2.1 percent of Pennsylvania. Forest Service 514,183, Park Service 53,876, Defense 24,840, Fish and Wildlife 15,897, and the Bureau of Land Management none at all
Established in 1923 in the north-west corner. The Congressional Research Service counts 514,183 Forest Service acres statewide, effectively all of it this one forest
Somerset County, inside Forbes State Forest. A 3D Elevation Program query at the USGS coordinates returns 3,209 feet. The low point is sea level on the Delaware
Of Pine Creek Gorge, the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania 26
18 mi
A 12,163-acre natural area, over 1,000 feet deep from rim to creek and more than a mile wide in places. A National Natural Landmark since 1968
Acres in Sproul, the largest state forest district 17
305,450
Slightly more than 476 square miles, in western Clinton and northern Centre counties, with more than 300 miles of road inside it
Acres in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area 52
70,000+
The largest block of Park Service ground in the state, with 40 miles of the Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River and over 20 miles of Appalachian Trail
Tier 1 already bans motorhomes, motorcycles and any passenger vehicle towing a trailer. Tier 5 leaves the road to emergency responders
Skills Pennsylvania tests
Long-distance gravel driving at a sustained 25 miles per hour, reading a Public Use Map against what is in front of you, reversing a loaded vehicle a long way on a single-lane road, and mud and water work after a wet spring. Add winching to trees on soft ground, because that is what is available.
For riders, the state writes some of the curriculum: helmets are required by law, no one under 8 may operate an ATV, ages 8 to 15 need a safety certificate, and highway crossings must be made at roughly 90 degrees after a complete stop.
Training is the cheapest upgrade there is. It costs less than a bumper, weighs nothing, and works on every vehicle you will ever own.
Common courses
01Driving: line choice, throttle and brake control, airing down, spotting
02Recovery: safe rigging, winching and kinetic recovery
03Field repair: tires, fluids, electrical faults and improvised fixes
04Navigation and communication
05Wilderness first aid
How to choose a course
Small classes and real terrain.
01Ask about class size and how much time you spend driving rather than watching.
02Ask whether you train in your own vehicle. You should.
03Ask about the instructors' certification and how long they have been teaching.
04Ask what terrain the course uses, and what to bring.
Why it is worth it
A trained driver breaks less, gets stuck less and recovers more safely. Most vehicle damage on the trail comes from speed and poor line choice, and most recovery injuries come from rigging that someone guessed at.
Questions people ask
I have driven dirt roads for years. Is a course worth it?
Most experienced drivers say the recovery day alone was worth it. Rigging a winch pull safely is not something to work out for the first time when you are stuck.
Do I need a built vehicle to attend?
No. Most introductory courses are designed for stock four-wheel-drive vehicles, and learning what a stock vehicle can do is the point.
How high is Pennsylvania?
From Milford at 493 feet to Mount Davis at 3,213.
Altitude decides what your engine, your brakes and your lungs have to work with, and how late in the year the passes open.
02,0004,000
Feet above sea level
Towns
SomersetSomerset County at 2,178 feet, the highest county seat in this guide. Mount Davis, the state high point, is south of town in Forbes State Forest.2,178 ft
KaneOn US 6 at 2,031 feet, between the Longhouse byway and Kinzua Bridge State Park. The highest town in the northern half of this guide.2,031 ft
MarienvilleForest County, and the town the 14-mile Marienville ATV and off-highway motorcycle trail is named for. Forest Road 401 runs to its trailhead.1,735 ft
CoudersportPotter County seat and the Susquehannock State Forest district office, which runs 170 miles of forest road and the 43-mile Susquehannock ATV trail.1,653 ft
BradfordMcKean County, on the north edge of the Allegheny National Forest. The Bradford Ranger Station is one of the stops on the Longhouse byway loop.1,449 ft
RidgwayElk County seat on the Clarion River, between the south end of the Allegheny National Forest and the elk range.1,422 ft
GaletonOn US 6 in the gap between the Susquehannock and Tioga forests, one county west of where the Northcentral Regional ATV Trail puts its preferred route.1,318 ft
WellsboroTioga State Forest district office. Route 660 runs ten miles west and dead ends at the east rim of Pine Creek Gorge.1,303 ft
WarrenAllegheny National Forest supervisor’s office, on the Allegheny River below Kinzua Dam. Last full-service town before the reservoir road system.1,186 ft
EmporiumCameron County seat and the Elk State Forest district office. West end of the 75-mile Bucktail drive on PA 120.1,025 ft
McConnellsburgFulton County seat and the Buchanan State Forest district office, near the Martin Hill and Sideling Hill ATV trails.886 ft
RenovoClinton County, on the Bucktail drive in the middle of Sproul, the largest state forest district in Pennsylvania.661 ft
HuntingdonRothrock State Forest district office, and the nearest town of size to Raystown Lake and its Corps of Engineers campgrounds.633 ft
Lock HavenWhere the Bucktail drive ends and the Elk Scenic Drive picks up, on the West Branch of the Susquehanna at 560 feet.560 ft
WilliamsportLycoming County, the largest town near Tiadaghton State Forest and its 260-plus miles of road. Real service before the plateau.520 ft
MilfordPike County, the Delaware State Forest district office and the north end of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, where US 209 runs the Pennsylvania bank.493 ft
Passes, high roads and summits
Mount DavisThe highest point in Pennsylvania, in Forbes State Forest in Somerset County. A 3D Elevation Program query at the USGS coordinates for the summit returns 3,209 feet3,213 ft
Mount DavisMount Davis and the Forbes tracts: Fifteen separate tracts across Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland counties, south of Somerset3,213 ft
Pass, road and summit elevations are the figures published by the agency that manages them. Town elevations are the town’s or county’s own
figure where it publishes an exact one; the rest are from the U.S. Geological Survey (3D Elevation Program at the place’s official coordinates),
retrieved September 18, 2026. Every source is listed at the foot of the page.
