Little Buffalo State Park

Little Buffalo State Park is a 923 acre park just outside Newport, Pennsylvania.  The park is site of Shoaff's mill, Clay's Covered bridge, and Blue Ball Tavern.  Like many Pennsylvania state parks, Little Buffalo State Park was associated with a charcoal burning ironworks.  Little Buffalo was the site of Juniata Iron Works (1808-1848) with the furnace site just south of the park.  Shoaff's mill, a water powered gristmill, provided flour and cornmeal as part of the ironworks community.  The mill was in operation from 1840 to 1940 and has one of the largest water wheels east of the Mississippi.  Clay's covered Bridge originally crossed Little Buffalo Creek about 1 mile from its present location. Built in 1890, it was moved in 1971 due to construction of Holman Lake.  Blue Ball tavern is a museum and library on the history of Perry County Pennsylvania.  The current farmhouse was built on the original foundation of the tavern.  The tavern offered food, drink, lodging, meeting space, and news for locals and travelers from 1811 to 1841.  The 88 acre Holman Lake contains largemouth bass, catfish, panfish, trout, and muskellunge.  A swimming pool is located at the West Day Use Area.  The park educator is is great and can often be found on weekends at the mill.

Feature Summary

• Official website: https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/LittleBuffaloStatePark/Pages/default.aspx
• Campsites: 46 sites: full, electric, non-electric.  3 rustic cottages.  1 Lodge
• Firewood availability: At the entrance to the campground
• Bath Facilities: Modern Bath facilities, Dish wash sinks
• Hiking: 8 mi
• Other Activities: Swimming (for fee), Canoeing/Kayaking, Fishing
• Cellphone reception: Good
• Dates We Visited: 7/2019, 10/2020, 10/2021, 7/2022, 10/2023, 10/2024

Camping

Little Buffalo campground is a small 46 site campground on the side of the hill.  The sites vary from full service, electric with water, and non-electric sites.  The sites are pet friendly.  Most of the sites are level and vary from full sun to wooded.  The campground road was paved in 2024.  The bath facilities are up the hill from the campground.  A sanitary dump station is located next to the bath facilities.

Note that as of 2024, the water is still turned off at the campsites due to a water issue.

Hiking

Blue Ball Trail (0.25 mi, easiest hiking(ADA), out and back): Park at the East Day use area.  The Blue Ball Trail is a paved trail that connects the Blue Ball Tavern to the East Day Use Area.

Campground Spur (0.5 mi, more difficult hiking, out and back): The trail head is located near the campground entrance by the extra vehicle parking.  The Campground Spur connects the campground with the Middle Ridge Trail.  It passes by a pond with panfish and bass.  

Covered Bridge Trail (0.25 mi, Easiest hiking, out and back): Park at the East Day Use Area.  The Cover Bridge Trail is a gravel trail that passes from the East Day Use Area through Clays Covered Bridge to Shoaff's Mill.

Fisherman's Trail (1 mi., Easiest Trail, Out and Back):   The Fisherman's trail is an easy gravel trail that connects the West Day Use Area to the East Day Use Area.  You can park at either the West Day Use Area or the East Day Use Area.

Little Buffalo Creek Trail (1 mi, Easiest Hiking, Loop): Park at the West Day Use Area.  Little Buffalo Creek Trail is an easy hike that starts at Pavilion 1 and 2 and follows along the creek through forest, wetland, shrubland, and meadows.

Middle Ridge Trail (2.5 mi, most difficult hiking, Connector):  The middle ridge trail is a difficult trail the runs from east to west of the park.  It includes several elevation changes.  There are a few open field areas where Holman Lake may be seen along the trail.  We accessed the Middle Ridge Trail from the Campground spur and hiked approximately half of the trail each time.

Mill Race Trail (0.5 mi. Easiest Hiking, Connector): Park at the East Day Use Area.  The Mill Race Trail is an easy trail that follows the mill race from Mill Dam to Shoaff's Mill.  You can make the trail a loop with Clays Covered Bridge trail.

Events

Apple Festival: Held the 3rd weekend of October, this fall festival is great for kids and adults alike.  The mill is open grinding corn and pressing apples for apple cider.  Numerous vendors  and food trucks are present in the day use area.  

Christmas Walk: Held on the 3rd weekend in December, this family oriented activity features thousands of lights and holiday cutouts as you stroll through the East Picnic Area.