Campground Review: Buckaloons Recreation Area, Allegheny National Forest
Changing plans at the last minute is no easy feat, especially when a long weekend is approaching and you want an extended stay. The good part about Columbus Day Weekend is that, while a lot of people camp, it’s still after the peak camping season. We knew we’d have a slimmer selection when choosing to leaf peep at Allegheny National Forest, but we actually did end up having lots of choices of where we wanted to stay.
My first choice would have been Red Bridge Recreation Area, from looking at reviews and pictures online. Seems like many people had the same idea because this campground had less availability. We wouldn’t have been able to get the same site for 10 straight days, but we could have split our time at a couple of different sites. I try to only do this when it’s really worth it, like when a fantastic site opens up across the campground, or if we’re staying for so long that I assume we’ll have to dump and fill our tanks anyway. Otherwise, the couple of hours it takes to pack, hitch up, and move hardly seems worth it.
Red Bridge is one of the campgrounds that has ample RV sites, and it’s near a lot of the famous Allegheny landmarks like Kinzua Bridge State Park. Because it’s situated on the eastern side of the forest, the foliage started turning earlier, so the colors would likely peak while we were there. It was a tough decision to not stay there, even just for a few days, but one feature (or lack thereof) made our choice for us. Word was that Red Bridge had barely any cell service; one bar at most. Buckaloons, where we ultimately ended up staying, averaged at about 2-3 bars for AT&T service. If we were spending 10 days in a campground, we’d need connectivity in order to do work. And, being that it’s a forest campground, we weren’t banking on being able to set up our Starlink because there would be lots of tree cover.
Buckaloons had a few sites with availability through the entirety of our 10 day stay. I narrowed it down to two sites: #25, which had some pictures and seemed decent, and #21, which had no pictures. Overall, this campground’s sites seemed fairly consistent, so it wasn’t a huge risk to choose site #21, but nevertheless, we decided to live a teeny bit on the edge and choose that site, with no pics, and no reviews associated directly with that site.
While the site differences were small, we actually did like site #21 better than #25. All the sites at Buckaloons are wide and woodsy, but 21 seemed a tad more spacious. A big part of this has to do with the electrical wires. Unlike many campgrounds that have underground wiring, Buckaloons has overhead wires. This is tricky when the sites are big rig friendly, and unless you do diligent research, you might not know there is a height obstruction at some sites. I saw photos of the various campsites, so I knew we’d have wires overhead. We’re about 11ft 6in tall, so we’d be OK unless the wires were sagging a lot. Once we arrived and scouted out the campground, there was only one site that we saw as a potential problem. The overhead wiring had some branches that had started to grow around it, causing the wires to sag and the branches to hang quite low. I certainly wouldn’t want those resting on my roof during my stay, and the one camper that came into that site agreed. They had a small class C that they were able to maneuver to position it parallel to the road, instead of backing in perpendicular. Crisis averted, I guess, but I don’t know what a longer rig would have done.
Thankfully our site was problem-free. The back of our site had a giant tree that had been cut down, and its massive trunk wasn’t the best view, but it just added to the woodsy vibe. We arrived on a Thursday and had no neighbors on either side. Over all, the campground was delightfully quiet, even when the weekends rolled around. Columbus Day Weekend got pretty busy, but even still, sounds didn’t carry very far. This was definitely a place where we could slow down, breathe, and take in the nature surrounding us. That’s really what fall camping is all about. The nights got cool and we turned on our heat for the first time this season. We had some nice big campfires in our exceptionally big firepit. We took walks in the crisp air with leaves falling around us. The campground has a trail that goes behind all the campsites and follows along the Allegheny River and Brokenstraw Creek. Seeing the leaves change color little by little every day was really fun.
Buckaloons has two loops. The main loop has 30 amp electric hookups, and the other loop has primitive sites. There is a dump and fill station by the exit, which is also where the only dumpsters are located. The bathhouses weren’t bad; we don’t usually expect much from state and national park campgrounds. The biggest downside to them was that only the bathhouse near the entrance had showers, while the rest were toilet only. Only the handicap-accessible showers had temperature controls, but the campground was so empty we never saw another person in the bathhouse, so using the handicapped stalls wasn’t a problem. We’ve noticed in the campground reviews that a lot of people rank on state and national park campgrounds for having terrible bathroom facilities because they’re primitive, buggy, and often not super clean. This makes us scratch our heads. What are these people expecting, the Four Seasons? It’s a bathhouse in the middle of the woods, so of course there will be dirt and bugs. 99.9% of the time bathroom facilities are rated poorly, we disagree. When we’re camping in the woods, we’re not looking for luxury. We’re looking for a place to hop in, get the job done, and hop out. Besides, if the bathrooms are fantastic, does it really feel like camping?
Some of the Allegheny recreation areas have day use. Buckaloons offers day use mostly for boaters who want to launch into the river. There is a big parking lot by the boat ramp, and it only costs $5 to park there for the day. The showers are also open to the public for a $5 fee. These fees are honors system, with pay boxes available at the entrance. The campground has a small basketball court and volleyball net. We had every intention of getting out our volleyball for the first time since hitting the road, but time got away from us again. Really though, we weren’t looking for campground activities. We got to sit in the woods, take nature walks, and see wildlife. There were deer, lots of birds including the most beautiful woodpecker, and tons of chipmunks and squirrels.
One day when we went sightseeing around the National Forest, we did drive into Red Bridge Campground to do a comparison. The foliage was indeed peaking better than at Buckaloons, and there weren’t overhead electric wires. Otherwise, the campsites were comparable. Buckaloons’ seemed to be wider which we appreciated. Red Bridge has a couple of sites with river views, sites #6 and 7. We felt that those were the only two sites that would tip the scale toward Red Bridge, unless you want to be in that specific area for the nearby attractions.
Red Bridge does not have day use facilities, so the whole recreational area is the campground. There are a couple of RV loops and a loop that’s walk-in for tents. The fact that this campground fills up faster than Buckaloons and it has less connectivity made us feel we made the right decision by not trying to squeeze into Red Bridge. We could have split our time between the two campgrounds, but Red Bridge was full for Columbus Day Weekend. Directionally this didn’t work for us. We were heading west to east, and Buckaloons was first on our way. We didn’t want to do Red Bridge and then double back to Buckaloons, and so we chose Buckaloons for the entirety of our visit. Connectivity wasn’t great but seemed better than at Red Bridge, and the way our site was positioned, we were able to get some Starlink with periodic interruptions. It was enough to have a productive work week.
We conserved our tanks and water to last us the whole 10 days, and we made it with maybe a day to spare if we wanted to push it. 30 amp was also more than enough for our needs, since we’re out of air conditioning temperatures and our heat runs on propane. 30 amp was enough to run our electric heater too when we needed it. Between the heat and the new autumn RV decorations, the inside was as cozy as the outside.
For a stay on the western side of Allegheny National Forest, we would 100% recommend Buckaloons. While you may not be near the famous Kinzua Bridge like you would be at Red Bridge, recreational opportunities abound on the western side. You’re also only 30 minutes from the NY border, where you can enjoy places like Jamestown, the birthplace of Lucille Ball. You’re near towns like Warren and Youngsville which offer ample opportunities for resupplying. We would recommend heading to the Storehouse Grocery if you’re in Youngsville. This little market is a gem, where you can find an albeit small but high-quality selection of clean, organic ingredients, at exceptionally reasonable prices. You’ll also get that small town personal touch, with a warm greeting as soon as you walk in the door.
As with any forest stay, just be ready to feel like you’re roughing it just a little, but with the comfort of your RV, you’ll still get to have that glamp-tastic touch while feeling like a true outdoorsman.
Campground:
Buckaloons Recreation Area, Allegheny National Forest, Irvine, PA
Site #21, 30 amp electric only, back-in, firepit, picnic table
Dump station and potable water fill available at exit
Campground recommended? Yes
Site recommended? Yes