State Game Lands 256: hunting, parking and access
State Game Lands 256 is 1,258 acres owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission in Perry County, inside WMU 4B. PGC's maps show 6 parking areas, 4 gates and 1.5 miles of game land road that PGC opens to vehicles at set times of year.
Data updated October 2026. Boundary, parking, roads and gates: PGC's game lands maps. Seasons: PGC 2026-27 Seasons and Bag Limits.
State game landsState forestSGL 256PGC parkingRoad open seasonallyWMU lineHighway
| Size | 1,258 acres, measured from PGC's boundary |
|---|---|
| Counties | Perry |
| WMU | WMU 4B |
| PGC region | Southcentral Region (office in Huntingdon) |
| Parking areas | 6 (5 dirt and 1 gravel) |
| Roads open seasonally | 1.5 miles on 1 road |
| Game land roads closed to public vehicles | 3.2 miles |
| Gates | 4 |
| Nearest towns | Bloomfield (2 mi), Newport (4 mi) and Duncannon (4 mi) |
Where do you park on SGL 256?
PGC maps 6 parking areas on State Game Lands 256, listed north to south. Surfaces: 5 dirt and 1 gravel.
| Lot | Latitude, longitude | Surface | Size (square feet) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40.40698, -77.11365 | gravel | 2,550 |
| 2 | 40.40335, -77.14467 | dirt | 3,000 |
| 3 | 40.40135, -77.14248 | dirt | 1,800 |
| 4 | 40.39643, -77.13789 | dirt | 2,400 |
| 5 | 40.39519, -77.13347 | dirt | 1,250 |
| 6 | 40.39428, -77.12845 | dirt | 1,200 |
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 256 are open to vehicles?
PGC opens 1 road on SGL 256 to vehicles at set times of year, 1.5 miles in all. Outside those times it is closed to public vehicles.
| Road | Miles | When PGC opens it |
|---|---|---|
| State Game Land Rd | 1.5 | See PGC's schedule below |
PGC's words: "Opened from 2 weeks prior to the Fall Archery Season until the end of the Flintlock Season in January. Opened for Youth and Spring Gobbler Season."
PGC also maps 3.2 miles of game land road on SGL 256 that is closed to public vehicles. PGC's road layer counts 0.7 mile of road open to public traffic through or along the game lands. PGC records 4 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 256 in, and what is taken there?
SGL 256 lies wholly in WMU 4B. 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 4B | 1,258 | 6,700 (2025-26) | 14,394 (2025-26) | 50 (2024) |
In WMU 4B, 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 256?
Highways within five miles: PA 34, PA 849, PA 274, US 11, US 15 and PA 850. Nearest towns: Bloomfield (2 miles), Newport (4 miles), Duncannon (4 miles) and New Buffalo (8 miles).
PGC's land records for SGL 256: PGC real estate, SGL 256.
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 256?
PGC maps 6 parking areas on SGL 256: 5 dirt and 1 gravel. The largest PGC lists is about 3,000 square feet, at 40.4034, -77.1447. Every lot's coordinates are in the table on this page.
What WMU is State Game Lands 256 in?
All of SGL 256 is in WMU 4B. PGC estimates 6,700 antlered and 14,394 antlerless deer were taken in the whole WMU in 2025-26.
When are the roads on SGL 256 open to vehicles?
PGC lists 1 road on SGL 256 as open seasonally, 1.5 miles in all. For State Game Land Rd, PGC's note reads: "Opened from 2 weeks prior to the Fall Archery Season until the end of the Flintlock Season in January. Opened for Youth and Spring Gobbler Season."
Can you camp on State Game Lands 256?
No. PGC does not allow camping on any State Game Lands, SGL 256 included. The nearest town is Bloomfield, 2 miles away, by the Census map of places.
Get a Pennsylvania hunt plan when they open
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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.