State Game Lands 261: hunting, parking and access
State Game Lands 261 is 3,220 acres owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission in Bedford County, inside WMU 4A. PGC's maps show 3 parking areas, 2 gates and 0.9 mile 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 261PGC parkingRoad open seasonallyWMU lineHighway
| Size | 3,220 acres, measured from PGC's boundary |
|---|---|
| Counties | Bedford |
| WMU | WMU 4A |
| PGC region | Southcentral Region (office in Huntingdon) |
| Parking areas | 3 (2 gravel and 1 dirt) |
| Roads open seasonally | 0.9 mile on 1 road |
| Game land roads closed to public vehicles | 7.4 miles |
| Gates | 2 |
| Nearest towns | Hopewell (next to it), Riddlesburg (2 mi) and Defiance (2 mi) |
Where do you park on SGL 261?
PGC maps 3 parking areas on State Game Lands 261, listed north to south. Surfaces: 2 gravel and 1 dirt.
| Lot | Latitude, longitude | Surface | Size (square feet) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40.12330, -78.23964 | gravel | 4,000 |
| 2 | 40.11562, -78.23957 | dirt | 9,600 |
| 3 | 40.10591, -78.24672 | gravel |
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 261 are open to vehicles?
PGC opens 1 road on SGL 261 to vehicles at set times of year, 0.9 mile in all. Outside those times it is closed to public vehicles.
| Road | Miles | When PGC opens it |
|---|---|---|
| Ringneck Rd | 0.9 | 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."
PGC also maps 7.4 miles of game land road on SGL 261 that is closed to public vehicles. PGC's road layer counts 4.2 miles of road open to public traffic through or along the game lands. PGC records 2 gates here.
Named trails PGC maps on SGL 261: H&BT Trail.
Sources: PGC State Game Lands roads; PGC State Game Lands gates; PGC State Game Lands trails. Road miles measured by FilledTag from PGC's lines.
Which WMU is SGL 261 in, and what is taken there?
SGL 261 lies wholly in WMU 4A. 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 4A | 3,220 | 5,005 (2025-26) | 8,523 (2025-26) | 71 (2024) |
In WMU 4A, 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 261?
Highways through the game lands: PA 915. Highways within five miles: PA 26, PA 915 and PA 36. Nearest towns: Hopewell (next to it), Riddlesburg (2 miles), Defiance (2 miles) and Wells Tannery (4 miles).
PGC's land records for SGL 261: PGC real estate, SGL 261.
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 261?
PGC maps 3 parking areas on SGL 261: 2 gravel and 1 dirt. The largest PGC lists is about 9,600 square feet, at 40.1156, -78.2396. Every lot's coordinates are in the table on this page.
What WMU is State Game Lands 261 in?
All of SGL 261 is in WMU 4A. PGC estimates 5,005 antlered and 8,523 antlerless deer were taken in the whole WMU in 2025-26.
When are the roads on SGL 261 open to vehicles?
PGC lists 1 road on SGL 261 as open seasonally, 0.9 mile in all. For Ringneck Rd, PGC's note reads: "Opened from 2 weeks prior to the Fall Archery Season until the end of the Flintlock Season in January."
Can you camp on State Game Lands 261?
No. PGC does not allow camping on any State Game Lands, SGL 261 included. The nearest town is Hopewell, next to the game lands, 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.