CAMPANAC.Powered by public lands intelligenceMore Than Just Parks

U.S. Forest Service · Allegheny National Forest · PA

Buckaloons

Reservable, and full this SaturdayEvery one of the 31 sites on offer is taken this Saturday, and the record lists no site held back for a walk-up. read 15:52 UTC

We don’t think it should be. Every campground should hold some sites for whoever drives up.Tell your representative →

Watch for a cancellation Book on recreation.gov ↗

Right now: Taking bookingsSites offered on 10 of the next 10 nights read 15:52 UTC
A night: $20–$50Across the site types the agency prices
Sites: 9859 on recreation.gov

Photos · USFS

45 ftLongest rig

1,160 ftElevation

269 ftWater · Allegheny River

2.5 miSE of Youngsville, PA

67%Tree cover

The place

the agency’s own description · what’s there · 12 notices

In the agency’s own words

Buckaloons Campground sits at the confluence of the Allegheny River, Brokenstraw Creek and Irvine Run in northwestern Pennsylvania. This 61-site campground offers access to the Allegheny Wild & Scenic River and opportunities for boating, fishing, wildlife watching, and relaxing in a quiet, country atmosphere. Keep reading

Recreation

Water activities are a big draw to Buckaloons Recreation Area, including canoing, kayaying, rafting, and boating. The boat ramp provides easy access to the river. Buckaloons is the beginning of the second designated National Wild and Scenic RIver segment of the Allegheny River. The first segment is from Kinzua Dam to the Route 6 Glade Bridge on the east side of Warren, PA. The second segment runs from Buckaloons campground to Alcorn Island just upstream of Oil City, PA, a distance of nearly 50 miles. In this segment are the 6 islands of the Allegheny Islands Wilderness as well as many other publicly and privately owned islands. Several public boat launches are located within this segment to help you decide on the length of trip that's right for you. The Allegheny is a "family-friendly" river, with little to no whitewater - perfect for beginners or a lazy day of floating. Hunting, fishing, and trapping are permitted in the areas around the campground, subject to rules of the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission. Fishing includes walleye, trout, and bass. There is also hiking along the Seneca Interpretive Trail within the campground or at nearby Anders Run Natural Area.

Facilities

Buckaloons Recreation Area offers family campsites, double sites and a group tent site. Amenities include both flush and vault toilets, a pressurized water system, hot showers, a dump station and electric hookups. There is a one-lane concrete boat launch, a picnic area with tables and charcoal grills, pavilion, basketball court and playground. Hardened paths lead to fishing opportunities on the Allegheny River, Brokenstraw Creek and Irvine Run.

Natural Features

Once the site of an Indian trading post, the Buckaloons Recreation Center has numerous apple trees through the area, as well as mixed hardwoods. Water-loving species such as sycamore, willow, alder, silver maple, and butternut are frequent components of the riverine forest. Blue and green herons, bald eagles, egrets, and a variety of smaller birds can be seen along the Allegheny RIver. The Allegheny is classified as a warm-water fishery, but some cold-water species thrive as well. Freshwater mussels are abundant in species and number and indicate the high water quality of this river. Deer, bear, turkey, and squirrels are common, along with a variety of smaller mammals such as raccoon, opossum, and muskrat. Contact Info For facility specific information, please call (814) 362-4613.

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

What the agency tells you

Rule

Drivers should be aware of low branches and power lines, especially at parking aprons

Rule

The water level in the Allegheny River is determined primarily by the outflow of Kinzua Dam. River users should check the release level with the Army Corps of Engineers to ensure safe boating flows. Low flows may expose large rocks hazardous to power boaters. High flows can be hazardous to small boaters and tubers.

Rule

Off-road vehicle use is not permitted in the campground

Everything else this campground posts · 9

Rule

This area of the river is not suitable for large boats

Rule

This area is popular with hunters; campers should wear bright fluorescent-colored clothing if hiking and/or camping during hunting seasons

Rule

Pets must be on a leash at all times and cannot be left unattended. Pets are not allowed on the beaches or in the water. Please clean-up after your pets.

Rule

Don't move firewood: To limit the spread of invasive tree-killing pests, firewood from outside the area is not permitted. Some states have quarantines and may confiscate your firewood. Please help protect our forests from invasive species by obtaining your firewood at or near your camping destination and burning it on-site. Visit dontmovefirewood.org for more information.

Rule

Please build fires only in the fire ring or grill provided. Dead material down on the ground can be used for fires but live trees, shrubs, and plants must not be cut or damaged.

Rule

Interagency passes are accepted at most sites and are valid for the pass holder and his vehicle only. Pass holder must occupy the site.

Rule

It is illegal to discharge weapons, firearms, or fireworks within the Recreation Area.

Rule

Check out time is 12:00 p.m. AND check in time is 2 p.m. Camping fees must be paid within 30 minutes after arrival. Put your site number and your license plate number on your fee envelope.

Rule

*Additional fees for group sites: $5.00 per Wheeled unit (RV or Motorhome) $5.00 (additional) per night for each unit connecting to electric. Where available. $5.00 per day for each vehicle over allotted passes for site

Read them on the agency’s own page →

Source: recreation.gov facility notices, quoted verbatim · Sep 9, 2026

Tents and rigs

Sites: 98 · 1 group
Hookups: 62 electric
Longest rig: 45 ft
Accessible sites: 1
Pets: Allowed at 60 of 64 sites
Campfires: 60 of 64 sites
Shade: 67 of 90 sites

Source: Recreation.gov campsite records · Aug 23, 2026

Facilities

Toilets: Vault Toilets; “…site. Amenities include both flush and vault toilets, a pressurized water system, hot showers, a dump…”
Showers: Yes, the record doesn’t say what kind; “Amenities include both flush and vault toilets, a pressurized water system, hot showers, a dump station and electric hookups.”
Dump station: Yes; recreation.gov lists “Dump Station”
Boat ramp: Yes
Playground: Yes
Camp host: On site; recreation.gov lists “Host”
Stay limit: 14 nights; recreation.gov facility rule maxStay

Source: Stated in the agency description · Aug 23, 2026

Water, toilets and showers: read from the agency description, shown above · Sep 12, 2026

Around the campground

On the water: River, Creek; Boating; Canoeing; Fishing; Kayaking
Night sky · 26th darkest of 48 in PA: Bortle 4
Fall color · reported yesterday, in Warren County: Peak color

Source: Recreation.gov activity records · Aug 23, 2026

Night sky: VIIRS Day/Night Band annual cloud-free composite, VNL V2 2024 (Earth Observation Group, Colorado School of Mines), read at the published coordinate · Sep 8, 2026

Fall color: More Than Just Parks foliage tracker, joined to this campground by the county the report names · Oct 15, 2026

Full this Saturdayread 15:52 UTC

How full the weekend is nationally.

OpenBooked

Every one of the 31 sites on offer is taken this Friday and Saturday. 53 are free on Tue, Oct 20. read 15:52 UTC Why the weekend fills and the week doesn’t

Booking windowThrough October 25Bookable now through October 25, 2026, the end of the reservable season. On November 1, 2026 at 10 AM ET, availability opens through May 1, 2027.recreation.gov Add to calendar (.ics)

Max stay14 nights2-night minimum on weekendsthe facility record

A night$20–$50plus $8 to reserve, once per bookingthe agency’s rate schedule

A weekend$48–$108DerivedFriday and Saturday, everything includedours, from the lines above

If plans change$10 to cancel$10 to change a reservationrecreation.gov’s schedule

Runs itU.S. Forest ServiceBooked through recreation.govthe agency’s record

Watch for a cancellation

Watch this campground

One email when a night opens, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We read recreation.gov once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time a site in your window is free for the nights you asked for.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.

Tell me when the season opens

Watch for the season to open

One email when the season goes on sale, plus More Than Just Parks dispatches. Unsubscribe any time.

We check once an hour, at 40 minutes past, and write the first time the agency has that season on sale.

Scanners that check every few minutes exist, and most of them charge. This one is free, it reads the same calendar, and it won’t always be first.

Free forever, no booking kickbacks.

Book on recreation.gov ↗

We make nothing when you book. The link goes straight to the government.

Every line of the receipt · 24

What you actually pay

The sign priceU.S. Forest Service

A night, per site$20–$50

S&P Standard Nonelectric/Tent Only$20

Standard Nonelectric$20

Tent Only Nonelectric$20

S&P Standard Electric$25

Standard Electric$25

S&P Double Standard Nonelectric$40

Standard Nonelectric-Double$40

S&P Double Standard Electric$50

Standard Electric-Double$50

Group areas, a night$40–$85

Rates for the season the campground is in now, May 1, 2026 to Oct 25, 2026.

Cancellations must be made through Recreation.gov

The booking feerecreation.gov

Reservation fee, booked online$8

One fee per reservation, however many nights you book, and it’s non-refundable. $9 if you book by phone, $3 in person.

Pass discounts only apply to the recreation (or use) fee for the facility. Other charges such as electricity or water hookups, reservation or other fees are not eligible for a discount.

What a stay costs

One nightDerived$28–$58

A weekend, Friday and SaturdayDerived$48–$108

Derived by CAMPANAC: the agency’s published rates for this season, $20–$50 a night, plus one $8 recreation.gov reservation fee for the booking. A weekend here means Friday and Saturday night, booked once. Optional charges (an extra vehicle, a second tent, a dump-station fee) are listed separately and aren’t in this total.

If your plans changerecreation.gov

Change fee, moving to dates outside your booking$10

Cancellation fee$10

Cancelling the day before, or the day of$10 + your first night

No-show$20 + your first night

Who keeps the booking fee

The agency’s own policy text says the reservation fee and the cancellation processing fee are “retained by the reservation service contractor”, and that a campground concessionaire will decline to refund them because “they did not receive these fees”. Recreation.gov is run under contract by Booz Allen Hamilton. What share of your booking fee the contractor keeps isn’t published in any federal dataset we can read, so we print no number for it. Our reporting on the contract →

How we know this receipt · 5

Sign price: recreation.gov facility rate schedule, quoted as the agency publishes it · Sep 10, 2026

Booking fee, change fee, cancellation fee, no-show: Rules and Reservation Policies, Recreation.gov, the published fee schedule, curated by hand into lib/reservation-fee-schedule.json (9 rows, each carrying its own verbatim sentence). The publisher states these policies were last updated September 2019. · Sep 9, 2026

The two totals: Derived by CAMPANAC by adding the agency’s own published nightly rate to recreation.gov’s own published reservation fee. Both components are cited above; the addition is ours and is shown only where every component is known. · Sep 9, 2026

Who keeps the booking fee: Recreation.gov facility policy text, Dead Swede Campground (facility 234221) · Not on the national policy page. This is agency policy text recreation.gov publishes on individual campground pages; this site holds it verbatim on 45 active campgrounds (campground_rules.cancellation_description, scripts/load-facility-rules.mjs). · Sep 9, 2026

The contract: Reservation Gods: Who Stole Our Campsites and Sold Them Back to Us, More Than Just Parks, April 2025 · Apr 1, 2025

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

recreation.gov availability, read 15:52 UTC · rules read Sep 9, 2026 · rates Sep 10, 2026 · How we know all this

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

The sites

101 records · which ones have room · the site map

The sites, ranked

from 48 mapped sites

78 ftbetween you and the next site, typically

89%of tent sites sit clear of electric or RV sites

Most roomLoop PICN PAVIL1 272 ftMANAGEMENT SITES 051 129 ftLoop ELDB 7 122 ftMANAGEMENT SITES 050 121 ftLoop ELDB 34 104 ft

Least roomMANAGEMENT SITES 024 58 ftMANAGEMENT SITES 025 58 ftMANAGEMENT SITES 009 63 ft

Source: Derived by CAMPANAC from recreation.gov per-site coordinates (nearest-neighbor distance) · Oct 12, 2026

All 101 records

51 of 101 records located

Standard8RV / electric38Group1Type not stated3Day use1

16 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 7 Group Site 002 003 004 005 006 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 017 018 019 020 021 022 023 024 025 026 041 042 043 044 045 046 047 048 049 050 051 PAVIL1

Aerial · Esri World Imagery

Sites: recreation.gov (RIDB), coordinates as published · Aug 23, 2026

Imagery: Esri World Imagery

SleepsTakes aUp to

Toilet distances are OpenStreetMap’s, measured for 51 of the 101 sites listed. A site with no reading is unknown, never far.

The price is derived by CAMPANAC, not published per site: the per-night rate this campground publishes for each site’s own site type. 98 of the 101 sites listed carry one, and a site whose type has no published rate sits out of the price rather than being called free.

Measured shade is NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC) read at the site’s own coordinate, 27% canopy or more, and only for the sites the agency gave no Shade value. It never changes the agency’s own shaded count beside it.


BUCK	41	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
BUCK	42	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
BUCK	43	standard nonelectric	45 ft						$20–$40
BUCK	44	standard nonelectric	45 ft						$20–$40
BUCK	45	type not stated	30 ft						$25
BUCK	46	standard nonelectric	30 ft						$20–$40
BUCK	47	standard nonelectric	30 ft						$20–$40
BUCK	48	standard nonelectric	30 ft						$20–$40
BUCK	49	standard nonelectric	30 ft						$20–$40
BUCK	50	standard nonelectric	30 ft						$20–$40
BUCK	51	standard nonelectric	30 ft						$20–$40
BUCK	52	standard nonelectric	30 ft						$20–$40
BUCK	53	standard nonelectric	30 ft						$20–$40
BUCK	54	standard nonelectric	30 ft						$20–$40
BUCK	55	standard nonelectric	30 ft						$20–$40
BUCK	56	standard nonelectric	30 ft						$20–$40
BUCK	57	standard nonelectric	30 ft						$20–$40
BUCK	58	standard nonelectric	30 ft						$20–$40
BUCK	59	standard nonelectric							$20–$40
BUCK	60	standard nonelectric							$20–$40
BUCK	61	standard nonelectric							$20–$40
ELDB	1	type not stated	45 ft	50 amp					$25
ELDB	10	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	11	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	12	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	13	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	14	standard electric	45 ft	50 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	15	standard electric	45 ft	50 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	16	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp		89 ft	196 ftIrvine Run	131 ft	$25–$50
ELDB	17	standard electric	45 ft	50 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	18	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	19	standard electric	45 ft	50 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	2	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	20	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	21	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	22	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	23	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	24	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	25	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	26	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	27	standard electric	45 ft	50 amp		72 ft	252 ftIrvine Run	390 ft	$25–$50
ELDB	28	type not stated	45 ft	30 amp			336 ftIrvine Run	339 ft	$25
ELDB	29	standard electric	45 ft	50 amp		72 ft	291 ftIrvine Run	322 ft	$25–$50
ELDB	3	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	30	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp		76 ft	310 ftIrvine Run	262 ft	$25–$50
ELDB	31	standard electric	30 ft	50 amp		78 ft	321 ftIrvine Run	254 ft	$25–$50
ELDB	32	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp		76 ft	291 ftIrvine Run	189 ft	$25–$50
ELDB	33	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp		94 ft	315 ftIrvine Run	124 ft	$25–$50
ELDB	34	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp	yes	104 ft	375 ftIrvine Run	135 ft	$25–$50
ELDB	35	standard electric	35 ft	50 amp		78 ft	331 ftIrvine Run	224 ft	$25–$50
ELDB	36	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp		87 ft	339 ftIrvine Run	220 ft	$25–$50
ELDB	37	standard electric	20 ft	30 amp		87 ft	322 ftIrvine Run	248 ft	$25–$50
ELDB	38	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp		80 ft	328 ftIrvine Run	301 ft	$25–$50
ELDB	39	standard electric	30 ft	30 amp		76 ft	339 ftIrvine Run	307 ft	$25–$50
ELDB	4	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	40	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp		80 ft	349 ftIrvine Run	289 ft	$25–$50
ELDB	5	standard electric	45 ft	50 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	6	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
ELDB	7	standard electric	40 ft	30 amp		122 ft	86 ftIrvine Run	293 ft	$25–$50
ELDB	9	standard electric	45 ft	30 amp					$25–$50
GRP	Group Site	group standard nonelectric	45 ft			73 ft	344 ftIrvine Run	180 ft	$40–$80
MANAGEMENT SITES	002	standard electric				80 ft	225 ftIrvine Run	209 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	003	standard electric				74 ft	172 ftIrvine Run	287 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	004	standard electric				73 ft	290 ftIrvine Run	244 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	005	standard electric				74 ft	154 ftIrvine Run	352 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	006	standard electric				80 ft	261 ftIrvine Run	324 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	009	standard electric				63 ft	121 ftIrvine Run	225 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	010	standard electric				66 ft	131 ftIrvine Run	212 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	011	standard electric				63 ft	171 ftIrvine Run	172 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	012	standard electric				80 ft	227 ftIrvine Run	116 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	013	standard electric				71 ft	175 ftIrvine Run	136 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	014	standard electric				85 ft	128 ftIrvine Run	132 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	015	standard electric				64 ft	108 ftIrvine Run	184 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	017	standard electric				64 ft	112 ftIrvine Run	242 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	018	standard electric				72 ft	184 ftIrvine Run	241 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	019	standard electric				79 ft	161 ftIrvine Run	333 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	020	standard electric				79 ft	237 ftIrvine Run	359 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	021	standard electric				65 ft	169 ftIrvine Run	428 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	022	standard electric				65 ft	174 ftIrvine Run	489 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	023	standard electric				81 ft	226 ftIrvine Run	550 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	024	standard electric				58 ft	304 ftIrvine Run	576 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	025	standard electric				58 ft	321 ftIrvine Run	554 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	026	type not stated					264 ftIrvine Run	449 ft	$25
MANAGEMENT SITES	041	standard electric				76 ft	348 ftIrvine Run	350 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	042	standard electric				78 ft	321 ftIrvine Run	285 ft	$25–$50
MANAGEMENT SITES	043	standard nonelectric				92 ft	374 ftIrvine Run	205 ft	$20–$40
MANAGEMENT SITES	044	standard nonelectric				92 ft	453 ftIrvine Run	163 ft	$20–$40
MANAGEMENT SITES	045	type not stated					429 ftIrvine Run	231 ft	$25
MANAGEMENT SITES	046	standard nonelectric				78 ft	433 ftIrvine Run	390 ft	$20–$40
MANAGEMENT SITES	047	standard nonelectric				78 ft	363 ftIrvine Run	461 ft	$20–$40
MANAGEMENT SITES	048	standard nonelectric				72 ft	278 ftIrvine Run	525 ft	$20–$40
MANAGEMENT SITES	049	standard nonelectric				72 ft	288 ftIrvine Run	474 ft	$20–$40
MANAGEMENT SITES	050	standard nonelectric				121 ft	168 ftIrvine Run	579 ft	$20–$40
MANAGEMENT SITES	051	standard nonelectric				129 ft	244 ftIrvine Run	488 ft	$20–$40
MANAGEMENT SITES	XXX	unnamed record	40 ft						$25
MANAGEMENT SITES	XXX35	unnamed record							$25
PICN	PAVIL1	day use	20 ft	15 amp	yes	272 ft	50 ft	512 ft	$85
S&P	S&P Double Standard Electric	type not stated							$25
S&P	S&P Double Standard Nonelectric	type not stated							$25
S&P	S&P Standard Electric	type not stated							$25
S&P	S&P Standard Nonelectric/Tent Only	type not stated							$25

The agency files 3 more records here that aren’t sites for the night: 1 it files as day use and 2 it types MANAGEMENT rather than a campsite. They’re in the table above, marked for what they are, and none of them is counted as a site.

The records with no site name: Derived by CAMPANAC from the agency’s own campsite records: recreation.gov files some overnight records with no site name, only a row of X characters. A block is read as the campground’s own sites, filed without names, only where the agency types those records as campsites rather than MANAGEMENT, gives each one a coordinate, and their numbering continues the campground’s own numbered sites with no gap. Everything else is left uncounted, and where the evidence doesn’t decide the record is counted as no kind of site rather than guessed at · Sep 12, 2026

Price: Derived by CAMPANAC: each site takes the per-night rate this campground publishes for the site’s own site type (recreation.gov rate schedule). recreation.gov publishes no per-campsite fee, and a site whose type carries no published rate is left blank rather than called free · Sep 11, 2026

25 of 101 listed

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

Getting there

the map and the coordinate · the agency’s directions · the phone number

Coordinate41.83972, -79.25639

The mapSee it on the map

The driveDirections ↗

The phone814-368-4158 (ALLEGHENY SITE MANAGEMENT, CAMPGROUND CONCESSI

The agency’s pageOfficial page ↗

Where it is

Also near here

Hearts Content Recreation AreaAllegheny National Forest · 9.9 mi

Farnsworth CabinAllegheny National Forest · 10 mi

DewdropAllegheny National Forest · 15 mi

Minister Creek Campground and TrailheadAllegheny National Forest · 16 mi

Pine Grove Boat Access CampgroundAllegheny National Forest · 16 mi

Morrison Boat Access CampgroundAllegheny National Forest · 17 mi

Getting there

Take PA-6 to PA-62 South. Take the first right onto National Forge Road, then the first left into the campground. If coming up PA-62 from the south, cross the Allegheny River north of Tidioute and take the first left onto National Forge Road, then the first left into the campground.

Directions: Driving directions as the agency wrote them · Sep 9, 2026

Source: Recreation.gov data (RIDB), full extract · Aug 23, 2026

The weather

the next four days · the thirty-year normal

Next four days, and the thirty-year normal

Forecast

This Afternoon71°Rain Showers79% rain

Tonight35°Rain Showers Likely71% rain

Saturday48°Mostly Sunny4% rain

Saturday Night27°Widespread Frost

NWS forecast for Starbrick, PA

Source: National Weather Service, CTP forecast office · Oct 16, 2026

Typical weather

Typical October night 41°F, day 61°F.

Coldest month of the year: typical February night 18°F, below freezing. Bring a bag rated colder than that, and expect ice in the water bottle.

90°32°10°

Daily high and lowDays with 0.10 in or more

A normal is the 1991-2020 average for the month, not a forecast: about half of all Julys are colder than the July line. The seven-day forecast above answers the other question.

Measured at: WARREN, PA (USC00369298), 6 miles away and 50 ft higher

Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, monthly normals · Sep 8, 2026

The land, and who answers for it

what threatens it · who answers for it · a letter you can send

What threatens this place

developing

Allegheny National Forestdrilling

Roadless

Allegheny Front7,430 acres · 3 mi · inventoried roadless area

Roadless

Verbeck Island14 acres · 9 mi · inventoried roadless area

You’re camping on ground somebody wants. We track the threats and the comment deadlines.

Source: MTJP Threatened Lands map · Sep 28, 2026

Who answers for this land

Buckaloons is in Pennsylvania’s 15th congressional district. Its representative, Glenn Thompson (R), votes on the laws that decide what happens to this land. Public-lands grade so far: F. See every public-lands vote →

Seen something wrong here? Tell us.

Source: U.S. Census district boundaries and the MTJP Congressional Public Lands Score

Who can change it · 3

Write to somebody who can change it

Two offices, two different asks. The draft to the agency asks it to set aside a published share of the sites here for whoever drives up. The draft to Congress asks why that share is zero and presses for a published minimum at the campgrounds it funds.

The member who votes the moneyGlenn ThompsonU.S. Representative · Pennsylvania’s 15th district
Open their contact form ↗Their record →
Your senator, on the same appropriationDavid McCormickU.S. Senator · Pennsylvania
Open their contact form ↗
Your senator, on the same appropriationJohn FettermanU.S. Senator · Pennsylvania
Open their contact form ↗

Read the draft, or change the wording

For the camper who turned up, or tried to book, and couldn’t get in. Every draft is written from this campground’s own record (its agency, its unit, its site count and its own weekend) and the buttons above copy whichever wording is selected here.

To Glenn Thompson

Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.

Subject Walk-up camping at Buckaloons, Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania

Dear Glenn Thompson,

I’m a constituent in Pennsylvania’s 15th district. I tried to camp at Buckaloons, Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania, and couldn’t.

recreation.gov lists 59 of the 98 campsites the agency files at Buckaloons, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 31 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked.

1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Buckaloons keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Buckaloons. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund.

The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them.

Sent about Buckaloons (Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania) via campanac.com

To David McCormick

Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.

Subject Walk-up camping at Buckaloons, Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania

Dear David McCormick,

I’m a constituent in Pennsylvania. I tried to camp at Buckaloons, Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania, and couldn’t.

recreation.gov lists 59 of the 98 campsites the agency files at Buckaloons, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 31 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked.

1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Buckaloons keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Buckaloons. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund.

The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them.

Sent about Buckaloons (Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania) via campanac.com

To John Fetterman

Asks them to put the question to the agency in writing, and to press for a published minimum share of walk-up sites across the campgrounds they fund.

Subject Walk-up camping at Buckaloons, Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania

Dear John Fetterman,

I’m a constituent in Pennsylvania. I tried to camp at Buckaloons, Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania, and couldn’t.

recreation.gov lists 59 of the 98 campsites the agency files at Buckaloons, and every one of them is booked ahead, and the agency's own record lists none held back for somebody who drives up. On Saturday, October 17, all 31 sites recreation.gov was offering there were already booked.

1,623 of the 7,639 federal campgrounds in this country still keep at least some sites for whoever arrives first. Buckaloons keeps none, and that’s a choice somebody made rather than a rule.

I’m not asking you to run Buckaloons. I’m asking you to put it to the U.S. Forest Service in writing: why is the share of first-come sites there zero, and what would a published minimum share cost? Please press for that minimum at the federal campgrounds you fund.

The people who open these campgrounds, collect the fees and keep the water running are seasonal positions. At GS-5, base pay plus the government's own 36.25% benefit factor, one costs about $47,414 a year. One percent of the $13.3 billion the USS Gerald R. Ford cost to procure would pay for about 2,800 of them for a year. Both figures are the government's own (a Congressional Research Service report and an OPM pay table), and I’m glad to send them.

Sent about Buckaloons (Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania) via campanac.com

How we know this · 4

Contacts: Contact forms from @unitedstates/congress-legislators · Sep 9, 2026

The figures in these drafts: Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress (CRS Report RS20643) · Updated December 4, 2025 · “The ship’s final procurement cost was $13,316.5 million (i.e., about $13.3 billion) in then-year dollars.”

The figures in these drafts: Salary Table 2026-GS, Incorporating the 1% General Schedule Increase, Effective January 2026 (U.S. Office of Personnel Management) · Effective January 2026 · “Grade 5, Step 1: $34,799 (annual rate, before locality pay).”

The figures in these drafts: Update to Civilian Position Full Fringe Benefit Cost Factor, Federal Pay Raise Assumptions, and Inflation Factors used in OMB Circular No. A-76 (OMB Memorandum M-08-13) · March 11, 2008 · “the civilian position full fringe benefit cost factor needs to be adjusted downward, from 36.45 percent to 36.25 percent”

How we know

every fact on this page, and where it came from

Right now: recreation.gov is offering sites on 10 of the next 10 nights, which isn’t something a closed campground does.

Sites on recreation.gov: recreation.gov’s own month availability payload for this facility, asked for October 2026, November 2026 and July 2027. It names 59 of the 98 campsites the agency files here, and every one of them carries an answer either way. A campground nobody has read carries no answer at all, never a no. · Oct 12, 2026

Elevation: USGS 3DEP elevation point query at this campground’s coordinate · Sep 7, 2026

Tree cover: NLCD Tree Canopy Cover 2024 (USDA Forest Service / MRLC), one 30 m cell at this coordinate, taken as the median across the 51 campsites here that carry a reading · Sep 9, 2026

Water: USGS National Hydrography Dataset, nearest perennial lake, reservoir, river or stream to this campground’s coordinate · Sep 8, 2026

Night sky: VIIRS Day/Night Band annual cloud-free composite, VNL V2 2024 (Earth Observation Group, Colorado School of Mines), read at the published coordinate: 0.46 mcd/m² of artificial all-sky glow, ranked against the 48 rated federal campgrounds in Pennsylvania · Sep 8, 2026

Sky-glow model: Duriscoe, Anderson, Luginbuhl and Baugh (2018), a simplified model of all-sky artificial sky glow derived from VIIRS Day/Night band data, the National Park Service sky-glow model

Fall color: More Than Just Parks foliage tracker, joined to this campground by the county the report names · Oct 15, 2026

Reported by: Pennsylvania DCNR, reported peak color · Oct 15, 2026

Cell signal: the Forest Service’s own campground description, read as text by CAMPANAC. None of this is a measurement. It’s what the land manager published about the place, and phones, carriers and weather all disagree with each other; treat it as a warning, not a promise.

Nearest place of any size: Starbrick, PA, 0.9 mi W (a census designated place). Straight line.

Nearest town: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 places, measured by CAMPANAC to the town boundary; population is the ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimate · Sep 9, 2026