Little Pine State Park

Hiking   -  Picnicking   -  Swimming   -  Boating   -  Fishing   -  Hunting   -  Education   -  Cross-country Skiing   -  Sledding   -  Snowmobiling   -  Ice Fishing   -  Organized Group Tenting   -  Yurts   -  Camping Cottages   -  Camping

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Picnicking: Four picnic areas in both shaded and open locations contain four picnic pavilions, many picnic tables, a volleyball court and play equipment. Picnic pavilions may be reserved up to 11 months in advance for a fee. Unreserved picnic pavilions are free on a first-come, first-served basis.

The Lower Picnic Area is about one-half mile south of the campground. It is completely separated from the rest of the park. This six-acre area has picnic tables, grills, charcoal disposals, non-flush toilets, parking area and picnic pavilion. River birch, white pine, sugar maple and black locust are common trees in the area.

Make a reservation.

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Swimming: A sand beach with grass turf is open from late-May to mid-September, 8 a.m. to sunset. Swim at your own risk. Please read and follow posted rules. Pets, glass and breakable containers or utensils are prohibited in this area. All children ten years of age or younger must be accompanied by a person at least 14 years of age.

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Boating: electric motors only
The 94-acre Little Pine Lake has one launch area and 25 seasonal (April 1 to November 1) mooring spaces. A boat rental concession is open from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. Paddleboats, canoes, kayaks and rowboats are available.

Motorboats must display a current boat registration. Non-powered boats must display one of the following: boat registration; launching permit or mooring permit from Pennsylvania State Parks, available at most state park offices; launching permit from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

Complete information on boating rules and regulations in Pennsylvania is available from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Web site.

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Fishing: The 94-acre Little Pine Lake has 3.3 miles of shoreline. There is also 4.2 miles of stream. These warm-water and cold-water fisheries have stocked and native trout (brook, rainbow and brown), smallmouth bass, pickerel, sunfish, catfish and perch. This diversity provides good fly, bank and boat fishing. There is a special regulation, artificial lure only, fishing area along Little Pine Creek in the northeast section of the park. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission laws apply.

Complete information on fishing rules and regulations in Pennsylvania is available from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Web site.

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Hunting and Firearms: About 1,700 acres are open to hunting, trapping and the training of dogs during established seasons. Common game species are deer, squirrel, fox, bear, grouse and turkey. There is a rifle/pistol range and an archery range in the park. The adjacent state forest land is open to hunting.

Hunting woodchucks, also known as groundhogs, is prohibited. Dog training is only permitted from the day following Labor Day through March 31 in designated hunting areas. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Pennsylvania Game Commission rules and regulations apply. Contact the park office for ADA accessible hunting information.

Use extreme caution with firearms at all times. Other visitors use the park during hunting seasons. Firearms and archery equipment used for hunting may be uncased and ready for use only in authorized hunting areas during hunting seasons. In areas not open to hunting or during non-hunting seasons, firearms and archery equipment shall be kept in the owner's car, trailer or leased campsite. The only exception is that law enforcement officers and individuals with a valid Pennsylvania License to Carry Firearms may carry said firearm concealed on their person while they are within the park.

Complete information on hunting rules and regulations in Pennsylvania is available from the Pennsylvania Game Commission Web site.

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Hiking: 14 miles of trails
There are also many miles of trails in the adjacent Tiadaghton State Forest.

Button Ball Trail: 0.49-mile, easy hiking
This angler’s trail gives access to lower Little Pine Creek.

Carsontown Trail: 1 mile, easy hiking
This trail is recommended for families with small children. A wide variety of wildflowers may be found along this trail and deer are seen frequently.

Lake Shore Trail: 4.2 miles, moderate hiking
This is the flattest trail in the park and parallels the lake into the upper part of the park. A wide variety of birds and animals can be viewed if the trail is traveled quietly.

Sections of the following trails are very steep. These trails require a hiker to be in good physical condition. Panther Run Trail: 3.54 miles, difficult hiking Beautiful vistas, rock outcroppings and a flagstone quarry can be seen along the trail. This is the most scenic trail in the park. Love Run Trail: 2.16 miles, difficult hiking This trail connects Spikebuck Hollow Trail with Love Run Road and Panther Run Trail. Large hemlock trees by mountain springs can be seen along the trail. Spikebuck Hollow Trail: 2 miles, difficult hiking Beautiful picturesque vistas, outcroppings of rock, flagstone and a wide variety of trees and plants can be seen along the trail. Mid State Trail: This 250-mile backpacking trail, which goes from Juniata County to Tioga County, passes through the park. At places, the Mid State Trail and park trails run along the same path. This trail is steep and narrow in places, but well defined and marked. People backpacking along the Mid State Trail may leave a vehicle in the second car parking lot of the campground, providing they notify park personnel. Name, address, proposed route, and expected return date are requested.

The Pine Creek Rail Trail

This multi-use trail is for hiking, biking and cross-country skiing. It stretches 62 miles from Jersey Shore to Wellsboro Junction along Pine Creek. The upper portion of the trail is in the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon. Access areas, benches, and restrooms are at various places along the trail.

The scenery along the trail is magnificent. Trail users can view dramatic rock outcrops, waterfalls, and wildlife like eagle, osprey, coyote, deer, wild turkey, heron, river otter, black bear and many others. Diverse plant life, scattered old-growth timber, historic pine and spruce plantations, and several foundations from the Civilian Conservation Corps era can be found along the trail.

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Stay the Night

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Camping: flush toilets, warm showers, many electric hook-ups
The campground opens the first weekend in April and closes in mid-December. There are 99 campsites: 93 sites can accommodate trailer units up to 30 feet in length, six sites are for tents only. Open or shaded sites are along a stream. Each site has a picnic table and fire ring. The campground has a sanitary dump station, showers, flush toilets and many water outlets. Garbage and recycling receptacles, trailer storage and a second vehicle parking lot are at the campground entrance. Alcoholic beverages and unlicensed motor vehicles are prohibited. Pets are permitted on designated sites.

Explore the campground map.

Explore camping for more information.

Make a reservation.

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Free Camping for Campground Hosts: 1 host position
The campground host site amenities include 50-amp electric service. Hosts are required to assist park personnel for 40 hours per week with a two-week minimum stay. Contact the park office for additional information and availability.

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Camping Cottages: The three cottages comfortably sleep five people. Each cottage has two sets of single bunks, a full-size bed, wooden floors, windows, porch and electric lights, heat and outlets. Each site has a fire ring and picnic table.

Make a reservation.

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Yurts: Located in the campground, the two Mongolian style tents are round, on a wooden deck and sleep five people in single bunks and double/single bunks. Yurts have a cooking stove, refrigerator, microwave oven, table, chairs, electric heat and outlets, fire ring and picnic table. A shower house is nearby.

Make a reservation.

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Organized Group Tenting: Available to adult and youth groups, there are four sites: two sites hold 40 people and two sites hold 20 people, or combine to hold 120 people. A paved parking lot, showers, flush toilets, fire rings and picnic tables are provided. A garbage and recycling center is near the campground entrance.

Explore organized group tenting for more information.

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Winter Activities

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Explore the Winter Report for the current snow and ice depths.

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Cross-country Skiing: The 4.2-mile Lake Shore Trail follows level terrain and parallels the lake and headwaters and then returns to the starting location. Motor vehicles and snowmobiles are prohibited in this area.

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Sledding: In the main day use area two acres of slopes are available for sledding. Ample parking is by the bathhouse.

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Snowmobiling: Ample parking is available throughout the park. There are more than 100 miles of groomed snowmobile trails in the surrounding Tiadaghton State Forest. Snowmobiles may be operated on designated trails and roads from the day following the last deer season in December until April 1, weather permitting. Restrooms are available. Overnight accommodations, food, gasoline and groceries are available throughout the area.

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Ice Fishing: Trout are stocked in the 94-acre Little Pine Lake for ice fishing. The ice thickness is not monitored. For your safety, be sure the ice is four inches thick and carry safety equipment.

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Environmental Education and Interpretation

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Environmental education and interpretive programs are offered on a seasonal basis. Field learning experiences are available to schools during the spring and fall, and teachers’ workshops are offered periodically. Programs are designed to meet the standards for Environment & Ecology, but also address other areas.

Programs are also available on request to civic organizations and youth groups. Topics include astronomy, botany, entomology, folklore, and zoology, among others.

Guided walks, evening programs, hands-on learning activities and craft programs are offered to park visitors in the summer season. An indoor classroom, part of the park office, is used during cold or rainy weather.

Explore the Calendar of Events for a listing of events from today forward.

Explore environmental education and interpretation for more information.

Annual Autumn Festival

This annual event focuses on the outdoor recreational opportunities in Northcentral Pennsylvania. Activities include: guided walks, crafts, presentations and informational displays by private and government conservation organizations. The festival is held on the Sunday of the second full weekend in October.

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Access for People with Disabilities

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If you need an accommodation to participate in park activities due to a disability, please contact the park you plan to visit.

 

Viewing wildlife is a fun activity for all ages to enjoy. At this park, no matter what time of year, there are many opportunities to see all types of wildlife. Since 2004, bald eagles have nested in the park. From the viewing area visitors can observe the eagles and eaglets without disturbing the birds.

In the summer, visitors can see deer and songbirds throughout the park, herons and otters in the lake and songbirds in many habitats. The fall season brings many migratory birds, such as loon, snow goose and many raptors.

Visitors may see raccoons or mink along the lake, deer and foxes in the fields, or bear or turkeys in the woodlands.

During the winter, many species of birds take advantage of the various feeding stations in the park.

Natural History

Little Pine Creek is a freestone cold-water stream that supports a wide variety of aquatic life. Cold-water fishes, mollusks, crustaceans, insects, and amphibians can be found both above and below the lake. When the dam was built in 1949-1950, it altered the ecology of that part of the stream.

The lake acts as a sediment trap, creating a mud bottom. This allows different species of fish, insects, and plant life to thrive. The extensive shallows at the upper end of the lake are prime breeding and hunting habitat for aquatic and shoreline animals such as muskrat, mink, and herons. Snapping turtles and painted turtles are often seen in this part of the lake.

The lake has a slightly warmer temperature than the stream, allowing cool water fishes like sunfish, pickerel, sucker and catfish to survive.

Geology

Little Pine State Park is in the Appalachian High Plateaus Province of Pennsylvania, in the Deep Valleys Section. The bedrock was laid down about 300 million years ago. Plant fossils from this time can be found in the cliffs near the top of the dam spillway.

During the Illinoian Glacial Advance, about 150,000 years ago, the glacier dammed the northern flow of Pine Creek, creating glacial lakes in the Wellsboro-Mansfield area. These lakes existed for long enough time for shellfish to thrive in the cold water lakes. When the glacier melted and retreated, the lakes flooded and drained to the south, reversing the flow of Pine Creek and carving valleys, including Little Pine Valley. The fossilized shellfish from the outflow of the glacial lakes can be found along Little Pine Creek, well above the present stream level. Fossil collecting is prohibited in Little Pine State Park.

The Iroquoian and Algonquian nations used the area as hunting grounds. It is believed that there was a Shawnee village and cemetery near what is now the village of Carsontown, just north of the park.

In 1782, the first American settlers in the Little Pine Valley were brothers John and James English. These brothers built two sawmills along Little Pine Creek in 1809, one of which was at the southern end of the present park boundary.

The village of English Mills was established in 1816 and housed the families of the loggers, occupying what is now the park campground. The cemetery of English Mills is on a small knoll in the middle of the campground.

Another prominent name in local history is Robert Carson. He was the first of his line to settle in the Little Pine Valley, and his descendents, who made homes near his homestead, gave rise to the village of Carsontown. Robert Carson was one of the first farmers in the area, and also operated a sawmill. The Patterson Family was also involved in the logging business. This family owned several of the properties on which splash dams were built to create artificial floods designed to carry logs downstream. Little Pine Creek was used to transport both sawn lumber and logs to Williamsport, which came to be known as “the Lumber Capitol of the World.” In 1909, the last log raft went down Little Pine Creek.

Stopping and controlling logs on the Susquehanna River was a major problem until the construction of a “log boom” at Williamsport in 1846. The boom consisted of a chain of logs that stretched across the river diagonally. At one time, the boom stretched for six miles from Williamsport to Linden, and supplied logs to over 30 mills.

In 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built Camp S-129 and a small picnic area along Little Pine Creek. In 1937, the camp was closed and the property turned over to the Bureau of State Parks.

For more information on the CCC, visit the Civilian Conservation Corps Online Archive.

When the park opened, it used many of the CCC buildings. In 1950, a dual-purpose flood control/recreation dam was constructed. The park remained a picnic area until the campground, beach and swimming area were constructed in 1958.

In 1972, Hurricane Agnes flooded and destroyed many park facilities, including all but a few remnants of the former CCC facilities. Hurricane Agnes was the only time water went over the spillway. In 1975-76, federal disaster aid helped build a new beach house, office, maintenance area, and a new campground with modern restrooms.

As part of the “Growing Greener” initiative, several major improvements began in 2002, including, enlarging and modernizing the park office and putting showers in the campground.

Keep in Touch

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Volunteering

Like to spend time in the outdoors, meet friendly people and help make Pennsylvania State Parks great? Volunteering at a park might be for you.

Becoming a Conservation Volunteer is easy.

• Sign up to be a Conservation Volunteer
  OR
• Contact your local state park directly and ask for the Conservation Volunteer coordinator - you'll be hooked up with an interesting and appropriate project in Pennsylvania's natural resources.
   

Scouts and organized groups can earn free camping by completing service projects.

Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation

Believing that each generation is responsible for leaving behind a better legacy of good conservation, the Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation (PPFF) was created in 1999 to give supporters and users of Pennsylvania's parks and forests a positive way to contribute to the conservation of our publicly-owned properties. The Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation welcomes the support of individuals and businesses who share a commitment to conserving, protecting, and enhancing the natural, scenic, and recreational areas of this commonwealth. www.paparksandforests.org

Make a Donation

To a park - find this park's address below

To a park or the Bureau of State Parks - Pennsylvania Parks and Forestry Foundation www.paparksandforests.org

Through a purchase at a park gift shop

Thank you for your support!

Education Programs

We love when young people ask us how to get involved!

DiscoverE has programs for young people ages 4 to 17, provided by Pennsylvania State Park educators. By combining recreation and education, we hope to motivate children to learn more and return often, leading to a lifetime of outdoor enjoyment and conservation leadership. 

In Watershed Education, teachers and students assess water quality of a local stream on a quarterly basis and develop strategies to solve local water quality problems. 

ECO Camp - Exploring Careers Outdoors - is a week-long residential camp for a cross-section of high school youth from across Pennsylvania, sponsored by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). Participate in action-packed, hands on activities and recreational adventures in Pennsylvania’s state parks and forests that expose youth to conservation, recreation and careers in natural resources. Learn how people make a living working in the outdoors.

Explore education for more information on these and other programs.

Explore the Calendar of Events to find a program near you.

iConservePA

Do you take conservation personally? iConservePA is a Web site managed by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources whose vision is to inspire citizens to value their natural resources, engage in conservation practices and experience the outdoors. Take conservation personally.

Come Work with Us

Pennsylvania State Parks and the Department of Conservation and Natrual Resources offer a wide range of civil service and non-civil service jobs, from foresters, to rangers, to engineers, to educators, to botanists and so much more. Learn what is currently available.

Tell us What You Think

Contact this park with compliments, concerns and issues about the park.

Little Pine State Park

Nearby Attractions

Information on nearby attractions is available from the Lycoming County Visitor’s Bureau. www.vacationpa.com

Upper Pine Bottom State Park: This small day use area along PA 44 west of Waterville is maintained by Little Pine State Park as a parking area for hunters and anglers.

Explore Pennsylvania Wilds

Pennsylvania Wilds is two million acres of public lands for hiking, biking, fishing, boating, hunting and exploration in northcentral Pennsylvania. Within the twelve-county region are: 29 state parks, eight state forest districts (1.3 million acres); 50 state game lands and Allegheny National Forest (500,000 acres). www.pawilds.com

Maps and Downloadables

Below are many of the maps and publications for this park. You can read them or download them and might need special software (all free) to view the publications.

You must have the free Adobe Reader to view the maps and brochures that are in pdf format (.pdf).

Alternate versions of the text of the brochures are in rich text and text formats. Click on the files to view them. To download (.rtf) files:
For Windows users, right click on the link then left click on "Save target as" to download the file to your computer. For Mac users, hold down the "Options" button and click on the link, then select "Save" to download the file to your computer.

Recreational Guide

Little Pine State Park Map (.pdf) (936 kb, 3/11)
Little Pine State Park Recreational Guide (.pdf) (550 kb, 4/13)
    large print version of the guide text (.rtf)

Interactive GIS Map

The Interactive GIS Map uses Geographic Information Systems to create a map that does not need to be downloaded and features driving directions, searchable park amenities and customizable maps. Please note that the background maps are maintained by a variety of public sources and driving directions usually go to the nearest large road.

Campground Map

Little Pine State Park Campground Map (.pdf)  (1,161 kb, 3/13)
    large print version of the brochure (.rtf)