ERIE COUNTY
If you are looking for an ultimate sportsman's vacation, head to Erie County to start the bowhunting season. This is one of the top trophy buck areas in the Commonwealth, and bowhunting season coincides with the annual fall steelhead run.

With a vacation of this sort, your greatest difficulty would be deciding how to allocate your time!

Most of the public lands in Erie County are quite small, but there are several of them. SGL No. 314 is along Lake Erie and the Ohio border. Turn north toward Lake Erie off state Route 5 onto Rudd Road into the game lands. From I-90, exit at West Springfield at follow U.S. Route 20 to Route 5. Rudd Road is very close to the intersection of routes 5 and 20.

This is a spectacular area with breathtaking views overlooking Lake Erie. The heaviest buck ever recorded in Pennsylvania was a road kill that occurred nearby.

SGL No. 314 is one of the larger public tracts in the county, covering 3,178 acres. This is flat land with some mature timber, dense brush and wetlands. Here, you can get very close to deer without seeing them.

Be sure to wear waterproof boots while scouting this area!

For information, contact the Erie Tourist and Convention Bureau, 109 Boston Store Place, Erie, PA 16501. Or call 1-800-524-3749, or log on to www.eriepa.com.

To learn more about bowhunting in Pennsylvania, including 2007 hunting regulations, contact the Pennsylvania Game Commission at 2001 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110-9797.

Check the agency's Web site at www.pgc.state.pa.us, or call (717) 787-4250.

For travel information, contact the Pennsylvania Office of Tourism, Room 404, Forum Building, Harrisburg, PA 17120. You can also call 1-800-VISIT-PA (1-800-847-4872). l

Find more about Pennsylvania fishing and hunting at: PAgameandfish.com