Hiker Guide to the Pennsylvania Outdoors
Camping
Shelters and Tent Sites are
widely used on the Appalachian Trail. For more detailed info,
view a comprehensive list (including mileage) of A.T. shelters and road
crossings with town access in Pennsylvania
or trail-wide.
- Natural Areas: No camping.
- State Forests: Permit required, except primitive backpack campers not using developed facilities who do not need a permit if they stay no more than 1 night at any campsite.
- Wild Areas: Overnight camping will be limited to the backpack primitive type.
- State Game Lands: General rule is no camping permitted.
- State Game Lands Appalachian Trail limitations: Overnight at a distance NO more than 200 ft from the designated trail. Only one night at the same location and NOT within 500 ft of a spring, stream or public access area or road.
- State Parks: Camping and use of overnight facilities at designated facilities requires a permit.
"Open burning" is defined
as the ignition and subsequent burning of any combustible material
(garbage, leaves, grass, twigs, litter, paper, vegetative matter
involved with land clearing, or any sort of debris) out-of-doors either
in a burn barrel or on the ground. For more information on Leave
No Trace ethics, click the logo at right.
- Burn Ban Advisories
- State Forests: No open fires, including fire rings and fireplaces, from April 1 to May 25 and October 1 to December 15. Open fires, including fire rings and fireplaces, are prohibited when the forest-fire danger is determined by the District Forester to be High, Very High or Extreme.
- State Game Lands: Small open fires for cooking or warming purposes are permitted only at places where adequate precautions are taken to prevent the spread of fire which may damage adjacent areas and shall be attended at all times and completely extinguished before leaving the site of the fire. Open fires are prohibited when the fire index rating used by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources is High, Very High, or Extreme.