Free Camping in Michaux State Forest, Pennsylvania

On Freecampsites.net we found free camping in the Michaux State Forest in southeast Pennsylvania. This is approximately 15 miles from Gettysburg. There are camp/tent areas, but there are also two parking lots which larger vehicles can stay in. It is free, for seven days, but you have to apply for a permit with the State Forest Office. I called them a couple of days ahead of time and the personnel emailed me the form plus camping information and maps.

You can click on any of the pictures to enlarge them.



We got there on a Friday and had a couple campers there over the weekend, but during the week we were the only campers. There were bikers, hikers and horseback riders that came throughout the week.



While there we went to the town of Shippensburg, about 7 miles away, to see if we could get our mail sent to the post office this week. Also, to use internet, as there is very little cell service at our site. We were able to have mail sent General Delivery.



Pros in this area: (1) Free for 7 days; (2) Very few campers, none during the week while we were there; (3) Large parking lots to park in; (4) Hiking/biking/motorbike/ATV/horse trails all over, including access to the Appalachian Trail. (5) Decent size towns within 20 miles. (6) Paved roads. (7) There were 79 antenna TV channels, though most were the same ones.

Cons: (1) Very poor cell service, which we usually don’t stay at for more than one day, but we were able to get emails and texts, just couldn't send anything out.



There are two State Parks within the State Forest. Right off Hwy 30 is Caledonia State Park. Further north off of Hwy 233 is Pine Grove Furnace State Park. Our camping area is about half way in-between. I had read about an AT (Appalachian Trail) museum at the Pine Grove Furnace State Park, so one morning we drove up there to check it out. I’ll do a separate blog post for that.