Home | Picnic Places | Top 20 Picnic Places | PA Sites | Smart Shopper | Contact Us | About Us

National Parks in PA | PA State Parks | PA State Forest | City, Town & County | National Forest in PA  
Dutch Country Roads

Discover Dutch Country Roads' Great Places to Picnic
Gifford Pinchot State Park

2200 Rosstown Rd.
Lewisberry, PA 17339-9787
Campground Office: 717-292-4112
Park Office: 717-432-5011

Gifford Pinchot State Park, a 2,338-acre full service park, is in northern York County along PA 177 between the towns of Rossville and Lewisberry. The park consists of reverting farm fields and wooded hillsides with the 340-acre Pinchot Lake serving as a prime attraction.

The park is near the metropolitan areas of York and Harrisburg. It is reached from Harrisburg via the Lewisberry Exit (35) of I-83 south then PA 177 south; or by US 15 south to Dillsburg, then to PA 74 south. From York, take PA 74 north or I-83 north. From I-83, take the Newberrytown Exit (32), PA 382 west to PA 177 south.

Boating: electric motors only
The 340-acre Pinchot Lake has three launch areas available 24 hours a day. There are 286 shoreline mooring and canoe rack spaces that may be rented from April 1st to November 1st. Mooring areas include a number of larger spaces designed to accommodate the increasingly popular day sailors and catamarans, while rack spaces accommodate sailboards and smaller sailboats. There are several types of boats and electric trolling motors for rent at the boat rental from late spring through early autumn each year.

Motorboats must display a boat registration from any state. Non-powered boats must display one of the following: boat registration from any state; launching permit or mooring permit from Pennsylvania State Parks that are available at most state park offices; launch use permit from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

For complete information on boating rules and regulations in Pennsylvania, visit the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Web site.

Trails: There are more than 18 miles of marked and maintained trail at Gifford Pinchot State Park. The longer through trails are marked with 3" by 5" rectangular white blazes. Shorter trails are marked with white, double bar blazes. Most trails interconnect to allow hikers to tailor their outing to meet their individual desires. Explore trails for complete trail descriptions.

Swimming: A large, accessible beach in the Quaker Race Day Use Area is open from late-May to mid-September, 8 a.m. to sunset. Lifeguards are on duty from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, unless otherwise posted. Please read and follow posted rules for swimming when lifeguards are off-duty. Boat rental, picnic facilities, snack bar and children’s play area are near the swimming beach.

Picnicking: The accessible Quaker Race Day Use Area is on the west side of the lake and the Conewago Day Use Area is on the east side of the lake. Picnic tables, charcoal grills, convenient parking lots, drinking water, modern restrooms and horseshoe pits are throughout the areas. The Quaker Race area has a volleyball court. The Conewago area has a softball field. Four accessible picnic pavilions may be reserved up to 11 months in advance for a fee. Unreserved picnic pavilions are free on a first-come, first-served basis.

Horseback Riding: In the northeast section of the park is an area set aside for horseback riding. This area includes several miles of wide, mowed, interconnecting trails that wind through reverting farm fields, pine plantations and deciduous woodlands. There is a large, gravel parking area off of Alpine Road, a short distance south of the intersection with PA 177. There are no horse rentals.

Fishing: The 340-acre Pinchot Lake has largemouth bass, hybrid stripped bass, muskellunge, catfish, carp, walleye, crappie and sunfish. Pinchot Lake is designated a big bass lake. Special regulations cover the minimum size and creel limits for all species of bass. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission laws apply.

Camping: modern sites, some with electricity
With 339 campsites at the southern end of the lake, this park provides one of the largest state park campgrounds in the Commonwealth. The campground opens on the second Friday in April and closes by the end of October. All of the sites have macadam pads and can accommodate virtually any piece of camping equipment from a large motor home to the smallest tent. The campground has an accessible swimming beach, outdoor amphitheater, some accessible campsites, hiking trails, boat launching and mooring area, sanitary dumping stations, staffed campground office, and modern bathhouses with flush toilets and showers. Pets are not permitted in overnight areas.

Cabins: Ten modern cabins can be rented year-round. Cabins are furnished and have a living area, kitchen/dining area, toilet/shower room and two or three bedrooms. Renters provide their own bed linens, bathroom articles, kitchenware and eating utensils. Cabins also have boat mooring areas on the lakeshore. One cabin is accessible.