Legend-ary Travel: Tuttle Point - Pymatuning State Park, Pennsylvania

August 12, 2024

When I was growing up, my family used to camp at Pymatuning State Park in Pennsylvania. There are 3 campgrounds - Jamestown, Linesville and Tuttle Point. My favorite was Tuttle Point for it's woodsy atmosphere and it's camp store where I could by candy, plastic parachute men and popsicles. Tuttle Point sadly closed in October or 2009 due to operational costs being too high due to it's outdated water treatment facilities. I was happy when I had learned that it had received a renovation and was opening again in April of 2024. I booked us a site for our anniversary in July.

The park was reduced in size by one camping loop. That road to that loop remained and was turned into a bike and walking loop. The camp store that I had such fond childhood memories was gone. But honestly, I am no longer looking for candy - though I may have purchased a plastic parachute man for nostalgia. The park is wonderful. There is a nice distance between sites and they all look to be level which is a rarity. The bathrooms and shower houses have changed with the growing times of RVs and travel trailer. I only counted 4 tents and 2 pop ups in the entire campground. Instead of a men and women's side with facilities and showers, each circle has a smaller building that houses 4 individual restrooms and shower rooms as well as a laundry room.

Sitting on the lake the campground has 3 docks on the top circle. One is by the outdoor amphitheater and the other two are at the boat launch. We went kayaking there, even though there was no kayak launch, it was easy to put in. Kenobi decided to jump off the dock and into the water as soon as he could see the bottom. Unfortunately, he was wearing his walking harness and leash at the time. It took the full day to get them to dry out. It was a very peaceful and quiet stay nestled beneath the trees in the upper circle. The lower camping circle had more direct sun. The night sky was filled with bursts of twinkling stars against the black sky. Though, we could only see them on our night time walk as we were under a canopy of trees.

We stayed for a long weekend over our 32nd wedding anniversary. Bruce made a fantastic steak and smashed potatoes dinner to rival any restaurant. I brought French silk and a raspberry cheesecake jar desserts in a jar from a local bakery, Kevin's Always Mixing. We spent the days relaxing by playing games, visiting the dog friendly Gatehouse Winery. Beside falling in love with their Vermentino wine, they treated Kenobi like a king bringing him a bowl of water and treats. We visited the Pymatuning Dam and gatehouse and learned about it's history. Crazy that I camped there for dozens of years and didn't know the history. We took a lovely paddle along the lake's edge and saw fish jumping, lily pads and a bald eagle. It always renews my spirit to be in nature. I was happy when my mother and her friend Nancy stopped over for dinner and a visit on our last night. It was great to reminisce about old camping memories.