Agency-listedPA DCNR Bureau of Forestry - Buchanan State Forest · dispersedFee
Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV014 Nester Lot
Drive-up · Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry · PA · 39.86142, -78.52896
Ask an AI about this campsiteOpens Grok already loaded with this site. It reads the same records this page is built from, and links whatever it tells you.
Ask about this camp →Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
DCNR records: picnic table, trailer access, 2 vehicle(s).
USGS topo — contours & terrain
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Weather outlook — at Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV014 Nester Lot
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 2,308 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV014 Nester LotNIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.
Everything you need — measured from Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV014 Nester Lot · Buchanan State Forest · PA
▲ your camp. Rings are 15, 30 and 60 straight-line miles; bearings are approximate and roads run longer.
Nearest of each
- FFuel10 mi
- GGrocery10 mi
- @Mail10 mi
- RxPharmacy11 mi
- HHardware11 mi
- MMechanic11 mi
- +Urgent care11 mi
- ShShower12 mi
- EVEV fast charger13 mi
- OOutfitter14 mi
- LLaundry18 mi
- WWater19 mi
- DDump22 mi
- PPropane23 mi
- AAir-up40 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water
The read: water's a short hop out, fuel & food sit about 10 mi out.
One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗
The site — Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV014 Nester Lot
Access
Drive-up
Land
Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry · dispersed
Elevation
2,308 ft
Ground slope
7.9% · gentle
State
PA
Coordinates
39.86142, -78.52896
Cost
Fee
Nearby & resupply — around Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV014 Nester Lot · Buchanan State Forest · PA (OpenStreetMap)
- Water featureSweet Root Run · ~0.6 mi · USGS: intermittent stream
- Also mapped (OSM)Cove Creek (stream) · mapped within 1.6 mi
- Nearest townRainsburg · ~2.4 mi
- Rail & highwaynone mapped within 10 mi
- Drinking waternone within 10 mi
- FuelFuel · ~11.1 mi
- Propane / LPGSuburban Propane · ~23.0 mi
- Dump station~22.2 mi
- GroceriesGiant Eagle · ~11.0 mi
- PharmacyIckes Drug Store · ~10.9 mi
- Hospital / clinicUPMC Bedford · ~12.4 mi
- HardwareTrue Value Hardware Of Cumberland · ~19.1 mi
EV charging — from Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV014 Nester Lot · Buchanan State Forest · PA — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)
- Nearest public DC fast charger13.2 mi straight-line SW — POTOMAC EDISON ROCKY GAP DC1, Flinstone, MD · ChargePoint Network · CHAdeMO, CCS · 1 fast port listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: 24 hours daily · directions
- Public DC fast stations within reach15 within 25 mi · 58 within 50 · 368 within 100 · 808 within 150
- Nearest listing NACS (Tesla)18.1 mi — Breezewood, PA - Tesla Supercharger, Breezewood
- Nearest public Level 2 (J1772)12.7 mi — Bedford Ford (at a public site) · RED_E · J1772 · 2 Level 2 ports listed · listed open, last confirmed by AFDC 2026-09-16 · hours: not listed
- Pricing at the fast chargernot listed
- Power (kW)not listed by AFDC — “DC fast” spans roughly 24 to 350 kW, so ask the network.
- Read this honestlyStraight-line miles, like every distance on this site. Roads run longer than this, and you have to get back. We know where a charger is listed. We don’t know if it works today, how fast it is, or the road miles. Check the network before you commit.
Snapshot 2026-09-16 · AFDC record 260427 · US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center
Nearby restrooms — around Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV014 Nester Lot · Buchanan State Forest · PA — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)
- Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 63 · ~11.8 mi N
- Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 57 · ~11.9 mi N
- Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 1 · ~16.1 mi E
- Highway rest areaNHS Rest Stop or Truck Facility 25 · ~16.5 mi SE
Coming out here — Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV014 Nester Lot · Buchanan State Forest · PA
- Surface water mapped nearby: USGS maps Sweet Root Run as an intermittent stream, ~0.6 mi from the pin (National Hydrography Dataset, data refreshed October 2022). Mapped as intermittent — expect it dry for part of the year. Nobody has checked it for you. Filter or boil anything you drink.
- Ground slope around the pin: about 7.9% — gentle. Measured on USGS's 3DEP elevation model (1 m data here), sampled every 10 metres around the point. That is the hillside, not the ground under your wheels — a graded pullout or a bench a few metres across is too small to show up at that spacing, and nobody has checked this one for you.
- No rail line and no interstate or US route is mapped within 10 mi of the pin. Checked against the FRA/BTS North American Rail Network (data updated Jul 21, 2026) and the Census's TIGER/Line primary roads (TIGER/Line 2025, released Oct 2025). Both are national files and both are maps of what is built, not counts of what moves on it.
- Assume no services at all. Most dispersed camping in a national forest has none: no tap, no power, no dump, often no toilet. Everything you need, you bring.
- Power: Dave carries his own — batteries or solar. A generator will run your rig and it is also the thing everybody camped near you can hear.
- Getting online: Dave recommends Starlink. He has had it since SpaceX introduced it, used it for four years living on the road, and it delivers as promised — several hundred nights out, and he can count on one hand the places he could not connect. The cable on his unit runs 150 feet, which is usually all it takes to find enough sky. Starlink → Referral link — Starlink pays Dave $100 in cash if you sign up through it, and that money funds this site and the next trip. It costs you nothing and does not change the recommendation.
Open Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV014 Nester Lot elsewhere
Other camps near Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV014 Nester Lot
If this one is full, gated or washed out.
- Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV013 Refuge Trail ATV~0.9 mi · fee
- Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV022 Cabin Trail~1.1 mi · fee
- Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV021 326 Lot~1.3 mi · fee
- Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV011 Martin Hill North~1.8 mi · fee
The unit that manages Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV014 Nester Lot
Roadside campsite CV014 Nester Lot is in Buchanan State Forest, a state forest managed by PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry. Stay limits, permits, road closures and fire restrictions are set there, not at the campsite — check before you go. Its page maps every camp in it.
How we know this — Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV014 Nester Lot
Stay limit
7 nights (no more than seven consecutive nights)
Permit
You must have a valid camping permit and be at a designated campsite when roadside camping. A camping permit will not be issued to anyone under the age of 18. The permit holder must occupy the site listed on the camping permit within 24 hours of the arrival date listed on the camping permit. Most campsites in Pennsylvania state forests can be reserved 11 months in advance to noon of the day of arrival.
Area rules
Individuals must vacate a site for at least 48 hours before reapplying.
Source
public land records
Confidence
Likely — The record is good enough to put a pin on, but thin in places. Treat the details as a starting point, not gospel.
How it was placed
PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry designated campsite, Buchanan State Forest (district 2), DCNR type "Motorized". Coordinate is DCNR's own, from its public Designated Campsites layer read 2026-08-15: https://maps.dcnr.pa.gov/agsprod/rest/services/BOF/Camping/MapServer/0 (the layer behind https://maps.dcnr.pa.gov/bof/camping/). DCNR records the positional source for this point as "PaMAP". FEE. DCNR (read 2026-08-15 at https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/what-to-do/stay-overnight/overnight-prices-and-policies): "Motorized roadside, hike-in roadside, equestrian, and rustic campsites can be reserved for a fee of $10.00 a night for Pennsylvania residents and $15.00 a night for non-residents. Additional taxes and fees may apply. These prices are effective as of November 3, 2022." Reserve through the PA State Parks and Forests reservation system (888-727-2757); this site carries a reservation system ID in DCNR's layer. Stay limit: DCNR (https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/what-to-do/stay-overnight/motorized-roadside-camping) - "A camping permit will be valid for no more than seven consecutive nights." and "Individuals must vacate a site for at least 48 hours before reapplying." "Roadside camping is required to be done at designated campsites that are identified by a name or number." Fire: DCNR (https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dcnr/recreation/what-to-do/stay-overnight/backpacking-and-primitive-camping) - "No campfires are permitted when the state forest district forester determines the forest fire danger to be high, very high, or extreme." From March 1 through May 25 you must have the district's permission to have a campfire at all. Check with the district before you go. DCNR Permit field: Yes. DCNR description: "Buchanan State Forest. Located on Blankley Road, Bedford at the Sweet Root Trail intersection. Gravel and grass parking lot that will hold 1 camper trailer or 2 vehicles with tents. Ideal for access to Sweet Root Natural Area. Visit the PA State Parks and Forests Reservation System to reserve and view additional details." DCNR note: "<Null>" Not field-checked by us. Seasonal road closures and district-level restrictions are not in this layer - check with the district office. Nearest USGS GNIS populated place: Rainsburg, about 2.4 mi straight-line. | auto:agency-trust 2026-08-18: state agency GIS record with a source URL and coordinates, confidence not low. Fee value is the agency's own, not field-checked. Not field-verified -- confirm access, road conditions and fire rules before you go.
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.
What we don’t know about Buchanan State Forest roadside campsite CV014 Nester Lot
A land record can put you within a few meters of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.
- Road surface & last-mile access
- How many rigs actually fit
- Cell coverage by carrier
- Seasonal & winter access
- Current fire restrictions
- Whether any water here is drinkable
- Shade & wind exposure
- Noise and who else shows up
- Whether a listed EV charger works today, or the road miles to it