State Game Lands 197: hunting, parking and access
State Game Lands 197 is 1,656 acres owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission in Warren County, inside WMU 1B. PGC's maps show 4 parking areas and 2 gates. The game lands are in 2 separate pieces; the largest is 1,231 acres.
Data updated October 2026. Boundary, parking, roads and gates: PGC's game lands maps. Seasons: PGC 2026-27 Seasons and Bag Limits.
State game landsSGL 197PGC parkingWMU lineHighway
| Size | 1,656 acres, measured from PGC's boundary (PGC's records list 1,554) |
|---|---|
| Counties | Warren |
| WMU | WMU 1B |
| PGC region | Northwest Region (office in Franklin) |
| Parking areas | 4 (2 gravel and 2 grass) |
| Game land roads closed to public vehicles | 0.6 mile |
| Gates | 2 |
| Separate tracts | 2 (largest 1,231 acres) |
| Nearest towns | Columbus (next to it), Bear Lake (2 mi) and Corry (3 mi) |
Where do you park on SGL 197?
PGC maps 4 parking areas on State Game Lands 197, listed north to south. Surfaces: 2 gravel and 2 grass.
| Lot | Latitude, longitude | Surface | Size (square feet) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 41.99390, -79.56461 | gravel | 12,012 |
| 2 | 41.98700, -79.56819 | grass | 10,220 |
| 3 | 41.97854, -79.58892 | grass | 3,744 |
| 4 | 41.97006, -79.57886 | gravel | 1,600 |
Source: PGC State Game Lands parking areas. Sizes and surfaces are PGC's own records; a lot may be plowed or not in winter.
Which roads on SGL 197 are open to vehicles?
PGC's road layer shows no seasonally opened road on SGL 197.
PGC also maps 0.6 mile of game land road on SGL 197 that is closed to public vehicles. PGC's road layer counts 2.3 miles of road open to public traffic through or along the game lands. PGC records 2 gates here.
Sources: PGC State Game Lands roads; PGC State Game Lands gates. Road miles measured by FilledTag from PGC's lines.
Which WMU is SGL 197 in, and what is taken there?
SGL 197 lies wholly in WMU 1B. Seasons, antlerless licenses and harvest are kept by WMU, not by game lands; these are the figures for each whole WMU:
| WMU | Game lands acres in it | Antlered deer | Antlerless deer | Bears |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMU 1B | 1,656 | 11,070 (2025-26) | 17,627 (2025-26) | 67 (2024) |
In WMU 1B, 2026-27 archery deer runs October 3 to November 20, and December 26 to January 24, 2027 and the regular firearms season November 28 to December 13.
Harvest: PGC Annual Deer Population Report, April 2026; PGC's 2024 bear harvest release. Seasons: PGC 2026-27 Seasons and Bag Limits.
How do you get to SGL 197?
Highways within five miles: PA 426, US 6, PA 957, PA 958 and PA 77. Nearest towns: Columbus (next to it), Bear Lake (2 miles), Corry (3 miles) and Elgin (8 miles).
PGC's land records for SGL 197: PGC real estate, SGL 197.
PGC's rules for every State Game Lands tract, from tree stands to fluorescent orange for non-hunters, are on the Pennsylvania hunting page.
Questions hunters ask
Where can you park on State Game Lands 197?
PGC maps 4 parking areas on SGL 197: 2 gravel and 2 grass. The largest PGC lists is about 12,012 square feet, at 41.9939, -79.5646. Every lot's coordinates are in the table on this page.
What WMU is State Game Lands 197 in?
All of SGL 197 is in WMU 1B. PGC estimates 11,070 antlered and 17,627 antlerless deer were taken in the whole WMU in 2025-26.
Can you drive on the roads in SGL 197?
PGC's road layer shows no road on SGL 197 that it opens to vehicles by season. It shows 0.6 mile of game land road closed to public vehicles. 2.3 miles of road through the game lands is open to traffic.
Can you camp on State Game Lands 197?
No. PGC does not allow camping on any State Game Lands, SGL 197 included. The nearest town is Columbus, next to the game lands, by the Census map of places.
Get a Pennsylvania hunt plan when they open
Hunt plans for Pennsylvania are coming. Join the list and you'll hear first. The first 50 hunters in each new state get their plan free.
Until then, the free FilledTag app for iPhone has a map that works in every state, Pennsylvania included.
Where these facts come from
- Boundary and acres: PGC State Game Lands boundaries. Parking: PGC State Game Lands parking areas. Roads: PGC State Game Lands roads. Gates: PGC State Game Lands gates.
- WMU harvest: PGC Annual Deer Population Report, April 2026; PGC's 2024 bear harvest release. Seasons: PGC 2026-27 Seasons and Bag Limits.
- Public land around the game lands: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US 4.1). Highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, places.
FilledTag is not part of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.