State Game Lands 79: hunting, parking and access
State Game Lands 79 is 11,705 acres owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission in Cambria County and Indiana County, across WMUs 2E and 2C. PGC's maps show 24 parking areas, 28 gates and 2.5 miles of game land road that PGC opens to vehicles at set times of year. The game lands are in 19 separate pieces; the largest is 5,215 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 forestState parkNational Park ServiceSGL 79PGC parkingRoad open seasonallyWMU lineHighway
| Size | 11,705 acres, measured from PGC's boundary (PGC's records list 10,597) |
|---|---|
| Counties | Cambria and Indiana |
| WMU | WMU 2E (10,762 acres), WMU 2C (942 acres) |
| PGC region | Southwest Region (office in Bolivar) |
| Parking areas | 24 (16 gravel, 5 dirt and 3 grass) |
| Roads open seasonally | 2.5 miles on 2 roads |
| Game land roads closed to public vehicles | 1.7 miles |
| Gates | 28 |
| Separate tracts | 19 (largest 5,215 acres) |
| Nearest towns | Vintondale (next to it), Twin Rocks (next to it) and South Fork (next to it) |
Where do you park on SGL 79?
PGC maps 24 parking areas on State Game Lands 79, listed north to south. Surfaces: 16 gravel, 5 dirt and 3 grass.
| Lot | Latitude, longitude | Surface | Size (square feet) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40.53962, -78.97610 | gravel | 4,000 |
| 2 | 40.53960, -79.00229 | gravel | 2,000 |
| 3 | 40.53001, -78.98533 | gravel | 1,600 |
| 4 | 40.50548, -78.89178 | gravel | 3,000 |
| 5 | 40.49522, -78.85840 | gravel | 2,000 |
| 6 | 40.48981, -78.88149 | gravel | |
| 7 | 40.48831, -78.89526 | gravel | 6,000 |
| 8 | 40.48813, -78.79444 | gravel | |
| 9 | 40.48516, -78.84909 | grass | |
| 10 | 40.48463, -78.79529 | dirt | 2,860 |
| 11 | 40.48399, -78.88376 | gravel | 900 |
| 12 | 40.48304, -78.88861 | gravel | 1,800 |
| 13 | 40.48065, -78.86770 | gravel | |
| 14 | 40.47703, -78.90351 | dirt | |
| 15 | 40.46815, -78.90568 | gravel | 1,800 |
| 16 | 40.46308, -78.91762 | gravel | |
| 17 | 40.46196, -78.81315 | gravel | 1,200 |
| 18 | 40.46143, -78.81060 | gravel | 5,000 |
| 19 | 40.45818, -78.92719 | dirt | 1,000 |
| 20 | 40.44753, -78.79883 | grass | 3,000 |
| 21 | 40.44087, -78.91337 | dirt | 6,000 |
| 22 | 40.43819, -78.92719 | grass | |
| 23 | 40.43610, -78.90821 | dirt | 3,600 |
| 24 | 40.37942, -78.81907 | 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 79 are open to vehicles?
PGC opens 2 roads on SGL 79 to vehicles at set times of year, 2.5 miles in all. Outside those times they are closed to public vehicles.
| Road | Miles | When PGC opens it |
|---|---|---|
| Unnamed Rd | 1.9 | See PGC's schedule below |
| Brackens Dip Rd | 0.6 | See PGC's schedule below |
PGC's words: "Opened two weeks before archery until two weeks after late flintlock season"
PGC also maps 1.7 miles of game land road on SGL 79 that is closed to public vehicles. PGC's road layer counts 0.1 mile of road open to public traffic through or along the game lands. PGC records 28 gates here.
Named trails PGC maps on SGL 79: Ghost Town Trail / Rails To Trails.
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 79 in, and what is taken there?
SGL 79 lies across 2 WMUs. 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 2E | 10,762 | 7,709 (2025-26) | 12,476 (2025-26) | 53 (2024) |
| WMU 2C | 942 | 11,407 (2025-26) | 22,899 (2025-26) | 102 (2024) |
In WMU 2E, 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. In WMU 2C, 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 79?
Highways through the game lands: US 22 and PA 271. Highways within five miles: US 219, US 22, PA 271, PA 403, US 422 and PA 56. Nearest towns: Vintondale (next to it), Twin Rocks (next to it), South Fork (next to it) and Ehrenfeld (next to it).
PGC's land records for SGL 79: PGC real estate, SGL 79.
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 79?
PGC maps 24 parking areas on SGL 79: 16 gravel, 5 dirt and 3 grass. The largest PGC lists is about 6,000 square feet, at 40.4409, -78.9134. Every lot's coordinates are in the table on this page.
What WMU is State Game Lands 79 in?
SGL 79 lies across WMU 2E (10,762 acres) and WMU 2C (942 acres). Seasons and antlerless licenses follow the WMU the ground is in.
When are the roads on SGL 79 open to vehicles?
PGC lists 2 roads on SGL 79 as open seasonally, 2.5 miles in all. For Unnamed Rd, PGC's note reads: "Opened two weeks before archery until two weeks after late flintlock season"
Can you camp on State Game Lands 79?
No. PGC does not allow camping on any State Game Lands, SGL 79 included. The nearest town is Vintondale, next to the game lands, by the Census map of places.
Get a Pennsylvania hunt plan when they open
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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.