Kooser State Park in Somerset County

As a campground owner I have been warned time and time again not to stay in a state park for plenty of reasons. But I must say this has been one of the best stays on our two week trip. I wanted to just try a state park and I was not disappointed. We only stayed one night as we were just passing through, but we will definitely be back. Dated but super clean bathrooms with the best water pressure and heat so far on our trip.

Park is small but pretty. They have decent, clean bathrooms.

We found this park on accident and are so grateful!Absolutely gorgeous!!!😍😍😍😍😍

This is one of the best nature walks ever! I miss being able to swim there but the picturesque scenery and calming vibe makes up for that ten fold!

Cabins were delightfully rustic, but had some issues with existing appliances (baseboard heater on but ineffective, lack of functional fan in woodstove). Location was great and bathhouse immmaculate.

Well maintained facility. Bathrooms were immaculate. Very friendly hosts.

Kooser Lake is not a swimming lake. With its small campground (35 sites and 9 rustic cabinsits a quiet get away in the Laurel Mountains.Kooser Run and the lake have a high quality trout rating.Picnic tables are scattered around the lake and a large pavilion sits at the Might Oak park entrance.The park guide does not mention a non motorized boat launch, but a concrete run at the lake sure would act like one to me. (see picture).Theres 2 small hiking trails in the park which DO NOT hook up with other trails in Forbes Forest.Hunting is not allowed in the park but cross country skiing is.For events at this park visit: events dcnr paFor more information: pa parks and forests(diamond)

For all intents and purposes its basically a abandoned Park. Cabins and Campground are nice after that its all downhill.

FANTASTIC FIND!! OUR FAMILY OF 4 HAS STAYED HERE 2 TIMES AND ALWAYS LOVE IT

Nice little campground. Restrooms are nice and clean. Only complaint is the sound of the highway, for me really kills the outdoor feel.

We rented the pavilion and it has a fire place in the middle of it. Not far from the lake and the parking lot which is is all wheel chair accessable. Really nice loved it!!!

Very peaceful with a lake that you can fish in and there are camping areas as well. Oh I almost forgot they even have a hiking trail that you can walk. Plenty of parking spots and they even have picnic tables and grills around the one side of the lake for cooking out and a pavilion for family gatherings. Check it for yourself and go enjoy a visit with nature.

Smaller state park, didnt seem to be maintained the greatest. Campsites were not under a canopy of shade trees, out in the wide open. The big pavilion was awesome though.

Great place to take the family for some relaxation. Fishing isnt bad either!

Loved this small little state park. The lake is small and challenging to fish, but has beautiful rainbow trout, if youre lucky enough to catch them. The rv park is nice and spacious. This one nice hidden gem in the laurel highlands.

Uh. The lake is full of grass. Hard to fish. Didnt even get a nibble. The run is beautiful though and they have a killer pavilion hidden in the woods between the lake and the park office.

I used to go there as a child almost every weekend. It was on our way to my grandparents camp. We would stop and swim. Alot of good memories. Very beautiful and clean. Well maintained. I took my wife there to show her the place I told her the storys about. Not anything like it was. Cant swim there anymore, really run down and and not maintained much. Looks like the grass gets cut 1-2 times a month. Benches and picnic tables falling apart and covered with moss. Fire pits grown over. They used to have grlls for cooking, not anymore. Say what was left of one I think. Its sad. Use to be a beautiful small park a family could spend the whole day and have fun and relax, now you better off just driving by. Sad!

Great quiet campground with some very nice walk-in campsites.

If anyone wants to go somewhat glamping this is the place to go! You stay in a beautiful place that is definitely a log cabin but inside is real beds that are comfortable but no so for the bunk beds 😜. But the cabins have electric heater base boards, refrigerator, stove, microwaves and running hot and cold water. Very great for rainy days when you cant cook on an open fire on the fire pit and or the charcoal grill outside the cabin. Nice open trails to walk on with a beautiful stream running the entire length of the trail. It was a beautiful and fun four days and three nights we spent there and as far as going again we are already planning when to make our next reservation.

Pretty good play ground for the kids. A nice set of easy trails. Bathrooms are good.

Stayed here in June 2021. Absolutely loved our little modern cabin. The bathrooms were SPOTLESS!!! The Laurel Highlands are gorgeous and going back to the cabin after touring Fallingwater and exploring Ohiopyle was awesome. It was always cozy and comfortable. Firewood shed was dry and the wood burned perfectly. Will absolutely go back again.

Small state park with a few cabins and a beautiful stocked lake. One of my favorite spots in PA. Great place to fish, picnic, hike in the woods or sit around a campfire. Please keep it clean and pack out everything you bring in.

Beautiful park/campground. Had it to ourselves except for 1 other camper. We stayed there on October 31st. It was very windy and cold, but we survived with our heavy sleeping bags and body heat.

It was a cool September morning, about 72°, and there was absolutely no one in the park. Took a walk around the lake, I noticed some of the pathways are getting overgrown, and the beach looks like it hadnt been used all summer. Restrooms were clean although dated. Still a nice place to take a walk.

Kooser State Park was a lovely experience in nature - the lake is absolutely gorgeous with very clear water. There are fantastic places to fish including a peninsula. You can see the bass swimming around here it is so clear. There also two hiking trails here, one called the Tree Army Trail which is half a mile, a nice modest trail and offers access to stream fishing. The trail I took was the Kincora trail which is a mile long and is a bit more "in nature." It is rocky and has some steep areas but was overall a lot of fun to hike - make sure you are wearing hiking boots if you plan to hike this trail! Will definitely be revisiting this park for future hiking and fishing.

Great cabin, great views, clean and comfortable. No bathroom is a bit of a challenge but if you prepare in advance, its doable. Definitely come again.

Nice little state park,easy trails,very pretty. Camped,only down side is noise from the road

We love this state park. We go for the hiking and biking -- and taking selfies at the Kooser state park sign! We havent stayed overnight, but the campsites seem really nice.Bottom line, I learned decades ago that you cant go wrong with something (or someone!named Kooser.

Beautiful , large, pull in sites. Electric only.

Nice cozy little campground. Most sites are not very private, yet this campground makes up for it with its small size. Perfect quiet get away with nice streams and small hikes. Decent Verizon cell phone coverage throughout the whole park too.

We only came fishing for a few hours. Caught a couple sunfish. Never made it to the beach area. Always enjoyed their campgrounds and following the stream to the beach.

A nice park for a night. If you are coming here for the beach. Dont. Its more of a fishing pond with a beach at 1 end. But swimming wouldnt be fun. No water at campground for filling tank. You have to fill at dump station on way in. Bathrooms were old but clean. Defenite road noise. Like I said nice park for a night. Just 1 night.

Cabins are nice. Close to nature. Jake brakes from trucks make it a no go for folks looking for quiet. If you can tune that out you can have fun.

Nice state park we had a full hookup pull thru and it was not very level. A little close to others for a state park as well. They had some nice trails with awesome little views and a little pond/lake. Some of the other sites that weren’t full hookups looked very nice. I would stay here again.

Overall, we really enjoyed our stay here. We camped at site #15 and it was perfect. It fit our 34ft toy hauler without any issues. The park is beautiful and very well maintained.-Sites are spaced out.-Dog friendly.-$5 firewood bundles at the entrance.-Cleanest bathrooms/showers- Crystal clear stream with beautiful trail to the lake. Both stocked with fish.-Lots of picnic tables at the lake.-No formal check in.-Nice playground.-Easy access to dump site.-Kinda close to a main road so you do hear some traffic but nothing too bad.We will definitely be back! We love this area!

Great place to go fishing !! I love it there so peaceful and relaxing

Rented cabin 26 for the weekend. Nice trail to walk and beautiful stream.

Clean cabins scenic setting. We really enjoyed the snow-covered pines and hiking along the lake.

Love the trail along the creek. Great place to walk dog

Weather wasnt the best so we did not hike the trails, but we still had family fun, good food, board games, warm fires, and some time to relax.

The cabins are 2 bedroom with a separate group room. They also have a full kitchen. The cabin area is very quiet and peaceful. There is a 1 mile trail that starts just before the camper area and comes out by the lake. The lake has no swimming, so there are no kids. The only people are fishermen. So this is perfect if you want a quiet camping place that comes at a great price.

Nice weekend get away. Cabin was really nice, great location by the creek, not that far away from the bath house. ( which were very clean inside)

Kooser is a very beautiful state park that has fishing on the shore and a peninsula in the middle of the lake. There are restrooms, picnic tables and outside grills. Dog friendly and lots of space to move around.

This is great place for night camping.. plenty of open space in between woods which make night view in sky interesting. Well maintained restrooms and place.

Gorgeous pine wooded park with a nice winding stream through the middle. We stayed at cabin 29 which had plenty of room for six. The park had snow even though most of the surrounding area did not. There is a very nice hiking trail, open area with swings, and nice little lake with a peninsula covered in rhododendrons.

The park was peaceful. Needs some tlc on the grounds, grass cut. Not like I remember it in the late 70s. Lol

This was our first visit to Kooser for camping. The sites are much bigger than most other state campgrounds. It was easy to get in and out of with our fifth wheel. There is a nice creek that my daughter and I played in while we were there.

Stayed overnight in the cabins. We saw a mouse in the cabin but it didnt bother us. We kept our food in the fridge and in sealed plastic containers and had no issues. The wood stove keeps the place warm, and the state park office has an honor box to sell $5 bundles and $1 fire starters that worked really well. Nice flat trail for cross country skiing adjacent to the cabins. Its close enough to some cool wineries too like Glades Pike.

Easy access. GREAT PICNIC spot! Take short <1 mile walk around lake and don’t forget to walk out around center island loop.Beach in summer is small and safe. Check it out and rinse off after your next laurel highlands hike!

Nice and peaceful. Good time for families. Free shower and restrooms. In a tent or an RV there is a place for you to kick back and enjoy nature.