“Explore the Forests of Pennsylvania”
Frances Slocum State Park consists of 1,035 acres in northeastern Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County. The horseshoe shaped, 165-acre lake is popular for boating and fishing, and is a home to many species of birds, fish and wildlife. The many hiking and mountain biking trails and the large day use area attract visitors to picnic and explore the forests. The park is named for Frances Slocum, a young girl who was kidnapped by American Indians. Frances was one of ten children of Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Slocum. This Quaker family lived on what is now North Street in Wilkes-Barre. On November 2, 1778, a small group of Delaware Indians entered the Slocum home and carried away Frances who was then just five years old. The first night after her abduction was spent in a crude shelter under a rock ledge along Abraham Creek, believed to be within the state park boundary. Frances tried to escape during the first night but was soon recaptured. Frances was taken along as the Delaware Indians moved westward and spent the rest of her life with them. Fifty-seven years after her abduction, Maconaquah, who could not remember her original name, told her story to a traveling merchant, who sent word back east. Several years later the brothers and a sister got the news and traveled to investigate. They found Frances Slocum living on a reservation near Peru, Indiana. She had been married twice and had borne four children. Frances refused the pleas of her brothers to return to Pennsylvania. The brothers wrote to her and learned many of the details of her abduction and life with American Indians. Frances Slocum died in Indiana in 1847, at the age of 74. Mississinewa Lake in Indiana contains the Frances Slocum State Recreational Area and Lost Sister Trail. Along the Mississinewa River in Indiana, there is a monument that marks the final resting-place of Frances Slocum, also called Maconaquah, the “Young Bear.”
Reviews of Frances Slocum State Park
8 people have reviewed this location
Ratings Summary
Cell Coverage
Verizon 4G
Confirmed by 3 users | Last reported on December 04, 2021AT&T 4G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on July 26, 2018T-Mobile 4G
Confirmed by 1 users | Last reported on December 04, 2021This is a wonderful state park campground! Loved how wooded and secluded it felt! The sites have enough trees that if no one is parked next to you, you feel pretty secluded. The sites themselves are good, fairly level for the most part.
All of the sites are electric only, unfortunately. There is potable water fills but the pressure is too strong to actually fill up your tank. You have to go down to the dump station to fill your RV's water tank - annoying.
The bathrooms are clean enough, nothing glamorous. There is no laundry.
The park itself has lots of trails and great places to walk. They have a pool complex on the other side of the lake (its about a 1.2 mile walk) and you get in for $4 with your camping permit.
The lake is really pretty and there is definitely a lot of wildlife!
Park office closed at 4, so I called the next day to check in (had a reservation). The office is about 1.2 miles from the campground as well, so they said I didn't need to come back if I didn't want to pick up my permit. Only need the permit to get the discount at the pool.
It was pretty quiet while I was here, definitely not full during the week! A great spot to get some work done in a beautiful environment!
Nightly Rate: $32.00
Days Stayed: 5
Site Number: 4
Cell Coverage Rating
AT&T 4G
We were looking for a state park close to the interstate for an overnight stop on our way north. This is rather out of the way and is not a quiet spot during the day. A main road road runs behind the campsite, but at night it is fairly quiet.
The park has a small lake, but the camp sites are not on the lake and the beach access and boat access is on the other side, so you have to drive or ride a bike.
With a wet spring, many sites had wet spots, that could be improved with some gravel, which would make them more level. We had a pull off, but the the orientation of the site was backwards - door towards the road and the table down the hill on the other side. This site did not offer much privacy, but other sites were nestled among the trees.
Nightly Rate: $39.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: -
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
We have stayed at Frances Slocum a few times now and I just wanted to give them a just review. We live close by so we have been to the park before but never to camp. We scouted the area first so we knew what we could expect. Sites are very shady, roomy and almost level. The sites have electricity ONLY which is not unusual for a State Park. We were able to get antenna service so we had our morning news to watch! The potable water and dump station are located about a half mile from the loop and we always fill up when we get there and dump as we leave. Never a problem. We have had some really great conversations with other campers waiting in the dump station line, which is never crowded so NEWBIES don't be nervous! The pool is a short drive away and you can walk to a great fishing spot with no issue. The bathrooms are pretty clean, no complaints there. There is no real camp store but they do sell firewood and snacks at the pool. The firewood is well worth the price! Note that their are no grocery stores very close by so do your shopping ahead of time. Fire ring is very large and has a built in grill which was super handy! The park is very quiet at night. We have had only 1 issue at the park relating to some tent campers that pulled in next to us. They were a very loud, obnoxious and rowdy bunch with about 6 kids, 5 adults and "F-bombs" flying just as loud as their music. Well, not 15 minutes past quiet hours the Park Ranger was at their site putting a stop to all of it. The night went on without a peep! I felt very safe knowing that Ranger was around and slept like a baby. We will camp here again, often!
Nightly Rate: $31.00
Days Stayed: 0
Site Number: 27
We met family here while driving through Pennsylvania for one night. it definitely is not convenient to the highway but if you’re looking for a decent place to camp it’s worth it. The sites were spacious and private. It is very wooded so you don’t feel like you’re camped right next to your neighbor. The electrical hook ups were convenient and function well. Bathrooms were convenient and in good order…
The seats were a bit on the small side as far as parking is concerned. I would recommend opting for a larger site than you need if possible.
It was also a quiet place to be. Everyone seemed to be there to enjoy nature and not annoy one another :-)
Nightly Rate: $33.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: -
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
Traveling through area and needed 1 night somewhere to stay. Everything booked solid for 3 day weekend or expensive or needed to book 2 nights. I got lucky last minute as someone must of cancelled. Site 32. Diagonal from bathhouse. Campground sold out. Driving in some of those sites and trailers are sure on top of each other in the curve. Ours was roomy but felt very exposed to road unlike neighbors. Bath house was clean but left much to be desired. Unheated. Sink area no hooks. No countertop. A small shelf under mirror. No TP in at least 1 of 3 stalls in women’s room. Showers ugh. Both men’s and women’s gave you 15 seconds of water per push of button. No way to adjust temp. Each button push was a guess as to what temp would come out. Cold? Hot? Like warm? Each 15 seconds of water was a surprise temp. And remember, there’s no heat in here. Brrrrr. But hey, that’s what makes camping fun, right? Lol. I suppose I would stay here again if passing through for the night. Lots of people enjoying the state park too.
Nightly Rate: $35.00
Days Stayed: 1
Site Number: 32
This is a wonderful option if you can’t quite camp inside the poconos area. The bathrooms could use some updating but overall this is a great park!
Nightly Rate: $30.00
Days Stayed: 6
Site Number: -
Cell Coverage Rating
Verizon 4G
T-Mobile 4G
Very nice campground although no camp store for items forgotten. Showers nice and clean.
Be the first to add a review to the Frances Slocum State Park.
Frances Slocum State Park
Hours
- Sun - Sat: 11:00 am - 7:00 pm
Problem with this listing? Let us know.
Has RV parking changed? Let us know.
-
Parking
-
Pets Allowed
-
Restrooms
-
Wifi
-
Wheelchair Accessible
-
Credit Cards Accepted
- Affiliation
- State park or forest
- Last Nightly Rate
- 32.0
- Longest Vehicle Length Reported
- 30.0
- Lowest Nightly Rate
- 30.0
-
Swimming Pool
-
Fifty Amp
-
Full Hookup
-
Pull Through
-
Tent Sites
-
Dump Station
-
Big Rigs
-
Open Seasonally
-
Age Restricted
-
Boondock
-
Cabin Sites
-
Dispersed Sites
-
Firewood
-
Fulltime Residents
-
Group Tent Sites
-
Laundry
-
Mobile Homes
-
Permit Required
-
Potable Water
-
Propane
-
Public Water
-
Pull Through RV Sites
-
Reservations
-
Sewer Hookup
-
Showers
-
Standard Tent Sites
-
Water Hookup
Campground, Restrooms
Nearby Hotels
Related Trip Guides
The top things to do on an I-95 road trip
- 50 Places
- 41:46
- 1,983 mi
The top things to do on an East Coast road trip
- 32 Places
- 48:54
- 2,584 mi
The top things to do on an I-80 road trip
- 35 Places
- 53:41
- 3,194 mi