Tobyhanna State Park — Attraction in Coolbaugh Township

We camped here on a Sunday and Monday nite in July. We were fortunate to be able to drive thru the campground to pick out our site after checking them all out. Overall it's a nice campground, but the sites are very varied. Some are small, very small, and obviously have not been used for quite a while, some like ours (98)are a good size. Bathrooms are average and clean. Showers are very small, 3 stalls in each, but there is a unisex bathroom that has its own shower which gives you a little more room. There is a tub for dishwashing but you really need 2 people because the water only came on for about 3 seconds at a time with motion detection. There is bear activity, both nites we were there a bear (or 2) entered campsites when people were out around the fire. What really bothered us about that was we were the only campers on our end of the loop, very isolated, and while a ranger did drive by once after all the bear commotion, he did not even slow down to check on us when it was obvious we were there by our lights, and my husband even followed him up the road waving his flashlight. He never even slowed. Rangers in fact did not patrol very often, and did not seem friendly or interested at all in campers. There is a nice walk all the way around the lake, took us about 2 1/2 hours, and we rented an electric motored rowboat, $30 for 1 hour which was great to tool around and check out the lake. The beach looked nice but we did not visit it. You could walk there from the campground, or drive. Overall we are glad we went, we want to camp in as many PA state parks as possible. But at ~2 hr. drive away, we probably...

The park itself is very beautiful. Canoes and kayaks can be rented for the lake.

The campground itself is nice. The lots are smaller then the pictures on the reservation site appear to be, but there was still room for 2 tents and our van. Firewood can be purchased at the beach where they rent canoes. The bathrooms while clean needed some maintenance. There was one shower head in the women's restroom that leaked constantly and according to my husband one shower stall was out of order. There is only one sink to wash dishes so sometimes there was a wait. There is no way to adjust the water temperature on that sink as it is strictly on or off. If there is hot water you could be practically scalded or if the hot water tank is empty, you may not be able to feel your fingers by the end.

The weekend we went they were close to full capacity. Quiet hours are supposed to start at 9 pm. The is no enforcement of this as both nights there were loud noises and music until about midnight. There were camp hosts that we saw on our last day there, but I guess they are not responsible for enforcing or even reminding others of the rules. On arrival we learned that the state park is very close to an army depot. It was a surprise to be woken with reveille especially after late nights. If the park was closer to us I would definitely visit for the day. We will not be back...

This park is an asset to the area. Tobyhanna's gem. I'm sure anyone who has been there would agree. There are an almost unlimited amount of tables with charcoal fire grills, almost all of them shaded. Some are single tables and some are grouped together for very large groups, 20 - 50? And there are covered pavilions for large groups. Usually you need to reserve them and there may be a fee - I don't know. There are boat ramps and boat rentals. A swimming area with a sand beach and a grass lawn. The bath rooms have showers. They could be a little cleaner, but considering the number of people that use them they're not bad. If you don't want to sit, swim, or play any number of lawn games, you can hike the trails or fish. The one that goes around the lake is about 5 miles and isn't too difficult. Fishing requires you have a permit. You'll have to look that up for yourself. Of course if you're a camper there are camp sites that look very inviting and a bath house too. I haven't used the camping facilities but I have seen everything from big mobile campers to small tents there. Be prepared for nature, there is plenty of it all around you, all beautiful and some scary. I saw a very large black bear once. He wasn't in the camp area but I will admit it made me a little nervous. It wouldn't hurt to be prepared for your...