Elk Country Visitor Center (Keystone Elk Country Alliance) — Attraction in Benezette Township

After over 25 years of annual visits to this area, I am increasingly more disappointed. If you are going to see a pretty building, friendly staff, and beautiful scenery, this might be your place. But if you want to see elk, unfortunately this is not the place anymore. In years past, it would be nothing to see over 30 to 40 elk during a day trip. Over the past 5 years that number has dwindled to a new low. This past weekend, it hit rock bottom for me, with not 1 visible elk in site. What has changed is obvious. The change has occurred slowly and gradually since the PGC (and possibly the RMEF) has taken over. They have managed to buy up area property and herd/lure the elk into back woods areas. The viewing areas which originally did allow you to see a few elk are now overgrown. The Winslow HIll site has small fields for viewing but again significantly overgrown. The Dents Run viewing is even worse. Seeing elk over the trees is nearly impossible. If you can see any elk, bring your binoculars (powerful ones or maybe consider a spotting scope instead) as they are very very far away. NO need to have signs advising to stay "a football field away" as you are not even close to that. I know that in the past, the road clutter, people stopping along the road and elk in area yards needed some control. I have been in the area in the past when it took over 1 hour to simply get off Winslow Hill during the fall. But is this the best end result?? Sad and very disappointing. Not any longer worth the 2 hour long drive. Not sure how the businesses will continue to prosper if the visit to the area is based on elk...

We visited on Wed, 11 SEP 13. What a cool place! Rustic decor with clean modern facilities. Really enjoyed the exhibits, and the huge windows in the lodge allow for elk watching if the weather keeps you inside. They have a really friendly staff of volunteers and Park Rangers who are very knowledgeable about the elk herd in Pennsylvania. We were fortunate enough to see two herds and the interaction between the bulls and to hear the dominant bull bugling multiple times. It was a very cool experience. I must give a shout out to one Park Ranger in particular. The young lady really knows her stuff about the park and elk herds and their behavior, but what really struck me was her personality and how she interacted with a group of us out on one of the paths while we were watching the two herds. She was able to answer everyone's questions, explained what was going on between the two bulls and their herds, gave pointers for picture taking and viewing and allowed others to use her binoculars. She was especially compassionate with my father, who is deaf, and my mother, who is almost totally blind, allowing them to use her binoculars to see the elk. It is obvious she really enjoys her job, is passionate about the elk and the overall environment of North Central PA and she is a real asset to the park. Final note, there is a nice gift shop in the visitors center and feature this, I seems everything is made...

After over 25 years of yearly visits to this area I am increasingly more disappointed. If you are going to see a pretty building, friendly staff and some pretty scenery, this might be your place. But, if you are going to see elk, this is not your place anymore . In the past, it was nothing to see 30 or 40 elk during a day trip. Over the last 5 years that has gradually dwindled to a new low recently. A visit during the weekend of September 21, we saw zero elk. This change has occurred slowly and gradually since the PGC and likely RMEF have bought up area properties and lure/herd elk to more isolated areas. The viewing areas which originally provided some long distance viewing are now overgrown. The Winslow hill viewing area has a small visible field way off in the distance. The Dents Run viewing area is even worse. Seeing elk over the trees is nearly impossible. To see any elk you will need powerful binoculars at minimum. No need for the signage to advise everyone to keep a football field length away as no one is even close to that. I understand that in the past the road clutter, people stopping along the road and elk in area yards needed some control. I remember years when it took over an hour to get off the hill. But is this the best end result? Sad and disappointing. Not worth the 2 hour drive from...