State Game Lands 28: hunting, parking and access
State Game Lands 28 is 11,268 acres owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission in Elk County and Forest County, inside WMU 2F. PGC's maps show 11 parking areas, 24 gates and 2.8 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 landsNational forestSGL 28PGC parkingRoad open seasonallyWMU lineHighway
| Size | 11,268 acres, measured from PGC's boundary |
|---|---|
| Counties | Elk and Forest |
| WMU | WMU 2F |
| PGC region | Northcentral Region (office in Jersey Shore) |
| Parking areas | 11 (7 dirt, 2 gravel and 2 grass) |
| Roads open seasonally | 2.8 miles on 1 road |
| Game land roads closed to public vehicles | 51 miles |
| Gates | 24 |
| Nearest towns | Marienville (7 mi), James City (8 mi) and Ridgway (9 mi) |
Where do you park on SGL 28?
PGC maps 11 parking areas on State Game Lands 28, listed north to south. Surfaces: 7 dirt, 2 gravel and 2 grass.
| Lot | Latitude, longitude | Surface | Size (square feet) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 41.47380, -78.91385 | dirt | |
| 2 | 41.47155, -78.92018 | grass | |
| 3 | 41.47035, -78.91475 | dirt | 10,000 |
| 4 | 41.46672, -78.90872 | dirt | |
| 5 | 41.46104, -78.97126 | dirt | 3,750 |
| 6 | 41.46033, -78.93066 | gravel | |
| 7 | 41.45934, -78.96945 | dirt | 5,000 |
| 8 | 41.45500, -78.95515 | grass | |
| 9 | 41.41674, -78.94836 | dirt | 2,500 |
| 10 | 41.41577, -78.94846 | gravel | 10,000 |
| 11 | 41.39468, -78.91837 | dirt | 2,500 |
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 28 are open to vehicles?
PGC opens 1 road on SGL 28 to vehicles at set times of year, 2.8 miles in all. Outside those times it is closed to public vehicles.
| Road | Miles | When PGC opens it |
|---|---|---|
| Big Run Rd | 2.8 | See PGC's schedule below |
PGC's words: "Open: 9/19/2025 - 2/9/2026"
Any dates are the ones in PGC's road layer when this page was built, and may be from a past season. PGC posts each year's dates on its game lands maps and at the gates.
PGC also maps 51 miles of game land road on SGL 28 that is closed to public vehicles. PGC's road layer counts 10 miles of road open to public traffic through or along the game lands. PGC records 24 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 28 in, and what is taken there?
SGL 28 lies wholly in WMU 2F. 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 2F | 11,268 | 10,785 (2025-26) | 15,651 (2025-26) | 213 (2024) |
In WMU 2F, 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 28?
Highways within five miles: PA 949, PA 948 and PA 66. Nearest towns: Marienville (7 miles), James City (8 miles), Ridgway (9 miles) and Johnsonburg (11 miles).
PGC's land records for SGL 28: PGC real estate, SGL 28.
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 28?
PGC maps 11 parking areas on SGL 28: 7 dirt, 2 gravel and 2 grass. The largest PGC lists is about 10,000 square feet, at 41.4158, -78.9485. Every lot's coordinates are in the table on this page.
What WMU is State Game Lands 28 in?
All of SGL 28 is in WMU 2F. PGC estimates 10,785 antlered and 15,651 antlerless deer were taken in the whole WMU in 2025-26.
When are the roads on SGL 28 open to vehicles?
PGC lists 1 road on SGL 28 as open seasonally, 2.8 miles in all. For Big Run Rd, PGC's note reads: "Open: 9/19/2025 - 2/9/2026" The dates may be from a past season; PGC posts new ones each year.
Can you camp on State Game Lands 28?
No. PGC does not allow camping on any State Game Lands, SGL 28 included. The nearest town is Marienville, 7 miles away, 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.