Hyner Run State Park Camping Guide

Hyner Run State Park

Nestled in Pennsylvania’s largest state forest, the 305,450 acre Sproul State Forest, Hyner Run State Park is the perfect launch pad for adventures in the Pennsylvania Wilds. You’ll get a balanced blend of remote wilderness to disconnect, while the comforts of civilization are only 30 minutes away in Lock Haven. During my 7 day solo camping trip at Hyner Run State Park Campground I explored what the park and nearby rustic areas have to offer for a city girl looking to disconnect from devices and reconnect with nature.

Attractions and activities

Hiking

At just 180 acres (about a quarter of a square mile), Hyner Run State Park proper is one of Pennsylvania’s smallest State Parks. Two long hiking trails pass through the park. Visitors are able to hike sections of these trails before crossing out the park’s boundaries. You can hike a short portion of the ~95-mile Donut Hole trail, which passes through multiple vistas in Cameron and Clinton counties. For a shorter hike, portions of the 4.1 mile Long Fork Trail also pass through the park. To get your steps in, you call also walk the campground loop.

Swimming

Without many hiking trails, Hyner Run’s main attraction is the inground swimming pool. I am not really a fan of public pools. The idea of swimming around in strangers’ pee, dead skin cells, used band-aids, and who knows what other bodily fluids has always creeped me out. However, I have to say this one did look pretty nice, and the 95° days had me tempted. I met a woman who drove an hour each way, multiple times a week, just to swim in this pool.

Patrons often fill the pool during the heat of the day. However, if you go later in the evening there is a good chance you’ll have the whole pool to yourself. It is open Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day from 11am to 7pm, with a lifeguard on duty.

There is also a playground next to the pool and restrooms/changing rooms. My bladder seemed synchronized with the maintenance team’s cleaning schedule. I hung out on the swings multiple times while waiting for them to complete their daily facility maintenance.

Hyner Run

In addition to cooling off in the pool, you can also venture into the waters of the 4.2 mile long Hyner Run, a tributary of the West Branch Susquehanna River. The stream within the park is relatively flat and calm, perfect for plopping your chair in the middle for crick sitting.

There are a few deeper pools and shady spots under bridges where I saw people fishing. The run is stocked annually with brook and brown trout. There are numerous other nearby streams that boast excellent trout fishing.

Within the campground there is a fallen log spanning the width of the run. This was a magnet for all the daredevil children, testing their balance and luck with multiple crossings from bank to bank. It also served as a perch for numerous fisher and flycatcher bird species who used it as a lookout post for prey.

Camping

The campground

Hyner Run State Park Campground hosts 21 electric and 9 non-electric sites across 2 loops in a figure-8 layout. Each site comes with the basic parking pad, fire ring, and picnic table. All campers and day-visitors to the swimming pool share the flush toilets, warm showers, and changing area. However, most people in campers tend to use their own shower/restrooms so the shared restroom facilities were rarely busy.

The non-electric sites are closest to the restroom facilities and weren’t booked to capacity. In general, I find it much easier to get prime non-electric sites at all state parks, compared to even the worst electric site. If you are willing to rough it a bit, it’s not too difficult to survive with just a battery pack for electricity. I use a Jackery, which lasted the whole 7 days. The non-electric portions of the park are almost always more sparsely populated that the electric/full hookup loops so you end up with a more peaceful experience. Overall the campground is very flat and most campers were respectful of the 5 mph speed limit and quiet hours, making for a pleasant and relaxing stay.

My campsite

I stayed in non-electric campsite 10, which I do think was the best site in the whole campground. There was a large, level area to establish my tent and cooking area. It was right on the stream so I could have morning coffee waking up to the gentle chirps of cardinals and cedar waxwings, and the less gentle, electric cackle of belted kingfishers.

This site was also the perfect distance, less than 300 feet, from the bathrooms/pool house. It was close enough that late night emergen-pees weren’t risky and carrying my dishes to the wash sink was manageable. The bathrooms sit on a small hill that separates the pool area from the campground. This provides a sound cushion so the noise from the pool crowds did not carry into the campsite. Despite the overall small size of the park and campground, my site was plenty large enough for a solo camper, with buffer from each each neighbor.

The facilities

Restrooms

The bathroom/shower facilities are large given the overall small size of the park. The restroom contained 5 flush toilets and a 3-stall changing room for pool visitors. One toilet has a seat that was clearly meant for a much smaller toilet. This resulted in an awkward gap where the front of the toilet had no seat. I can’t imagine many people used that stall, so it might be good if you are particularly germophobic.

There are multiple power outlets near the sink. These are great for operating any hair-styling appliances without draining your portable power bank. Many people left their phones, iPads, and other valuables charging while in the shower. There is a lot of trust in the camping community. I personally have never have any issues with theft, but would still not recommend leaving valuables like these unattended.

On rainy days things did get a bit muddy and humid. The facilities were cleaned daily, but depending on weather it could be a losing battle. Other than the rainy days, the facilities stayed clean and I never had any heebie-jeebies about using them.

Showers

Two shower stalls are available, a regular sized one and a much larger accessible shower. Both contained a separate dry compartment and wet compartment. The dry compartments has a small bench and numerous hooks to help keep things organized.

The showers are a modern configuration with regular knobs to turn the water on/off. They are not the dreaded push-button style public showers where you have to keep pressing every few seconds to ensure the water stays on. This especially comes in handy because it takes a while for the hot water to arrive at the shower head. I’d recommend turning on the faucet as soon as you enter the stall so it can warm up while you situate yourself.

The showers are free for campers to use, but day-guests are charged $4 per person. The fee is paid in cash with an honesty envelope.

Dishwashing station

Only one Pennsylvania State Park I’ve ever camped at did not have a designated dish washing station – Pymatuning State Park. I ended up washing my dishes at the fish gutting station at Pymatuning. The station only offered cold water and chunks of fish carcass were strewn over every surface. I imagine even if you haven’t been a vegetarian for 30+ years like me, you would find that situation revolting.

Since then I’ve been paranoid about campgrounds not having dishwashing sinks, but Hyner Run State Park campground did not let me down. This is certainly the smallest sink I’ve ever encountered, but it got the job done. I did really like the knee-operated faucet “handles” so you can use both hands to maneuver dishes in the small space.

Firewood

On premises

The campground has firewood for sale on premises, but the availability is hit or miss. An honor box collects payment for a bundle of 6 logs for $5. The wood cubby was completely empty during several of the days of my trip. The campground host told me the purveyor had been contacted multiple times, but still had not restocked the supply. Once it was restocked I noticed it’s the type of bundles wrapped in plastic. These always makes me feel guilty about contributing to so much plastic waste.

Local firewood

The convenience of on-site fire wood is definitely appealing, but with a small amount of effort you can get a lot more flame for your buck. Approximately 1 mile south of the park entrance there is a black roadside sign advertising campfire for sale. If you take the road down over the hill and navigate the ruts around the bend, you will see a large open area with small piles of fire wood.

The wood is sold in stacks of 20 large pieces for $10, cash only. It’s loose logs so you need to transfer them into your car individually, but this eliminates all that excess plastic waste. This wood is kept covered so it is dry and burned perfectly. It was probably the best wood I’ve ever used. I like elaborate campfires and went through a lot of wood, stopping at this stand 3 times during my 7 day trip. Each day the stock had been refreshed with clean, dry wood. I highly recommend stopping at this local stand !

Cell Service

With T-Mobile, I had no service within the campground itself. I did find that with a short walk to the park entrance I was able to get a small amount of service if I stood near the park sign or sat on the bridge crossing Hyner Run. It wasn’t stable enough for phone calls, but I was able to maintain my Wordle streak.

Hyner View State Park is the companion park to Hyner Run. With just a 10 minute drive from the campground up the winding mountain road to Hyner View State Park you can breathe in the panoramic view of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River while enjoying full cell phone service. On clear days I had perfect service and was able to check in with my family while sipping coffee on the gorgeous overlook. One day of my trip was quite rainy and the mountain top was shrouded in clouds. The reception this day was much more spotty, so this spot is less reliable for good service when it’s overcast.

Summary

Spending a week at Hyner Run State Park was a delightful adventure filled with nature’s beauty and peaceful solitude, for the most part. This was a holiday weekend and I accept that you will always have some rowdy noise-makers. To me, tolerating the scourge of humanity was an acceptable trade off to still be near flush toilets and hot showers. The park’s small size belies its charm, offering scenic hikes, a refreshing swimming pool, and the calming Hyner Run stream. The campground was comfortable and well-equipped, with clean restrooms and convenient amenities. Limited cell service encouraged me to truly disconnect, while Hyner View State Park provided the perfect spot for panoramic views and catching up with loved ones. Hyner Run State Park is a wonderful retreat for anyone seeking a mix of relaxation and outdoor fun.

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