The PA Wilds

10/09/2026

We had thousands of visitors at the park last weekend! This video shows just how popular the skywalk can be on a Saturday afternoon.

Fall is our busiest season, and parking fills quickly, especially on the weekends. Once designated parking has reached capacity, additional visitors are turned away at the gate. Gate closures are conducted as a series of rolling closures throughout the day and occur based upon observed visitor numbers. To enhance visitor and staff safety, pedestrians are not permitted to park and walk into the park during these closures.

If parking is closed upon your arrival, we recommend visiting one of the wonderful local restaurants, museums, or trails nearby before checking back! Visitation typically peaks midday so try to visit early. Want to avoid the crowds and heavy weekend traffic? Try visiting on a weekday to take in the view with fewer people and easier parking. Avoid the parking lot all together and enjoy more of the area by choosing to walk or bike into the park via the Knox and Kane Rail Trail.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and for helping our staff keep our visitors safe while providing an enjoyable experience.

Check our website before you visit for important alerts and parking information: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-parks/find-a-park/kinzua-bridge-state-park

10/09/2026

Have you explored the Dark Skies Landscape of the Pennsylvania Wilds? This region has some of the best stargazing in the U.S., but there is so much more to explore before the stars come out! The PA Wilds

Where to stay?
Quiet Oaks Campground in Cross Fork, PA is family-owned and offers RV hook ups, rustic tent sites, cabins, and ATV rentals. Quiet Oaks Campground

Get a Dark Skies Purple Lizard Maps to help explore the area. This is a highly detailed map that shows all the best outdoor spots to see in the Dark Skies Landscape. The maps also show Purple Lizards (aka cool spots!). It’s a lot of fun finding the lizards!

There are A LOT of state parks to check out for those of you completing the See Them All challenge. I was able to visit 9 PA State Parks during my visit:
Hyner View, Hyner Run, Ole Bull, Lyman Run, Cherry Springs, Patterson, Prouty Place, Denton Hill, Sinnemahoning

Best Hikes:
Donut Hole Trail, Hyner View and Hyner Run State Parks
Fred Woods Trail, Elk State Forest
Lowlands Trail, Sinnemahoning State Park
Castle Vista Trail, Ole Bull State Park
Susquehannock Trail System

There are a lot of roadside overlooks in the area. Cherry Springs Vista and Longtoe Vista are definitely worth checking out.

Where to view the Dark Skies:
Cherry Springs State Park is the world’s second certified International Dark Sky Park
Patterson State Park–This is a small park just a few miles from Cherry Springs. It has rustic tent sites and a fantastic view of the dark skies.
Lyman Run State Park has a campground and is a perfect viewing spot.

For some history:
Austin Dam Memorial Park
Pennsylvania Lumber Museum

Be sure to stop in downtown Coudersport to check out the shops and to grab a bite to eat.

Where are you going first on your visit to the PA Wilds?

Visit PA | Pennsylvania Tourism Office

10/08/2026

AD| One corn maze turned into a whole PA Wilds road trip!

We headed to Pine Creek Seed Farm in Jersey Shore for opening weekend and somehow packed a whole lot of exploring into one trip!

Our weekend took us to Hyner View State Park in North Bend, where we took in some incredible mountain views, followed by dinner and a cozy night at The Rosebriar Inn on Kettle Creek in Westport.

The next day, we decided to keep on exploring, stopping at Kettle Creek State Park in Renovo before heading up Route 6 and making our way through some of the small towns along the way.

- A Stroll Down Memory Lane (Galeton, Pa)
- Ole Covered Wagon Tours (Wellsboro, Pa)
- Omi of the Canyon (Wellsboro, Pa)
- Harland’s Family Style Restaurant (Wellsboro, Pa)
- Komodo Gelato (Wellsboro, Pa)

And of course, no trip through this area would feel complete without making our way to Leonard Harrison State Park in Wellsboro to see the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon.

Although I have explored all these areas sepertately, I never realized just how close they really are to each other. There really is so much packed into this area of Pennsylvania! Scenic overlooks, state parks, small-town stops, local businesses, good food and plenty of reasons to take the scenic route.

Ready for your own Great American Getaway? Start planning your PA Wilds adventure at PAWilds.com.

Paid partnership with the PA Wilds as part of The Great American Getaway.

10/08/2026

🎃 Still looking for Halloween plans?! 🎃

Join KTA for #23 Trail Care at Sproul State Forest, October 29–November 1!

Stay in KTA’s Panther Run Cabin in the PA Wilds, spend the weekend working on the trails, and unwind with some pumpkin carving at the cabin.


Sproul Forest District

Learn more and register; link in comments!

10/06/2026

PA Wilds: stargazing a blanket of night sky, paddling through a gorge, spotting wild elk, and free b**r at the oldest independent brewery.

A local shares the best things to do in the PA Wilds, from stargazing, paddling through a gorge, and spotting elk, to hidden gem shops and historic breweries.

10/06/2026

If you like Pennsylvania state parks, unique attractions, roadside vistas, and some of the most beautiful hiking trails in the Commonwealth, you should definitely check out the Dark Skies landscape of the Pennsylvania Wilds. The PA Wilds

This landscape spans across Potter, Clinton, and Cameron counties, and here are some of the spots worth visiting:

POTTER County:
Cherry Springs State Park: Come for some of the BEST dark skies in the U.S. Be sure to check out the 1.2 mile interpretive trail during your visit! Don’t miss the roadside Cherry Springs Vista just minutes from the park.

Lyman Run State Park: Check out the views at Lyman Run Lake, stay overnight in the campground, take a hike on the 6 miles of trails, and bring your ATV to take a ride on the 43 miles of Susquehannock ATV Trails.

Ole Bull State Park: Take a short (but steep!) hike to Castle Vista to see the ruins of an old castle from the 1850s.

Austin Dam Memorial Park: See the remains of the failed dam that claimed the lives of 78 people in 1911.

CLINTON County:
Hyner View State Park: Park right next to this incredible overlook of the West Branch Susquehanna River.

Hyner Run State Park: Take a hike on the Donut Hole trail.

The Susquehannock Trail System is 84 miles and travels through Potter and Clinton counties. I accessed the trail from Patterson State Park in Potter County.

CAMERON County:
Sinnemahoning State Park: Take a walk or bike ride on the Lowlands Trail and try to spot an elk. Don’t miss the Wildlife Center!

Fred Woods Trail: Enjoy a 4.5 mi hike with beautiful vistas and giant rock formations in the Elk State Forest. Don’t miss the Bucktail Overlook just a short drive from the trailhead.

You can find all of these spots on the Dark Skies Purple Lizard Maps

Please remember to Leave No Trace and come prepared for limited cell service. I downloaded an Apple map of the region to my phone before my trip to help navigate the area.

Where will you be going on your PA Wilds getaway?

10/05/2026

Influencer Shwetha Ramanna recently experienced the I-80 Frontier landscape of the PA Wilds!

Shwetha is the founder of Purple Highways, a family travel platform dedicated to helping families discover memorable experiences, hidden gems, and everyday adventures worth taking together. Shwetha explores destinations across the Northeast and beyond, sharing everything from scenic hikes and weekend road trips to family-friendly hotels, restaurants, and unique places worth the detour.

"You do not need a license or a badge to explore (the PA Wilds). You just need to slow down enough to let your kid teach you how to look."

Read more 🌲

My six year old found the binoculars first. A note by the television offered a free pair, plus a bird book, just for asking the front desk. I missed it. He did not. That one moment changed the whole trip. Four days stopped being about moving through the Pennsylvania Wilds. They became about seeing i...

10/05/2026

A fan favorite every year, Ghosts of the PA Wilds is back!

"Out of all the creepy, interesting stories in the Pennsylvania Wilds, one of the best is the Giantess. After all, you don’t hear stories of ancient cursed sculptures every day."

Read it 👻

Out of all the creepy, interesting stories in the Pennsylvania Wilds, one of the best is the Giantess. After all, you don’t hear stories of ancient cursed sculptures every day. The story begins with young Prince Pipsisseway of the Susquehannock Native American tribe, who lived in what is now the I...

10/05/2026

🍁 Fall Foliage Report: 10/4/2026

Views from the skywalk are still beautiful! We think it’s just barely starting to pass peak foliage in the valley, but we’re hoping the leaves hang on a bit longer (only time will tell).
The fall colors come and go quickly in this area due to high wind speeds in the valley, so keep that in mind when planning your trip. Visit on a weekday to avoid the heavy weekend traffic.

Follow us here for more fall foliage updates as the season progresses! 🍂

🚗 PARKING INFORMATION: once designated parking has reached capacity, additional visitors will be turned away at the gate. Gate closures will be conducted as a series of rolling closures throughout the day, and will occurred based upon observed visitor numbers. To enhance visitor and staff safety, pedestrians are not permitted to park and walk into the park via Viaduct Road during these closures.

🚲 Individuals wishing to enter the park via the MJ2KB section of the Knox and Kane Rail Trail are asked to utilize trailheads outside of the park and bike in rather than using the park as a trailhead. To avoid these interruptions to your visit, please consider visiting during the week if possible.

🚨Visit our state park website for more information on park program, alerts, and important parking information: https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/where-to-go/state-parks/find-a-park/kinzua-bridge-state-park/alerts