rule that  might make some campers go to a local private campsite. No alcoholic beverages are allowed at the campsites or the state parks. This may be a bad thing for a few campers, though there are plenty of campsites outside of the state parks where having alcohol is legal.

Another large attraction for campers is the elk ranges. This is state land that the elk are free to roam and graze about. An elk is much bigger then a deer. A typical male elk can reach a thousand pounds.

If hunting isn’t on the menu, but observing wildlife is you can visit an elk range. Elk are larger then deer and males can weigh up to a thousand pounds. You can drop by one of the ranges near your campsite.

Yellowstone and Yosemite are some of the most renowned and most known by outdoor lovers. Camping in Pennsylvania is not as well known as these other places. Pennsylvania, though not on the top of the list has other attractions that you should be aware of.

Most state parks are open seasonal. Pennsylvania has three state parks that are open year round. These parks include Little Pine, Promised Land, and Ole Bull. Since this location is in the upper northeast, these parks get a taste of all the different seasons.

At Promised Land State Park you can go fishing on the 422 acre Promised Lake, then visit in  the winter and ice fish. There is more to do in the winter then you might think. There is  twenty three miles of snowmobile trails and hundreds of trails for cross country skiing. And  not to worry, you won’t have to pitch a camp tent in the snow and cold, cabins are also available.

The seasonal state parks have just as much to offer. The top seven state parks are Champan,  Parker Dam, Gifford Pinchot, Shawnee, Pine Grove Furnace, Prince Gallitzin, and the huge  Pymatuning. Each park has a different flavor. Records show that Pymatuning is one of the most  visited parks in Pennsylvania. It is by far the biggest state park in Pennsylvania being 21,  122 acres. The park has one of the biggest lakes that is well over seventeen thousand acres.

Before any camper voyages to their campsite, they must know the rules and regulations. Pennsylvania parks have textbook rules. These are rules such as no unauthorized fires, this is a for obvious reasons. No alcoholic beverages are allowed at the campsites or the state parks. This may be a bad thing for a few campers, though there are plenty of campsites outside of the state parks where having alcohol is legal. On the up side, the state parks allows pets on premise as long as it is a dog, cat or small caged animal.

Another large attraction for campers is the elk ranges. This is state land that the elk are free to roam and graze about. An elk is much bigger then a deer. Hunting and game is another activity that can be done in the state park system. You will need the proper permits paper work and hunt during the right season. The most usual game include wild turkey, whitetail deer, grouse, and pheasant.

Hunting and game options offered on state parks if you have proper paperwork and its the right season. Game animals include grouse, whitetail deer, pheasant and wild turkey. Black bears and coyotes are native to the land. Be sure not to leave out any food around the campsites.

Saturday morning we woke up early and jumped out of our sleeping bags to see how much snow had fallen. We looked out the door of our camping tent and six inches of fresh snow covered the ground. The trees looked amazing covered with the fresh white powder. It was ideal morning for deer hunting. Today was going to be the day to get our bucks if it was going to happen this season. We dressed properly for the cold and snow, grabbed some hot coffee and headed down the hill with our deer rifles. The guys were going to head to the north side of the forest where they had spotted the deer last night. I was going to head over to my favorite spot, a large group of oak trees to the west. I was sure that after all the fresh snow fell the deer were going to be looking for food.

It was still dark outside and it was hard to find the acorn feeding ground. I found it about an hour before daylight and set up my deer blind about 300 yards away. I didn’t want to spook any deer away before daylight so I crawled in my deer blind and waited for the first light to arrive. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop but right at daybreak the forest started to come alive with the sound of all kinds of critters. I could hear many strange things in the forest. If you’ve ever been there at that time, you know exactly what I’m talking about I got out my new buck grunt caller and got it ready to go. I also checked my gun to make sure it was loaded and ready to go. Now all I had to do was wait for the big one. With all the fresh snow, I knew he would show up today.

Right at daylight, I heard a shot from the direction where the other guys were hunting. Maybe somebody got one! I started to use my grunt caller to attract a buck in but had no luck. About that time I saw a doe walking around some brush. She was heading right for the acorn feeding ground. Then I saw four more big doe coming toward me and they were also heading for the feeding ground. I had no doubt that a buck would be following close behind. During the mating season, the bucks will follow the doe around and check to see if they are ready to mate. The buck always stays behind the doe and appears last. At this point I had nothing to do but wait so I grabbed a sandwich from my picnic backpack and ate while watching the doe.

A little later I heard crashing and loud noise coming from the forest on the far side of the feeding grounds. It was sure to be a buck. Then all a sudden I saw a big deer emerging from the thickets and heading right for the doe. As the deer got closer I could see antlers! It was an 8 point buck for sure. Then another deer came out behind the first buck and he looked like a monster. I counted 12 points. Today I was going to get the biggest buck of my life. As soon as the two bucks got to the feeding area they started fighting. It was a spectacular sight that I had never seen in all the years I’d been hunting. The 8 point buck lost his battle with the monster buck and left the area. Now was the time to shoot the monster buck that I had been waiting on. I had a clear shot so I raised my rifle, aimed for his chest and pulled the trigger. The giant fell to the ground right in this tracks. I had bagged a monster buck and had a great story to tell my children and grandchildren.

We got to hunting camp at around 4:00 on Friday. The sun was just beginning to set to our west. The sky started to get very dark and the northwest wind began howling through the trees. We had to set up camp fast because it was going to get dark soon and a possible winter storm was heading our way. My job was to pitch the camping tent while the others searched for the firewood.

After about 20 minutes the tent was up and my friends were walking up the trail carrying enough firewood for the whole weekend. My friend John said that they spooked three big bucks in the valley as they walked down the hill. He said they ran straight for the north side of the forest crossing an old creek bed. Now we knew where we were going to start our hunt early the next morning.

Before we could think about hunting, we had to get a fire started because the storm was on its way. We built a simple fire ring out of large rocks then started the fire and got the rest of our stuff unpacked and setup. As soon as we got the fire going to a roaring blaze it started to snow like crazy. It was very cold out so we decided to leave the sandwiches in our picnic backpack and cook up some thick strip steaks. Since John had just gotten new bbq tools, he got to do the cooking. Besides, nobody in our hunting group will ever complain about John’s cooking. He really is the king of the grill.

The snow started to build up very quickly. In a little over an hour we had a couple inches on the ground. My new four season camping tent was holding up to the snow and wind very well. Soon the steaks were cooked and we could get into our tent and enjoy our dinner. We grabbed the cooler out of the back of the SUV and climbed into the tent for an evening of storytelling, food and beer.

As we ate, the snow and wind got even worse. The tent was shaking hard but stood up to the winter storm. I was very glad I had gotten the four season tent instead of the three season one I had been considering. If I had purchased the three season tent, we would have either cancelled the trip or we’d have been sleeping in the truck. Soon the dinner and beer were just pleasant memories and it was time to climb into our sleeping bags and get some sleep. The alarm clock was going to go off early because the hunt was at hand!

Please come back soon for the next part of this story about my winter hunting trip. In part 3 I’ll tell you the story of the hunt and the huge buck I shot that day.

Don’t you hate it when you have a hunting trip planned and the forecast calls for terrible weather? Have you ever canceled a camping trip because it was too cold or snowy? I don’t have that problem anymore. Last November I decided to go to hunting camp with my brother and some friends. We made our plans a couple weeks in advance so we’d have plenty of time to get our camping equipment ready. As opening day of deer season got closer, I watched the Weather Channel and things didn’t look good. The forecast was for a snowy, freezing week but we knew it wouldn’t keep us from bagging our deer.

You see, I had postponed too many camping trips in the past and recently bought a four season camping tent and some warm sleeping bags to stop it from happening again. The tent sleeps eight people so I knew we would have plenty of room for the four of us and our gear. I also knew we’d be warm and dry because the four season camping tent is made to withstand strong wind and heavy snow.

As Friday approached, I packed all my equipment with complete confidence that we’d be going camping as planned. What’s even better is that guys without the right camping equipment would be staying home. Fewer hunters in the woods would mean more deer for us. Also, doesn’t it seem like the deer know just when the season starts? Well, maybe because of the lousy weather they wouldn’t hide quite so carefully.

The weekend finally arrived and we stowed our camping gear in the car and started to back out of the driveway. All of a sudden I realized that we didn’t have the picnic backpacks with the sandwiches for our first day in it. We don’t cook on the first day because by the time we get to camp and set up our gear, it’s too late to bother cooking.  After the first night though, we cook all our meals on our portable grill.

Finally we hit the road. I couldn’t wait to get to the woods and set up our camping gear before the snow and wind set in. For me nothing is better than a weekend at hunting camp with my best pals and the anticipation of the hunt to come. Stay tuned and I’ll tell you how we did on our winter weather hunting trip.