Harecreek Campground

The Great Outdoors

Camping at the Harecreek Campground will put you less than an hour’s drive from the Allegheny National Forest, which sprawls across more than 500,000 acres in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. It’s a popular recreational hub, with an extensive network of hiking and mountain biking trails, as well as routes that are accessible to ATVs. While visiting the Allegheny National Forest, don’t miss a visit to the adjacent Kinzua Bridge State Park, where you can get a bird’s-eye view of the Kinzua Gorge through the glass platform of its Skywalk.Directly south of the Harecreek Campground is the Oil Creek State Park, which follows Oil Creek between Titusville and Oil City. It lies adjacent to the first successful commercial oil well in the United States, which has been transformed into the Drake Well Museum. Learn about the birth of the American oil industry at the hands of Edwin Drake in 1859 and see the reconstructed well demonstrating how salt drilling techniques were used for the extraction of petroleum. Aside from its network of hiking trails, the park is also popular with canoeists and anglers, with bass and trout both for the taking in the waters of Oil Creek. Hunting is also permitted in some areas of the park, with common game species including ruffed grouse, wild turkey, and white-tailed deer.The Harecreek Campground can also be used as a base for visiting the Presque Isle State Park, which occupies a peninsula that juts into Lake Erie. Begin your visit at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center, where you’ll find a range of interactive exhibits detailing the region’s natural history, then head out to explore one of the park’s hiking or mountain biking trails. If you’re visiting during the summer months, there are also several beaches where you can take a dip and two different fishing zones where you can try your luck at luring perch, trout, walleye, and northern pike.

Exploring the City

Campsites at the Harecreek Campground are three minutes' walk or 20 minutes' drive from the center of Corry, where you’ll find a supermarket for stocking up on grocery supplies. There are also gas stations here if you need to fill up your RV rental, as well as numerous pizzerias, bars, and grills for those nights when you don’t feel like cooking.Corry flourished following the establishment of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad in the mid-19th century, as well as being boosted by the discovery of oil in nearby Titusville. It was chartered as a borough in 1863, with the city’s history documented at the Corry Area Historical Society’s museum, where an old logging locomotive is on display. A highlight of the city is its Romanesque-style National Guard armory that dates to 1906 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.Corry is just under an hour’s drive from Erie, which perches on the shores of Lake Erie and serves as the county seat of Erie County. Learn about the Battle of Lake Erie at the Erie Maritime Museum, which is home to the reconstructed mid-ship of the “Lawrence” and the wooden-hulled US Brig Niagara. Art enthusiasts shouldn’t miss a visit to the Erie Art Museum, where more than 8,000 works are on display, ranging from American paintings to Indian bronze sculptures.If you’re traveling with kids, spend a day at the Waldameer Park & Water World, which is one of the oldest amusement parks in Pennsylvania. It’s home to thrilling roller coasters and gentler rides that are aimed at young children, such as carousels, teacups, and a funhouse. In the summer months, you can float along the Endless River, zip down the Liquid Lightning waterslide, or enjoy a splash around in the Tad Pool children’s complex.Whether you want to stretch your legs in the nature reserves of northern Pennsylvania or discover the industrial history of the region, rent a camper in Erie County and start planning your visit.