There is a campground with 80 campsites. Most can accommodate either a tent or a trailer. The area has a sanitary dump station, flush toilets, showers and laundry tubs. Most sites have electrical hookups. The park rents 13 rustic cabins. Cabins have minimal furnishings, kitchen stove, refrigerator, electric lights, a wood stove and bunk beds. Camping and cabin rentals begin on the second Friday in April and end after deer season in late December. Six modern cabins are available year 'round and have electric heat, bedrooms, a living-dining room, kitchen and bath. Renters of rustic and modern cabins must supply their own bed linens, towels, dishes, pots, pans and dinnerware. Cabins are available for weekly rental in summer and on a daily basis during other seasons.

This area is on the Allegheny Plateau. Land around the park is gently rolling, but moving away the terrain becomes much more rugged.

Here is another great place for a combination gobbler hunting and fishing vacation. Black Moshannon Lake in the park provides very good fishing for crappies and bluegills. Fishing should be peaking during spring gobbler season.

Information on the park is available from the Black Moshannon State Park office, 4216 Beaver Road, Philipsburg, PA 16866-9519; or call (814) 342-5960; or you may e-mail blackmoshannonsp@state.pa.us.

Get maps and information on Moshannon State Forest from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, Forest District No. 9, 3372 State Park Road, Penfield, PA 15849; or call (814) 765-0821.

Call (888) PA-PARKS to reserve a cabin or campsite.

TIOGA STATE FOREST
Tioga State Forest covers about 160,000 acres in Bradford and Tioga counties. This is some of the most rugged land in Pennsylvania, including the famous Pine Creek Gorge, which has a nearly vertical drop of about 800 feet.

Spring gobbler hunting should be easier than that, however. It should be just as productive to scout the northern tract, which lies north of U.S. Route 6, east of state Route 349 and southwest of state Route 249. There are steep slopes along the streams, but the hills tend to be flat-topped. Roads generally follow the streams, but there are trails along the hilltops. Get off to the sides of the trails to call along the tops of the slopes.

Also, there is more broken habitat around the edges of this tract. Look for fields off the state forest and call along the state forest slopes nearby.

Hills Creek State Park, just a few miles to the east, has a 102-site camping area. It opens on the second Friday in April and closes the third weekend in October. Warm showers, restrooms and water fountains are in central locations throughout the camping area. Ten modern cabins, each with a living area, kitchen-dining area, shower and two bedrooms, may be rented year 'round. Hunting is not allowed on this smaller park.

Get park information by contacting Hills Creek State Park, 111 Spillway Road, Wellsboro, PA 16901-9676; call (570) 724-4246, or e-mail hillscreeksp@state.pa.us.

To reserve a campsite or cabin, call (888) PA-PARKS from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

Information about Tioga State Forest is available from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry, Forest District No. 16, One Nessmuk Lane, Wellsboro, PA 16901; or call (570) 724-2868.