Prince Gallitzin State Park Patton, PA May 2007

My wife and I are big fans of minor league baseball.  Lately, we've been trying to plan our camping trips around minor league ballparks we'd like to visit.  With no other purpose in mind, we planned this trip.  Not only did we visit a great minor league ballpark, we also stumbled across a great state park we had never heard of before.  

Arriving at Prince Gallitzin State Park, we were amazed at the size of the place.  The Crooked Run campground has over 400 sites and is situated alongside the 1,600 acre Glendale Lake.  We picked our site, sight unseen, by studying the campground map.  We were pleasantly surprised by the size of the site.  Especially since the sites, in general, tend to be fairly close together.  At this time of year, though, the campground was mostly empty.  (A park ranger told us there were about 94 campers this particular weekend.)  Reportedly, things change big-time after Memorial Day, when the campground gets pretty crowded.  However, in mid-May, we had a very quiet weekend with practicly no neighbors in our loop.

The bath house in our loop was nothing short of impressive.  It appeared to be fairly new and the facilities were very clean and well-maintained.   There was a dishwashing station at the bath house.  There is a camp store (weekends only) in the campground that carries ice, basic groceries, camping supplies and souvenirs.  We were told that in-season, they'll deliver firewood right to your site.  We didn't have much time to explore the lake, however, boat rentals are available during the summer season.  There is also a sand beach on the lake for swimming and 12 miles of hiking trails through some very scenic woodlands.  Outside the campground, you can find gasoline, groceries and supplies at the Sheetz market in Patton and at Uncle Phil's General Store on Route 53 in Fallentimber.  

Favorite Sites Here are some that looked good to us: Electric hookup:  288, 298 Sites with no hookups:  245           (Bold = really nice)

Other than the minor league ballgame, we really didn't have any particular plans for this trip.  While doing some exploring, we found that the Altoona area is a paradise for people into railroads.  Here are some of the things we saw while we were there:

• Gallitzin Tunnels.  We stumbled across the Gallitzin Tunnels while trying to find the famous Horshoe Curve.  The oldest of the 3 tunnels dates back to the 1850s.  These tunnels were part of the efforts required to provide train travel through the Allegheny Mountains.   Margie in the museum/gift shop was particularly helpful in giving us directions to the Horsehoe Curve.
• Horseshoe Curve.  This is a must-see for railroad enthusiasts.  This incredible feat of engineering was completed in 1854.  (My pictures below don't even begin to capture the impressiveness of the Curve.)  Admission is about $5.  You can either take the stairs or ride the funicular (inclined railway) to get to observation area.  
• Altoona Curve Baseball.  Beautiful Blair County Stadium is home to the Altoona Curve, the Pittsburgh Pirates AA minor league team.  
  

We reached the end of our four-day trip wishing we had more time to spend in the Altoona area.  We're already making plans for a return trip later this year. 

• Pennsylvania State Parks
• Prince Gallitzin State Park