Little Pine State Park
The 2,158-acre Little Pine State Park is in a beautiful mountain section of Tiadaghton State Forest in PA Wilds. The 94-acre Little Pine Lake, hiking trails and the campground are prime attractions to the park.
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Hiking - Picnicking - Swimming - Boating - Fishing - Hunting - Education - Cross-country Skiing - Sledding - Snowmobiling - Ice Fishing - Organized Group Tenting - Yurts - Camping Cottages - Camping 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. 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. Boating: electric motors only 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. 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.
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. Hiking: 14 miles of trails Button Ball Trail: 0.49-mile, easy hiking Carsontown Trail: 1 mile, easy hiking Lake Shore Trail: 4.2 miles, moderate hiking
The Pine Creek Rail TrailThis 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. Stay the NightCamping: flush toilets, warm showers, many electric hook-ups Explore the campground map. Explore camping for more information.
Make a reservation. Free Camping for Campground Hosts: 1 host position 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. 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.
Explore organized group tenting for more information. Winter ActivitiesExplore the Winter Report for the current snow and ice depths. 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. Sledding: In the main day use area two acres of slopes are available for sledding. Ample parking is by the bathhouse. 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. 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. Environmental Education and InterpretationEnvironmental 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 FestivalThis 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. Access for People with Disabilities
In an EmergencyContact a park employee or dial 911. Nearest Hospital Directions: Follow SR 4001 south to Waterville. Turn left onto PA 44 south. Merge onto PA 220 north. Exit on the Thomas Street Exit (the first exit). At the end of the exit ramp, turn right and follow the signs to the hospital. 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 HistoryLittle 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. GeologyLittle 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 TouchAdd yourself to the DCNR's online community to receive info on this park, or parks in general. Volunteering
Becoming a Conservation Volunteer is easy.
Scouts and organized groups can earn free camping by completing service projects. Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation
Make a DonationTo 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 ProgramsWe love when young people ask us how to get involved!
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
Come Work with UsPennsylvania 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 ThinkContact this park with compliments, concerns and issues about the park. Little Pine State Park Nearby AttractionsInformation 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 WildsPennsylvania 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
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: Recreational GuideLittle Pine State Park Map (.pdf) (936 kb, 3/11) Interactive GIS MapThe 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 MapLittle Pine State Park Campground Map (.pdf) (1,161 kb, 3/13)  The park is in Lycoming County. From the south, take US 220 to the Pine Creek Exit near Jersey Shore. Take PA 44 north 11 miles to Waterville, then turn right onto SR 4001 and go four miles to the park. From the northwest, take PA 120 south to the village of Hyner. Turn left onto Hyner Mountain Road and follow that to PA 44. Take PA 44 south to Waterville and turn left onto SR 4001. From the north and northeast, take US 6 to Wellsboro, then PA 287 south to English Center, and SR 4001 to the park. Driving Directions: The Interactive GIS Map has turn-by-turn driving directions to the park office from the Park Information Window. Please note that the background maps are maintained by a variety of public sources and driving directions usually go to the nearest large road. Little Pine State Park
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