PA Getaway

State park · Huston Township, Clearfield County

Parker Dam State Park

Parker Dam State Park: Hemlocks and white pines along Laurel Run, Parker Dam State Park, Clearfield County
Photo: Nicholas A. Tonelli from Northeast Pennsylvania, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A classic Depression-era park with a small lake, rustic log cabins and a beach, where trails wind through woods regrowing after a 1985 tornado and lead into the Quehanna wilds.

What you will find

  • Hiking trails
  • Mountain biking
  • Cross-country skiing
  • Camping
  • Cabins or shelters
  • Swimming
  • Beach
  • Boat launch
  • Canoe and kayak launch
  • Fishing
  • Picnic areas
  • Wildlife and bird watching
  • Scenic views
  • Historic features

Hunting is permitted here in season. Check the state hunting calendar and wear blaze orange in fall and winter.

Make a day of it

Nearby

  • Quehanna Trail

    Hiking trail · 0 miles away

    Starting at Parker Dam State Park, a rugged loop of more than 70 miles through the Quehanna Wild Area and nearby state forest, with deep stream valleys and elk country.

  • Moshannon State Forest

    State forest · 3 miles away

    Big plateau forest that takes in much of the Quehanna Wild Area, once a Cold War nuclear research site, now crossed by the long Quehanna Trail and home to roaming elk.

  • Simon B. Elliott State Park

    State park · 6 miles away

    A wooded hideaway honoring an early champion of Pennsylvania's forests, with rustic cabins and campsites amid quiet hardwood forest and quick access to the Quehanna backcountry.

  • Elk Country Visitor Center

    Visitor center · 12 miles away

    The place to see Pennsylvania's wild elk up close, watching from the trails or through big windows indoors as bulls bugle across the meadows in the fall rut.