Willow Bay

Willow Bay is located within the Allegheny National Recreation Area, about 16 miles from Bradford, in northwestern Pennsylvania. It is primarily an accessible family campground that also offers rustic cabins year-round, with modern amenities including flush toilets and showers. Most campsites and cabins can be accessed by vehicle; some campsites are walk-to. Visitors enjoy water sports, including boating, water skiing, swimming and sailing on the 12,080-acre, man-made Allegheny Reservoir, where anglers can find walleye, bass and musky. A courtesy dock is provided at the boat launch for easier loading and unloading during the summer season, and kayak and canoe rentals are available on site, first come, first serve. The North Country Trail can be accessed from the campground and cabin area; part of the National Scenic Trail system, it wanders 4,600 miles across seven states and 12 national forests through America's rugged northern heartlands. It is open to hikers only: no bicycles of any kind, no riding or pack stock, and no motorized travel. The area offers excellent wildlife viewing, as well as birding and photography opportunities. The campground is comprised of four loops, some with walk-to tent campsites and others with back-in RV sites with electric hookups. Each site offers a table and a campfire ring with grill. Accessible flush and vault toilets, showers and drinking water are provided, and some sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Shower houses and water are on from April 1 to October 30, and firewood and ice are available for purchase on-site during peak season, April through October. Each one-room, 10ft x 12ft cabin contains a double bed and a set of bunks, with mattresses, to sleep up to four or six guests. The cabins have electricity and heat, but there is no running water and no kitchen or bathroom inside, so guests use the campground facilities. Cabins also have access to an outdoor table, campfire ring and pedestal grill, and each has a covered front porch with a porch swing. Guests staying at a cabin will need to bring their own bedding, including blankets, pillows and/or sleeping bags, as well as their own cooking and eating supplies, food and other camping equipment. Built in the 1960s by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, the campground has an open appearance unlike other Forest Service facilities in the area; it was recently renovated, and cabins were erected at the site between 2003 and 2011. The campground and cabins are situated on the shore of Willow Bay, off the Allegheny Reservoir, which is also called Kinzua Reservoir, in forested hills at an elevation of 1,400 feet. Campsites vary from being on grass with no shade to being nestled in small stands of mature hemlock, and the cabins sit in the surrounding forest. The Seneca-Iroquois Indian Museum and the Salamanca Rail Museum are popular historic sites just over the state line in Salamanca, New York, about a half-hour drive from the campground and cabin area. The Zippo/Case Museum, in nearby Bradford, Pennsylvania, showcases the history and products of the Zippo, Case and Ronson companies; it is open 7 days a week except New Year's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, and admission is free.