June Is National Camping Month: Celebrate In Pennsylvania

From Ridley Creek to the Lehigh River Gorge to the wild and scenic Allegheny, Pennsylvania's is full of natural bounty and wonder.

And as June is National Camping Month in Pennsylvania, it's the last weekend

Out of Pennsylvania's 121 state parks, 68 of them permit overnight camping.

Several of these sites are in the Philadelphia area, including:

• Ridley Creek State Park
• Evansburg State Park
• French Creek State Park

For a full list of campgrounds, see here.

In addition, more primitive options exist in the vast 2.2 million acres of state forest throughout the Keystone State.

For those who do not wish to sleep on the ground, many state parks offer rustic cabin lodgings. The Nature Inn at Bald Eagle offers a slightly more luxurious alternative, while still being located within state park lands.

And for true beginners, Pennsylvania state parks also offer a unique new program: the First Time Camper Program. Through this initiative, nine different state parks allow first time campers to stay for two nights at a state park while borrowing camping gear and receiving guidance and instructions from camping experts.

According to the Governor's office, about 40 million people go camping in the United States each year.