Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - March/April 2022 - 55

Both developed and undeveloped camping areas are plentiful in the Allegheny National Forest, near Kinzua Creek.
Organized and wilderness camping opportunities
abound near Kinzua Creek. Structured camping is
available at Dewdrop, Kiasutha, and Red Bridge, which
are positioned around the nearby Allegheny Reservoir.
Privately owned campgrounds are also in the area.
Some are members of the Pennsylvania Campground
Owners Association, and visiting PACamping.com will
help locate encampments and the facilities and services
they provide.
Recreational vehicle (RV) campers who enjoy
boondocking will find the Allegheny National Forest
offers designated " dispersed " campsites to " get away
from it all! " These " no-fee " sites may be occupied for
up to 14 days, but energy must be supplied by batteries,
" quiet-run " generators, or solar panels to provide some
of the creature comforts normally enjoyed at developed
campgrounds. Owners of RVs longer than 20 feet will
find advanced research vital, because the quantity
of larger sites is limited. Dispersed sites are equally
cherished by tenting fanatics wanting to rough it in a
wilderness setting.
" Camping is prohibited along Kinzua Creek from
Red Bridge to Meade Run, " said Christopher Leeser,
Forest Service Public Affairs Officer. Leeser advises
to better understand pertinent regulations, and where
designated dispersed sites are available, campers should
fishandboat.com
check online at www.fs.usda.gov/activity/allegheny/
recreation/camping-cabins. There is a link for
dispersed camping. Help is also available by phone at
Forest Service Headquarters 814-723-5150.
This is an area where advisements to store food in
a manner that will discourage black bears should be
taken seriously. During a 2021 fly fishing experience, I
looked up to see what I estimate to have been at least a
400-pound black bear, standing just above the creek's
bank, watching me cast.
Hikers, bikers, cross-country skiers, and anglers
benefit from the Kinzua Valley Trail, which is a
crushed stone pathway that parallels approximately
6-miles of Kinzua Creek, from near Red Bridge to
the town of Westline. The trail, provided by and
maintained by the Kinzua Valley Trail Club, was
formerly a railroad bed. It provides easy passage for
anyone who may struggle to hike otherwise rough,
timber-laden, uneven turf.
People who enjoy combining the three activities of
camping, trout fishing, and turkey hunting may want
to know that " Kinzua Creek " is interpreted as " they
gobble " by some Native Americans. This interpretation
is apparently attributed to the sounds often echoing
through the valley, of large game birds that share the
watershed's habitat.
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * March/April 2022
55

http://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/allegheny/recreation/camping-cabins http://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/allegheny/recreation/camping-cabins http://www.PACamping.com http://www.fishandboat.com

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - March/April 2022

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