Hills Creek State Park — Attraction in Charleston Township

OK so first, we got a full hookup site which is AWESOME especially at a state Park (not too common). We were right by the lake which was wonderful, but no lake view. That's fine, you could walk literally 1 minute and be at the lake. Our site was nice a large, but was advertised as full shade and really was full sun for about 3 hours of the day. Again, fine in a camper with an awning. The sites up the hill from us looked gorgeous and wooded, but not a site for an rv. There's a ton of wonderful campsites here seriously something for everyone and we were very happy with ours overall.

Now for the lake. We didn't swim in it (intentionally) but we did kayak and paddle board around and it is so freaking beautiful! I fell off my paddle board and can definitely say the water was very warm and refreshing! The lake is also relatively still so it's pretty easy to get from one side to the other. We didn't try fishing, but we watched a family pulling one fish after the other out and they said it was bass, sunnies, and the occasional perch or lake trout. I also saw 2 osprey and a slew of neat looking ducks. The lake is also covered in Lilly pads on the edges, some of which were blooming which was really cool! There is a bit of algae around the edges and they have some signs warning of possible cyanotoxins, so just stay in the swimming area and avoid the algae!

Bugs? Not too bad actually. I did find a tick on me day 1, but they really like me. So just check yourself. No issues with mosquitos or flies, but there were so many butterflies and dragonflies around!

The park itself has a nice trail system; I did the lake trail with my almost 60 year old parents and we all loved it!!!! They were a bit beat by the end of it but it was well worth it, even in the 90 degree heat (it's mostly shaded).

I also noticed that they still had some Ranger things going on; we talked to one of the park Rangers for a bit about a presentation he was doing on snakes. He actually took some stuffed animals (like real, taxidermy stuffed) to the swimming area to do an educational presentation which is really cool! They also have an amphitheatre where they did a presentation on bears. And there's a ton of informative signage throughout the trail system to tell you about the whole interesting ecosystem there.

And the NIGHT SKY!! Wowzers! We saw so many cool satellites and I was able to find constellations easily and point out 2 planets to my parents! Still couldn't find neowise, but you could see the milky way faintly and it was very pretty!

Overall had a great time, definitely recommend this park. It seems especially great for families with kids, but even as 3 adults we were well entertained and loved...

Hills Creek State Park was fantastic for our little family getaway. The campground was a little hard to navigate at first, but it was beautifully laid out with lots of space in between campsites. I loved how clean the bathrooms were. The fire rings at our campsites had built-in grates off to the side of them which were perfect for holding cast iron skillets and a kettle. We rented canoes from the concession stand for an hour and saw a bald eagle along the shoreline of the lake. We also spotted a few falcons, which were really cool to see. Park rangers frequently patrolled the area and at one point stopped by to let us know there was a bear in the area and lots of raccoons getting into campers' food. Very thoughtful of them. The campground is pretty close to a lot of hiking, but the state park itself only has 5 miles of hiking total (which was fine with us as we had little kids along). This is a great place to camp, whether you're looking to use it as a base for hiking excursions, watch wildlife, canoe/kayak, or just relax around a fire and enjoy being surrounded by...

Detailed review. Hills Creek is a very nice camping park. You can choose from 83 sites that range from sunny to hemlock deep shade. There's also 10 modern cabins, 3 cottages and 2 yurts. An organizational camping area can be found here too. Hills Creek State Park has a very nice swimming beach, with changing facilities and a nearby concession stand. You can rent canoes and kayaks at the beach. The beach parking lot is surrounded with picnic tables and pavilions, most with a view of the lake. There are two boat launches on west side of the lake and one in the campground area. Fishing is good and there is a handicap accessible fishing pier in the Pines boat launch area. A nature center building and an outdoor amphitheater are located in the campgrounds area. Hike the Lake Side, Yellow Birch or Tauscher's Trails. Geocaching at this park offers a special coin prize. See details at the park office. Hunting is not allowed at the park, but there are opportunities nearby. For more information: pa parks and forests Also check out the You Tube video at...