French Creek State Park is one of Pennsylvania's most popular state parks -- a forest oasis in an urban region. More than 6,000 acres of the park is open to hunting.

Be sure to stop at the park office for details on what areas are open or closed to hunting.

The park has 201 campsites that are open year 'round, including at least 50 sites with electrical hookups. In addition, 10 rental cabins are available year 'round. Each cabin sleeps six and features electric heat, a kitchen, private bath with shower, and wall-to-wall carpeting.

Bring your own dishes, cookware and bedding.

Although archery season is past the busiest tourist season, you should reserve campsites or cabins well in advance by calling 1-888-PA-PARKS from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Or reserve online at www.pa.reserveworld.com.

STATE GAME LANDS NO. 43 SGL No. 43 lies about three miles south from the park, offering another 2,316 acres of public hunting lands. This game lands is made up of three separate tracts. All are accessible off Harmonyville Road east of state Route 82 about seven miles east of Birdsboro.

From the park, simply follow Route 345 south to Harmonyville Road and turn either left or right. Look for food plots for potential locations for your early-season bowhunting stand.

Hopewell Village National Historic Site, which lies adjacent to the park and north of SGL No. 43, is not open to hunting.

French Creek State Park straddles the border between Berks County and Chester County. It lies off state Route 345 south of Birdsboro and north of state Route 23.

For more information on the park, contact French Creek State Park, 843 Park Road, Elverson, PA 19520-9523. Or call (610) 582-9680, or e-mail frenchcreeksp@state.pa.us.

Information about any Pennsylvania state park is available on the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' Web site at www.dcnr.state.pa.us.

SOUTHWESTERN REGION
Pennsylvania's Southwestern Region counties could be rated as a top bowhunting destination on a national scale -- they're that good!

Most of the newer entries in the Pennsylvania big-game record books have come out of this region. But it still doesn't get its due.

Of the top 100 typical bucks taken by bow and arrow, 43 came from the Southwest Region. This includes half of the top 50, 14 of the top 25 and half of the top 10. Among the 33 non-typical bucks taken by bow and arrow, 15 were killed in the Southwest Region. Making all this even more remarkable is that most of these bucks were relatively recent kills.

Allegheny County is clearly the leading Pennsylvania county for bowhunting whitetail records. Among the entries from Allegheny County are the top and No. 6 typical whitetails and the No. 4 and No. 5 non-typicals. Five of the top 25 typical whitetails taken by bowhunters came from Allegheny County.

Of the 44 typical whitetails taken by bowhunters that score at least 150 Pope and Young points, 10 were killed in Allegheny County. Think about that: Of the Pennsylvania bucks scoring over 150 points, 23 percent were taken from one county!

Unfortunately, there is only one state game lands in Allegheny County: SGL No. 203, a 1,246-acre tract west of the Wexford exit off I-79.

Other public lands are open to bowhunting, primarily community or township lands.

In Greene County, hunters will find more public land and some of the best deer hunting in the commonwealth. Antler sizes have been improving in an area that was already better than most parts of Pennsylvania.

Fawn recruitment is also good, and deer density has consistently been among the highest.

Wildlife Management Unit 2A, which includes Greene County, is one of only five units that still have an estimated deer density of 21 to 30 animals per square mile.

SGL No. 223 has a total area of 7,223 acres in several irregularly shaped tracts. The terrain is mostly rolling hills. Habitat consists of reverting farmland with several woodlots including some mature timber.

As with many SGLs, the habitat here is well managed with food plots and a variety of vegetation that's ideal for deer and other wildlife.

These tracts are surrounded by farmland including Farm Game Projects where early-fall bowhunters are likely to get permission to hunt.