State Game Lands 280: hunting, parking and access
State Game Lands 280 is 2,552 acres owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission in Berks County, inside WMU 5B. PGC's maps show 17 parking areas and 20 gates. The game lands are in 3 separate pieces; the largest is 1,588 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 landsArmy Corps of EngineersSGL 280PGC parkingWMU lineHighway
| Size | 2,552 acres, measured from PGC's boundary |
|---|---|
| Counties | Berks |
| WMU | WMU 5B |
| PGC region | Southeast Region (office in Reading) |
| Parking areas | 17 (9 gravel, 4 grass, 3 dirt and 1 not recorded) |
| Game land roads closed to public vehicles | 11 miles |
| Gates | 20 |
| Separate tracts | 3 (largest 1,588 acres) |
| Nearest towns | Bernville (next to it), Wernersville (3 mi) and Spring Ridge (3 mi) |
Where do you park on SGL 280?
PGC maps 17 parking areas on State Game Lands 280, listed north to south. Surfaces: 9 gravel, 4 grass, 3 dirt and 1 not recorded.
| Lot | Latitude, longitude | Surface | Size (square feet) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40.42339, -76.08816 | gravel | 2,800 |
| 2 | 40.42044, -76.07772 | gravel | 6,750 |
| 3 | 40.41659, -76.09431 | grass | 1,620 |
| 4 | 40.41605, -76.08572 | ||
| 5 | 40.41551, -76.06258 | gravel | 1,400 |
| 6 | 40.41328, -76.05494 | dirt | 400 |
| 7 | 40.41219, -76.05687 | dirt | 7,000 |
| 8 | 40.41165, -76.04388 | gravel | 9,000 |
| 9 | 40.40983, -76.07820 | gravel | 1,200 |
| 10 | 40.40760, -76.06446 | grass | 6,000 |
| 11 | 40.40041, -76.03590 | dirt | 9,000 |
| 12 | 40.39786, -76.03929 | grass | 3,600 |
| 13 | 40.39368, -76.03492 | gravel | 16,500 |
| 14 | 40.39310, -76.04367 | gravel | 4,500 |
| 15 | 40.37969, -76.06197 | gravel | 12,500 |
| 16 | 40.37574, -76.06564 | grass | 6,250 |
| 17 | 40.37086, -76.07022 | gravel | 7,500 |
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 280 are open to vehicles?
PGC's road layer shows no seasonally opened road on SGL 280.
PGC also maps 11 miles of game land road on SGL 280 that is closed to public vehicles. PGC's road layer counts 5.9 miles of road open to public traffic through or along the game lands. PGC records 20 gates here.
PGC marks 1 disabled person route on SGL 280 (1 mile), for hunters who hold PGC's disabled person permit.
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 280 in, and what is taken there?
SGL 280 lies wholly in WMU 5B. 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 5B | 2,552 | 10,257 (2025-26) | 19,819 (2025-26) | 2 (2024) |
In WMU 5B, 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 280?
Highways through the game lands: PA 183. Highways within five miles: PA 183, US 422, US 222, PA 61 and PA 724. Nearest towns: Bernville (next to it), Wernersville (3 miles), Spring Ridge (3 miles) and Penn State Berks (3 miles).
PGC's land records for SGL 280: PGC real estate, SGL 280.
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 280?
PGC maps 17 parking areas on SGL 280: 9 gravel, 4 grass, 3 dirt and 1 not recorded. The largest PGC lists is about 16,500 square feet, at 40.3937, -76.0349. Every lot's coordinates are in the table on this page.
What WMU is State Game Lands 280 in?
All of SGL 280 is in WMU 5B. PGC estimates 10,257 antlered and 19,819 antlerless deer were taken in the whole WMU in 2025-26.
Can you drive on the roads in SGL 280?
PGC's road layer shows no road on SGL 280 that it opens to vehicles by season. It shows 11 miles of game land road closed to public vehicles. 5.9 miles of road through the game lands is open to traffic.
Can you camp on State Game Lands 280?
No. PGC does not allow camping on any State Game Lands, SGL 280 included. The nearest town is Bernville, 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.