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State Game Lands 278: hunting, parking and access

State Game Lands 278 is 1,868 acres owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission in Blair County and Huntingdon County, inside WMU 4D. PGC's maps show 4 parking areas and 4 gates. The game lands are in 3 separate pieces; the largest is 1,158 acres.

Data updated October 2026. Boundary, parking, roads and gates: PGC's game lands maps. Seasons: PGC 2026-27 Seasons and Bag Limits.

Map of Pennsylvania State Game Lands 278 with PGC's 4 parking areas, public land around it, and Northwood, Vail and Olivia

State game landsSGL 278PGC parkingWMU lineHighway

SGL 278 at a glance
Size1,868 acres, measured from PGC's boundary
CountiesBlair and Huntingdon
WMUWMU 4D
PGC regionSouthcentral Region (office in Huntingdon)
Parking areas4 (4 gravel)
Game land roads closed to public vehicles4.9 miles
Gates4
Separate tracts3 (largest 1,158 acres)
Nearest townsNorthwood (next to it), Vail (next to it) and Olivia (next to it)

Where do you park on SGL 278?

PGC maps 4 parking areas on State Game Lands 278, listed north to south. Surfaces: 4 gravel.

LotLatitude, longitudeSurfaceSize (square feet)
140.74217, -78.13313gravel1,500
240.71499, -78.17713gravel800
340.69566, -78.22274gravel800
440.68677, -78.22524gravel

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 278 are open to vehicles?

PGC's road layer shows no seasonally opened road on SGL 278.

PGC also maps 4.9 miles of game land road on SGL 278 that is closed to public vehicles. PGC's road layer counts 2.2 miles 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 278 in, and what is taken there?

SGL 278 lies wholly in WMU 4D. Seasons, antlerless licenses and harvest are kept by WMU, not by game lands; these are the figures for each whole WMU:

WMUGame lands acres in itAntlered deerAntlerless deerBears
WMU 4D1,8689,388 (2025-26)15,439 (2025-26)143 (2024)

In WMU 4D, 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 278?

Highways through the game lands: I-99. Highways within five miles: I-99, US 220, PA 550, PA 350 and PA 453. Nearest towns: Northwood (next to it), Vail (next to it), Olivia (next to it) and Bald Eagle (next to it).

PGC's land records for SGL 278: PGC real estate, SGL 278.

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 278?

PGC maps 4 parking areas on SGL 278: 4 gravel. The largest PGC lists is about 1,500 square feet, at 40.7422, -78.1331. Every lot's coordinates are in the table on this page.

What WMU is State Game Lands 278 in?

All of SGL 278 is in WMU 4D. PGC estimates 9,388 antlered and 15,439 antlerless deer were taken in the whole WMU in 2025-26.

Can you drive on the roads in SGL 278?

PGC's road layer shows no road on SGL 278 that it opens to vehicles by season. It shows 4.9 miles of game land road closed to public vehicles. 2.2 miles of road through the game lands is open to traffic.

Can you camp on State Game Lands 278?

No. PGC does not allow camping on any State Game Lands, SGL 278 included. The nearest town is Northwood, next to the game lands, by the Census map of places.

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Where these facts come from

FilledTag is not part of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.