State Game Lands 281: hunting, parking and access
State Game Lands 281 is 1,648 acres owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission in Perry County, inside WMU 4B. PGC's maps show 6 parking areas and 4 gates. The game lands are in 2 separate pieces; the largest is 1,643 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 landsState parkSGL 281PGC parkingWMU lineHighway
| Size | 1,648 acres, measured from PGC's boundary |
|---|---|
| Counties | Perry |
| WMU | WMU 4B |
| PGC region | Southcentral Region (office in Huntingdon) |
| Parking areas | 6 (4 gravel, 1 grass and 1 dirt) |
| Game land roads closed to public vehicles | 2.7 miles |
| Gates | 4 |
| Separate tracts | 2 (largest 1,643 acres) |
| Nearest towns | Newport (2 mi), New Buffalo (4 mi) and Duncannon (5 mi) |
Where do you park on SGL 281?
PGC maps 6 parking areas on State Game Lands 281, listed north to south. Surfaces: 4 gravel, 1 grass and 1 dirt.
| Lot | Latitude, longitude | Surface | Size (square feet) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40.47582, -77.04875 | dirt | 5,500 |
| 2 | 40.47444, -77.07944 | grass | 6,500 |
| 3 | 40.47374, -77.06642 | gravel | 1,200 |
| 4 | 40.47018, -77.07407 | gravel | 4,400 |
| 5 | 40.45831, -77.08465 | gravel | 8,000 |
| 6 | 40.45651, -77.09390 | gravel | 7,000 |
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 281 are open to vehicles?
PGC's road layer shows no seasonally opened road on SGL 281.
PGC also maps 2.7 miles of game land road on SGL 281 that is closed to public vehicles. PGC's road layer counts 4.5 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 281 in, and what is taken there?
SGL 281 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 | 1,648 | 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 281?
Highways within five miles: US 322, US 22, PA 34, US 11, US 15 and PA 849. Nearest towns: Newport (2 miles), New Buffalo (4 miles), Duncannon (5 miles) and Bloomfield (5 miles).
PGC's land records for SGL 281: PGC real estate, SGL 281.
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 281?
PGC maps 6 parking areas on SGL 281: 4 gravel, 1 grass and 1 dirt. The largest PGC lists is about 8,000 square feet, at 40.4583, -77.0846. Every lot's coordinates are in the table on this page.
What WMU is State Game Lands 281 in?
All of SGL 281 is in WMU 4B. PGC estimates 6,700 antlered and 14,394 antlerless deer were taken in the whole WMU in 2025-26.
Can you drive on the roads in SGL 281?
PGC's road layer shows no road on SGL 281 that it opens to vehicles by season. It shows 2.7 miles of game land road closed to public vehicles. 4.5 miles of road through the game lands is open to traffic.
Can you camp on State Game Lands 281?
No. PGC does not allow camping on any State Game Lands, SGL 281 included. The nearest town is Newport, 2 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.