No. 1 of 8 · Wellsboro, Pennsylvania
Pine Creek Gorge fall camping trip from Wellsboro, three nights reserved near the east rim
from $440 for two people, $220 per person, three nights near Wellsboro, campground charges inside, taxes on top
This is the deepest cut on the list and the farthest drive, and it earns both. A Pine Creek Gorge fall camping trip puts you on the forested rim above a creek that has worked its way down through the plateau of north-central Pennsylvania, with Wellsboro, a gaslit county seat, as the town where you buy coffee and fill the tank.
- Where
- Wellsboro, Tioga County
- Nights
- three
- Season priced
- Sep to Oct
- Depth, rim to stream
- about 800 feet
- Stream level
- about 1,060 feet above sea level
- Drive from the office
- about 2 hours 55 minutes, 144 miles
- Ways to sleep
- tent, cabin, inn
800 feet from rim to creek
Dark: Pine Creek Gorge, read along a 3,000-meter line. Pale: the other seven, same scale. Source for Wellsboro: USGS 3DEP, 10-meter.
Our section runs across the gorge just below the eastern overlooks, and the ground falls about 800 feet from the lower rim to the creek over a horizontal distance of well under a mile. The eastern rim stands about ninety feet higher than the western one, and in the morning the sun lights the western wall first, the face turned toward it. A rail trail follows the creek along the floor for most of the gorge's length; you can walk or ride a stretch of it without a guide.
Decks, cabins and gaslit inns near Wellsboro
The glamping resorts and campground resorts in this area sit a few miles back from the rim on the Wellsboro side, and the inns are in town. In late September and early October all three fill early, so a request in August is not too soon.
| Way to sleep | How the figure is made | From |
|---|---|---|
| Platform tent | three nights at $165 a night, $35 campground charge inside | from $530 for two $265 per person |
| Campground cabin | three nights at $138 a night, $25 campground charge inside | from $440 for two $220 per person |
| Inn room | three nights at $215 a night, no added charge | from $650 for two $325 per person |
Totals are rounded up to the next ten dollars.
Inside the Wellsboro figure for two
- Three nights for two near Wellsboro, at the campground or inn you choose
- Linen, cleaning, first firewood: the Wellsboro campground charge, if any
- A written quote for Pine Creek Gorge
Outside the Wellsboro figure
- Pennsylvania hotel occupancy tax and the county hotel tax, which the Wellsboro campground or inn adds
- The drive of about 144 miles each way, fuel and parking
- Meals in Wellsboro, unless breakfast comes with the inn
- Entry to Pine Creek Gorge, wherever a gate charges it
Why the dates are narrow
The color on these slopes turns earlier than it does around Rochester and usually peaks in the first two weeks of October. Before that the gorge is green and quieter; after the leaves drop the campgrounds begin closing for winter. We price the trip only for late September to mid-October, the window when the drive is worth it.
Settled at confirmation in Wellsboro
At confirmation the campground tells us which deck or cabin you have, whether the wood stove is lit for you, and its own cancellation date; the October weekends often carry a two-night minimum that we fold into the three nights quoted. Dates and availability can move the figure for Pine Creek Gorge; the written confirmation from the campground or inn is what you pay.
Shallower next: Genesee gorge camping weekend.
Dates for Pine Creek Gorge
The form takes gorge requests 24/7. Written replies land before 5:30 p.m. Eastern on the next business day; phone answers run +1 (585) 663-2741, Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern Time.