Oil Creek State Park, located in Venango County, is 7,244 acres in size and offers picnicking, hunting, hiking on 52 miles of trails, and a 9.7-mile paved bicycle path through the Oil Creek Gorge. Warmwater and coldwater fishing and canoeing is popular on Oil Creek, while winter enthusiasts can enjoy 10 miles of cross-country skiing.

 

Chapman State Park, in Warren County, is 805 acres and features picnicking, hunting, biking, and hiking on 12 miles of trails. The 68-acre lake offers swimming, fishing, and boating opportunities. This park has 83 campsites as well as an organized group camping area. It features a boat rental facility and boat mooring and launching are available. Winter activities include ice skating, ice fishing, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, sledding, tobogganing, and a winter festival.

 

The 3,200-acre Presque Isle State Park is located in Erie County and extends out into Lake Erie. A sandy peninsula that contains many unique habitats and features, it is home to a number of the state’s rare, endangered, and threatened species. Operated as a day-use park, it offers a variety of year round recreational opportunities including swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, biking, and in-line skating.

 

A fairly recent addition to the state park system, Erie Bluffs State Park encompasses 540 acres and is located just 12 miles west of the city of Erie. It is the largest undeveloped length of Lake Erie shoreline remaining in Pennsylvania and is noted for its unique natural elements including 90 foot bluffs that overlook the lake. It also contains a world-class shallow stream steelhead fishery, old growth forest, endangered and threatened flora, uncommon oak savannah sand barren ecosystem, exceptional value wetlands, and significant archeological sites.

 

At some 21,112 acres, Pymatuning State Park in Crawford County is the largest state park in Pennsylvania. The 17,088-acre reservoir is the largest lake in the commonwealth and offers boating, fishing, and swimming. Other recreational activities that are available include hunting, picnicking, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, camping, and cabin rental.

 

The Allegheny National Forest is managed by the U.S. Forest Service to sustain a variety of uses for this and future generations and is located in Warren, McKean, Forest, and Elk Counties. This 513,000-acre area offers over 600 miles of trails that crisscross its ridges and valleys. It provides recreational opportunities, which include hunting, fishing, swimming, hiking, camping, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, boating, mountain biking, ATV riding, and much more.

 

This 27-mile lake, located in Warren and McKean Counties, is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and features nearly 100 miles of forested shoreline. Fishing, swimming, power boating, and a full service marina are just a few of the things that draw visitors to the lake.

 

Also managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this 480-acre, 6-mile lake located in Forest County lake provides camping, picnicking, fishing, boating, a marina, and hiking and dam tours.