State Game Lands 97: hunting, parking and access
State Game Lands 97 is 7,587 acres owned by the Pennsylvania Game Commission in Bedford County, inside WMU 4A. PGC's maps show 17 parking areas and 15 gates.
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 forestSGL 97PGC parkingWMU lineHighway
| Size | 7,587 acres, measured from PGC's boundary |
|---|---|
| Counties | Bedford |
| WMU | WMU 4A |
| PGC region | Southcentral Region (office in Huntingdon) |
| Parking areas | 17 (9 gravel, 7 grass and 1 dirt) |
| Game land roads closed to public vehicles | 14 miles |
| Gates | 15 |
| Nearest towns | Earlston (next to it), Rainsburg (next to it) and Everett (2 mi) |
Where do you park on SGL 97?
PGC maps 17 parking areas on State Game Lands 97, listed north to south. Surfaces: 9 gravel, 7 grass and 1 dirt.
| Lot | Latitude, longitude | Surface | Size (square feet) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40.00223, -78.40589 | gravel | 4,200 |
| 2 | 40.00140, -78.40614 | grass | 3,300 |
| 3 | 39.99799, -78.41050 | grass | 2,400 |
| 4 | 39.99709, -78.41236 | gravel | 1,200 |
| 5 | 39.99661, -78.38901 | gravel | 6,942 |
| 6 | 39.99628, -78.41980 | gravel | 2,000 |
| 7 | 39.95165, -78.45700 | grass | 5,625 |
| 8 | 39.94972, -78.44936 | gravel | 2,128 |
| 9 | 39.91026, -78.49218 | gravel | 2,520 |
| 10 | 39.89808, -78.45162 | grass | 2,400 |
| 11 | 39.88637, -78.46545 | gravel | 3,500 |
| 12 | 39.87726, -78.45313 | dirt | 800 |
| 13 | 39.86964, -78.49303 | grass | 2,500 |
| 14 | 39.86438, -78.47389 | gravel | 4,500 |
| 15 | 39.86386, -78.49717 | grass | 4,445 |
| 16 | 39.86219, -78.50213 | grass | 8,125 |
| 17 | 39.85371, -78.50418 | gravel | 5,184 |
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 97 are open to vehicles?
PGC's road layer shows no seasonally opened road on SGL 97.
PGC also maps 14 miles of game land road on SGL 97 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 15 gates here.
Named trails PGC maps on SGL 97: Mid-State Trail.
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 97 in, and what is taken there?
SGL 97 lies wholly in WMU 4A. 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 4A | 7,587 | 5,005 (2025-26) | 8,523 (2025-26) | 71 (2024) |
In WMU 4A, 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 97?
Highways through the game lands: PA 326. Highways within five miles: US 30, I-76, I-70, PA 26, PA 326 and US 220. Nearest towns: Earlston (next to it), Rainsburg (next to it), Everett (2 miles) and Clearville (3 miles).
PGC's land records for SGL 97: PGC real estate, SGL 97.
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 97?
PGC maps 17 parking areas on SGL 97: 9 gravel, 7 grass and 1 dirt. The largest PGC lists is about 8,125 square feet, at 39.8622, -78.5021. Every lot's coordinates are in the table on this page.
What WMU is State Game Lands 97 in?
All of SGL 97 is in WMU 4A. PGC estimates 5,005 antlered and 8,523 antlerless deer were taken in the whole WMU in 2025-26.
Can you drive on the roads in SGL 97?
PGC's road layer shows no road on SGL 97 that it opens to vehicles by season. It shows 14 miles of game land road closed to public vehicles. 10 miles of road through the game lands is open to traffic.
Can you camp on State Game Lands 97?
No. PGC does not allow camping on any State Game Lands, SGL 97 included. The nearest town is Earlston, 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.