Pine Grove Furnace State Park

PGF is a lovely state park, the halfway point on the Appalachian Trail so lots of hiking right out of the park. We visited Gettysburg for the first time while in the area, and I can't recommend that highly enough. It was about a half-hour drive away.

We really enjoyed our time at the Charcoal Hearth campground, with a few caveats. First, our site was plenty big enough for us to fit into, even with our 42' FW. However, the road through the campground is super tight and despite being very experienced full-time travelers, there were two very close calls. We made it, but it was not fun.

Second, be aware there is no water at the sites. I'm confident this was on the reservation page, but my middle-aged brain saw "modern electric" and didn't make a note there was not a water connection at the site. Fortunately we had water in our fresh tank and we were right by the bath house, because going back around that loop to fill our tank was not an option, lol.

Finally, if you're working from the road, I'd advise against staying here. They aren't kidding when they say there's no cell signal in the park. We tried both Verizon and T-mobile to no avail. Our site had a large enough patch of sky that I could use Starlink sufficiently to work, but it couldn't hold a phone call longer than ten seconds and I didn't even bother trying Zoom. I drove into Carlisle (about 25 minutes up I-81) on the days I needed continuous uptime.

Overall a lovely, quiet stay. I'd love to go back someday...after we trade in the monster for van life and full-time jobs for retirement. :)

I travelled here with a 35’ 5th wheel, long bed pickup and parked in site #68, an E only, 30A, BI site for $27/night with a senior discount. NOTE: the location link on Campendium and Apple maps took me to an entrance to the campground that was blocked off. The GPS coordinates at the correct entrance to the CG are: 40.02745N, 77.31052W. The roads are asphalt and the site is gravel. Navigation was tight and you could see where rigs had dropped wheels off the pavement. It was fairly easy to back into this site off a curve in the road, but the site next to it (#69) was even easier. It was a spacious site and had an ample picnic area with a fire pit. The whole campground is pretty heavily wooded for shade. The bathroom near my site was closed for renovations. Another one further down the road was very bright, clean and had individual rooms for the toilets and showers. There are several threaded water spigots around the campground and I was actually able to reach one from my site with two hoses connected to fill up. There are also spigots on the left just as you turn into the campground to fill up before you occupy your site. It was a very quiet park (the lousy weather contributed to that.) Connectivity was poor: random cell signal with 1 bar at best with Verizon, no OTA channels. There is wifi at the camp store which is an easy walk and has a nice porch to hang out on. It was fun to talk to hikers making their way on the Appalachian Trail as it goes right through this park and there is a large “hotel” for them to use. I also liked the history of the site and the proximity to Gettysburg. I had a problem with one of my stabilizing jacks and the staff bent over backward to help me find someone who could jack me up. If I was to return, I’d try to get in site #69. Other sites that would be easiest for larger rigs to get into were: 2, 13, 31, 40, 44, 58 and 72. Also easy but with less privacy were: 16, 30, 33, 34, 35, 50, 52, 54, 56, and 63. The two pull through sites looked like they could be difficult for a large rig to get in and out of. I’d stay here again.

Used the campground as a base to hike the AT. (You can pick up the trails not far from the campground. And walk to the museum)

No cell service, which was frustrating. Wifi at the General store (1/2 mile walk away).

Did not use the bathrooms, so can't comment.

Sites were wooded. Next time I'd reserve on the outside of the loop. as its open land behind that.

They are doing alot of work in the group camping section.

We stayed five nights in this campground. Overall we were pleased with the stay. This park has no water sites, so you have to get it at the entrance or at faucets scattered throughout the campground. Sites are roomy for the most part. The bathhouse with showers is new and there is a new satellite toilet house in the upper part of the park. The campground is small enough that a walk to the shower house is no issue if you need it. The park is wooded so there is lots of shade. There is honor vend on wood but not ice, you have to go down to the store at the furnace for that. The campground is about .8 from the main park which has pluses and minuses. Pretty long walk to the park, but makes up for that by being off to itself and quiet. The upper section of the park has no pets allowed. PGF is a nice park with lots to do and lots of history. The swimming area of the lake seemed to be a hotbed of activity and had a nice changing/bathhouse there. We did some Appalachian Trail hiking and also toured the AT Museum, which is onsite. The only connectivity is wifi at the PGF General Store.

Overall, a very nice campground. Sites, for the most part, were good size. That said, I’m glad my travel trailer was no bigger than it was as I had a tough time backing into site 4. Looked to me like virtually every other site would have been a piece of cake to back into; just my luck. Restrooms were clean and well maintained. The showers, as noted in another review, were push button style. A tad inconvenient but not all that bad and the water was warm but not overly hot. I found it very comfortable and refreshing.
Normally I’m able to walk my dogs all around a campground...not here. Dogs were banned in the sections of the campground that had ‘no pets’ sites.
Good hiking all around and the AT is just down the road from the campground. Overall a very nice place.

Join us on a video tour of Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Pennsylvania. Within the Pine Grove Furnace State Park, video uploaded here on Campendium for your immediate reference. We visit the campground, iron making furnace, picnic and day use areas, the Appalachian Trail and the Appalachian Trail Museum. The campground has a dump station and a fresh water fill station. The Appalachian Trail bisects the state park and the adjoining Michaux State Forest. AT&T and Verizon cellular service was not useable within the campground and spotty elsewhere with 3G service on the AT&T cellular network.

Nice clean park, but those horrible showers! You push the button and it runs ‘maybe’ 2 seconds. I tried 3 different ones, freezing my buns off each time. I get it, we need to conserve water but it’s just TOO much to ask to wash your hair, etc when the water doesn’t stay on AT ALL.
The only way I’d stay here again is an overnight stay where I didn’t need to shower.

We wanted to spend a weekend in Gettysburg, and this campground was the ideal location. It was about 30 minutes from Gettysburg. There is no actual check in process, there is a board at the entrance where you can find your campsite information. One thing I want to mention, is that the road within the campground is one-way, and it is very tight. At some points the trees were brushing up against our camper. That being said, the sites had very good privacy as it was so wooded.

I found it interesting to stay at the halfway mark of the AT trail, and that many hikers will stop here and eat a half gallon of ice cream to celebrate their milestone. They also have an Appalachian Trail Museum.

We also did the Pole Steeple Hike which we would recommend, its short but steep but led to some pretty epic views!

Our only negatives were the tightness of the road, and there is absolutely no cell service!

Nice State Park, very wooded park and lots of wildlife could be spotted. They have an Appalachian Trail Museum and a nice General Store. We met two of the greatest fellow campers and nicest people ever, a couple sites over. Cell service was “spotted”, but their website to warn you of this. The sites do not offer water so you will have to fill your fresh water tank at one of the designated fill stations.