Pennsylvania State Game Lands are public property managed by the Pennsylvania Game Commission for hunting, fishing, and other recreation uses. More than 42,000 acres of State Game lands are in Centre County, the second highest in the commonwealth behind only Elk County.
Pennsylvania has been acquiring State Game Lands since 1920 under a law passed the previous year. State Game Lands typically have been deemed unsuitable for farming or residential development. The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) has purchased some of the lands from previous owners, while others were donated.
The Game Lands are an important part of the state’s efforts to curb overhunting and ensure hunting and fishing opportunities in perpetuity. During the settlement era, newcomers were dependent on Pennsylvania’s natural game for food, and by the late nineteenth century the commonwealth’s native animal population was largely depleted. Animal populations had also been decimated by the state’s history of deforestation.
In 1890, seeking to ensure a plentiful quantity for hunters, John M. Phillips founded the Pennsylvania Sportsmen’s Association to lobby for the protection and management of game animal populations. These efforts led to the formation of the PGC in 1895, followed two years later by state laws that limited hunting of certain species, particularly deer and waterfowl.
A bill enabling the collection of fees for hunting/fishing licenses was passed in 1913, with the resulting funds earmarked to pay “Game Protectors” (now known as Wildlife Conservation Officers). In the following years, funds were also used to import game animals from Canada and the western United States. This included a population of elk, imported by train from Yellowstone National Park, to replenish the native Pennsylvania elk that had been hunted nearly to extinction..
The first purchase under the 1919 law was for what is now State Game Lands #25 in Elk County. As of 2026, the PGC has preserved more than 1.5 million acres of land across Pennsylvania. These lands are protected from encroachment by developers and unauthorized vehicles. Such restrictions are based on the wildlife management goals and licensing procedures of the PGC, and they are different from the protections granted to State Forests and State Parks, which are managed by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Management of State Game Lands and their waterways is funded by the license fees paid by hunters and fishermen. Recreational users are permitted to visit State Game Lands for purposes such as hiking and berry-picking. However, they must make way for licensed hunters and fishermen, and they must take extra caution during the hunting seasons for deer and bears. Only license holders are allowed to camp on State Game Lands, except for backpackers on some segments of the Appalachian Trail. Many of Pennsylvania’s other long-distance backpacking trails, such as the Mid State Trail, pass through segments of State Game Lands.
State Game Lands tracts are designated with numbers. Six parcels of State Game Lands are entirely with Centre County. Four other parcels are shared between the county and surrounding counties.
The largest tract within Centre County is #33 in the southwestern corner of the county near Philipsburg. State Game Lands #176 just west of State College includes the unique Scotia Barrens ecozone and the ghost town of Scotia. The county’s State Game Lands include:
- #33 (17.583 acres; south of Philipsburg)
- #92 (5,279 acres; near Bald Eagle State Park)
- #103 (8,993 acres; northwest of Unionville)
- #176 (6,446 acres; west of State College)
- #323 (2,967 acres; southwest of Howard)
- #333 (1,210 acres; in Spring Creek Canyon)
State Game Lands #60, 100, 255, and 295 include some acreage in Centre County and are shared with surrounding counties.
Ben Cramer
Sources:
Center for Rural Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania State Game Lands, 2018, https://www.rural.pa.gov/datagram/365/Pennsylvania-State-Game-Lands-2018. (Accessed September 29, 2026)
Cramer, Ben. Guide to the Elk Trail plus the Fred Woods Trail. Spring Mills, PA: Scott Adams Enterprises, 2015.
Kosack, Joe. The Pennsylvania Game Commission, 1895-1995: 100 Years of Wildlife Conservation. Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania Game Commission, 1995.
Pennsylvania Game Commission. State Game Lands Information. https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pgc/huntingandtrapping/where-to-hunt/state-game-lands. (Accessed September 29, 2026)
Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. Scotia Barrens, https://www.naturalheritage.state.pa.us/cnhi/cnhi/Scotia%20Barrens.pdf. (Accessed September 29, 2026)
First Published: September 30, 2026