More than 425 popular campsites across Pa. are closed indefinitely due to DOGE cuts
Reservations made at impacted sites on Raystown Lake, Seven Points, Susquehannock, Nancy’s Boat-to-Shore Campgrounds, Tompkins Campground on Tioga-Hammond and Cowanesque Lakes will be refunded.
Several federally operated campgrounds at one of Pennsylvania’s most popular summer destinations will be closed indefinitely due to “executive-order driven staffing shortages.”
Raystown Lake, in Huntingdon County, is the largest lake entirely within Pennsylvania. The 8,300-acre lake is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and, according to a news release from the agency’s Baltimore office, staffing shortages will require staff to focus on “dam operations for flood protection and emergency response readiness” ahead of the 2025 season.
According to the Army Corps, the lake’s Seven Points, Susquehannock, and Nancy’s Boat-to-Shore Campgrounds all will be closed until further notice. All told, more than 300 campsites will be closed as a result of the announcement, including boat-in-only sites.
Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has targeted cutbacks at a slew of government agencies, including the Army Corps.
In addition, farther north in Tioga County, Tompkins Campground on Tioga-Hammond and Cowanesque Lakes will also close, along with its swim beach and boat ramp. Tompkins has approximately 125 sites.
Avid campers know that lakefront campsites are difficult to obtain in the summer, in Pennsylvania and beyond, and many are reserved well in advance of the season. According to the Army Corps, refunds will be provided to campers who made reservations through Recreation.gov.
In Northwestern Pennsylvania, the U.S. Forest Service operates approximately 1,000 campsites on the Allegheny Reservoir, though there has been no news of closures. A spokesperson for the agency could not immediately be reached for comment.
Raystown Lake was created by a hydroelectric dam process in 1973 and unlike other large bodies of water in Pennsylvania, like Lake Wallenpaupack and Harveys and Conneaut Lakes, it has seen almost no development. There is not a single house on its 118 miles of shoreline. Raystown is the only lake in Pennsylvania where visitors can rent houseboats, though many of them anchor at Nancy’s Boat-to-Shore Campground, which is now closed.