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Arts & Entertainment

Family Fun at Mountain Days Festival

Prince Gallitzin State Park in Cambria County hosts weekend affair.

Looking to kick your family camping excursion up a notch? Why not add a festival that stretches across three towns and through the lush mountains of western Pennsylvania to your vacation itinerary?

At the Mountain Days Festival in and around Prince Gallitzin State Park, Cambria County, visitors can snowshoe on the beach, take guided hikes, or learn new disc golf techniques while enjoying excursions to local museums, historic landmarks and restaurants in the nearby towns of Fallen Timber, Coalport and Patton.

Prince Gallitzin State Park is named for a Russian nobleman-turned Roman Catholic missionary who founded the town of Loretto, Pennsylvania in 1799.

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“There’s a full schedule of events at all the businesses and activities in the park,” said Tim Yeager, Assistant Park Manager at the 6,249-acre state park.

The festival will take place from July 22 to July 24. Events within the state park will primarily occur at Muskrat Beach and the Main Beach, which are situated on a 26-mile stretch of shoreline around Glendale Lake.  

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In addition to the hiking, horseback riding, swimming, boating, mountain biking and fishing that are standard activities during a camping weekend, visitors to Prince Gallitzin State Park can participate in a backyard bass casting program, take a guided hike up to Turkey Ridge or enjoy a canoe ride as fireworks burst over Glendale Lake on Saturday night.

Local businesses will be sponsoring various contests in the park. On Saturday, the Mountain Man contest at 10:30 a.m. will award $300 to the most rugged guy around. The Mountain Man contest will be followed by a lip-sync contest at 11:30 a.m., and on Sunday there will be a karaoke contest with cash prizes.

Uncle Phil's General Store will sponsor a full day of children’s activities on Muskrat Beach, including games, trout fishing, clowns, horse and pony rides, face painting and a petting zoo.

Free outdoor concerts will be held at local businesses, including Sir Barney’s and Noel’s Drive-in. The Pirate’s Cove will be firing up the grill and serving crabby patties with special guest Sponge Bob, and the Anchor Inn will be hosting a bonfire and serving mountain pies and hot dogs.

“It’s an event to draw people into our park and business communities,” Yeager said. “It’s a fun-filled weekend for families in and around the park.”

Antique tractor shows, chainsaw carvings, hayrides, mini gold tournaments, and demonstrations of bass casting, archery and snowshoeing are just a few of the other activities planned.  

The campgrounds at Prince Gallitzin State Park offer convenient and inexpensive accommodations for visitors to the Mountain Days Festival. 

The base price for a campsite is $15, and a 200-square-foot tent site for the weekend starts at $37. For even more creature comfort, you can rent a cottage that sleeps five for as little as $43 per night.

The camping area offers plenty of amenities, including a coin-operated laundry facility, a swimming beach, boat rentals, playgrounds, paved sites, showers, flush toilets, sanitary dump stations and a camper storage area. Pets are also welcome.

Online reservations can be made at any time, or by calling 1-888-727-2757 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Prince Gallitzin State Park is located at 966 Marina Road in Patton, Pennsylvania.

Admission to the festival is free, which is an added benefit for families that are now spending more on gas than they did a year ago.

All in all, the Mountain Days Festival promises to be boatloads of fun for the entire family!

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