Swimming at Fuller Lake and Laurel Lake ended Thursday, October 1. The lakes are still there, the Furnace Stack still stands off Route 233, and the Appalachian Trail still runs through the middle of the park. What changes this month is the schedule around all of it. The museum, the store, the mansion and the campground each have their own closing date or reduced hours. Two weeks after the beaches close, the year's largest public gathering sets up on the lakeshore.
For anyone who drives over South Mountain on fall weekends, October 2026 at Pine Grove Furnace State Park is a run of separate shutdowns with Fall Furnace Fest in the middle. This year one more detail shapes the plan. The festival's home at the Fuller Lake Day Use Area is one of three spots in the park the state lists without running water.
The Park Reopened in July, but the Water Lines Are Still Down
Pine Grove Furnace closed after the storms on Fourth of July weekend. WGAL reported that fallen trees blocked roads and access points. Downed wires closed parts of Route 233 and Cold Springs Road, and power outages knocked out restrooms, the campground and other facilities. The lakes, beaches and day-use areas were shut during cleanup. The park fully reopened and the campground started taking guests again on July 10, but park officials still told visitors to use caution on hiking trails because storm debris could remain.
The storm cleanup is done. A separate problem remains. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) alert page for the park reports multiple underground waterline breaks. Because of them, flush restrooms and drinking water are not available at Laurel Lake, Fuller Lake, or the Brickyard Pavilion restroom, and porta-johns have been set up at those locations. The same alert says the Furnace Stack Day Use Area and the campgrounds have normal service, and that repairs are being made as quickly as possible. The notice has no posted date and gives no repair schedule, so check the DCNR alerts page before any trip this month. The fix could come any week.
The same page carries a standing warning that cell coverage is "spotty at best and non-existent in most areas of the park and surrounding state forest." That matters more on a festival weekend, when people are trying to find each other in a crowd.
The October Calendar, Date by Date
The park's 2026 special-dates calendar lists every seasonal change, and together they show the wind-down. Here is what is left from today, October 3, through the end of the year, along with the reduced hours that apply now.
| Date | What happens | What it means for a visit |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Oct. 1 | Fuller and Laurel lakes close to swimming | Lakes are day-use only from here on |
| Fridays through October | AT Museum open noon to 4 p.m.; General Store open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Friday afternoons are the earliest window in the week |
| Weekends through October | AT Museum open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; General Store open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Most attractions are open Saturday and Sunday |
| Sat/Sun, Oct. 17-18 | Fall Furnace Fest at Fuller Lake | The park's biggest fall weekend |
| Saturday, Oct. 24 | Campsite decorating and Halloween in the Campground | A campground event, not a park-wide festival |
| Sunday, Nov. 1 | Ironmaster's Mansion closes to overnight guests | Last night for mansion stays this season |
| Sunday, Dec. 13 | Family campground closes | Last campground date of 2026 |
The Appalachian Trail Museum lists its 2026 hours for September and October as Fridays noon to 4 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The museum also notes that it can only open on schedule when volunteer docents are available to staff it. The General Store's fall listing is Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The store opened daily on May 23 this year, and that seven-day schedule is now over. This is also the store behind the Half-Gallon Challenge, the thru-hiker tradition of eating, or at least attempting, a half-gallon of ice cream in one sitting. No one has posted a closing date for the store's season, and the fall-hours listing is undated, so call ahead before planning a midweek stop.
The park itself stays open daily from sunrise to sunset, and the day-use areas close at dusk. So the grounds are open all week. Most of the staffed buildings now operate only Friday through Sunday.
Fall Furnace Fest Is at the Lake Without Running Water
The Friends of Pine Grove Furnace call Fall Furnace Fest their annual fall festival. DCNR lists it for Saturday, October 17, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, October 18, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Fuller Lake Day Use Area. The festival is always the third full weekend in October, and entry and most activities are free. If the waterline alert is still up that weekend, the festival will run where visitors are relying on porta-johns and there is no drinking water. Furnace Stack and the campgrounds, both inside the park, still have normal service. For families staying several hours, bringing water from home is the simplest fix.
The schedule is built around the park's iron-making history as much as fall decorations. According to Visit Cumberland Valley's event listing, the weekend includes:
- Historical demonstrations, including charcoal making and blacksmithing
- Broom making, beekeeping, and apple cider making
- Free hayrides, pumpkin carving, and scarecrow making
- Environmental education programs and kids' crafts
- Visits by Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl
- Food and craft vendors
The music is spread across both days. On Saturday, Stings on Wings plays acoustic Appalachian old-time folk at 11 a.m., Acoustic Juice plays classic rock at 1:45 p.m., and Men About Town plays bluesy folk and bluegrass at 4:30 p.m. On Sunday, Hopeless Semantics opens at 11 a.m. and Pair of Aces follows at 1:30 p.m. Sunday ends three hours earlier than Saturday and has no evening program. Saturday is the day for the full event.
None of the 2026 listings mention parking or a shuttle. With spotty phone service in the park, set a meeting spot before your group splits up rather than counting on a text getting through.
Saturday Evening, Hour by Hour
The festival is known for one Saturday ritual, and the timing is posted to the minute:
- 6:15 p.m. The pumpkin parade leaves the Brickyard Pavilion and follows the path down to Fuller Lake.
- 6:45 p.m. The Legend of the Hairy Hand is told while the pumpkins float out onto the lake.
- 7:00 p.m. The Saturday festival hours end.
The parade starts at the Brickyard Pavilion and ends at Fuller Lake. Both are listed on the waterline alert, so the whole evening program happens where the porta-johns are. DCNR's listing places the pumpkin float and the Hairy Hand story "at dusk." Day-use areas in the park normally close at dusk, so this is one of the few chances to be on the Fuller Lake shore as it gets dark.
The story is tied to what Fuller Lake used to be. In a 2018 history of the park's lakes, local historian and Friends chair Andre Weltman explains that Fuller Lake is the flooded remains of the Iron Works' main ore pit. The pit was about 90 feet deep when mining stopped in the mid-1890s and it was allowed to fill with water. He writes that the quarry did have industrial accidents, including at least two deaths. He also writes that it is not true a big hairy man drowned there while rescuing a slice of pumpkin pie from rapidly rising floodwaters.
One more note for anyone hoping to film the floating pumpkins from above. DCNR allows drones only at designated flying fields in six state parks: Beltzville, Benjamin Rush, Hillman, Lackawanna, Prompton, and Tuscarora. Drones are restricted at all other state park locations, and Pine Grove Furnace is not on that list. Plan on shooting the float from the shoreline.
After the Pumpkins Float
The week after the festival, the park's calendar narrows to the campground. Campsite decorating and Halloween in the Campground are set for Saturday, October 24. The campgrounds have had normal water service throughout the waterline problem.
Ironmaster's Mansion closes to overnight guests on Sunday, November 1. Its season opened April 1. The museum's mansion page directs anyone who wants a stay before then to reserve or call for information. The family campground stays open the longest of any seasonal operation, closing Sunday, December 13.
After that, what is left is what you get on any winter weekend: open lakes without lifeguards or crowds, the Furnace Stack, and trail access from sunrise to sunset. The museum's fall hours are posted only through October. The waterline repairs still have no date. A quick check of the DCNR alerts page before you go will tell you whether the porta-johns at Fuller Lake are still in use.
Pine Grove Furnace and the Michaux State Forest ground around it are a big part of why people look for property on this side of South Mountain. Our team spends a lot of time in these woods, and we know the ridges, the hunting tracts and the parcels on this side of the county well. If you're thinking about land or a country home within reach of Route 233 and the Appalachian Trail, Dustin Prievo and our team are glad to walk the ground with you. Contact Us.
