Crooked Creek Lake · Pennsylvania
Overview Authorized by the Flood Control Acts of 1936 and 1938, Crooked Creek Lake is one of 16 flood control projects in the Pittsburgh District. An important link in a system of flood control projects, Crooked Creek provides flood protection for the lower Allegheny and Ohio rivers. The construction cost of over $4 million appears small when compared to the giant saving which have resulted.
Sites at Damsite and Spillway Recreation Area are reserved through Recreation.gov. Sites here can be reserved in advance through the official system, and they are claimed fast — cancellations then trickle back all season, unannounced, at any hour of the day or night.
| Total sites | 4 |
|---|---|
| Site types | Group, Shelter |
| Hookups | Electric hookups at some sites |
| Location | Ford City, PA |
| Book through | Recreation.gov |
| Official listing | Recreation.gov |
Because sites are booked months ahead, a steady share of reservations get cancelled as trips fall through. Each cancellation instantly returns that site and those nights to the official calendar — first-come, first-served, no waitlist, no announcement. Refreshing the booking page yourself, every few minutes for weeks, works in theory. In practice, the people who get these sites are the ones who hear about the opening first.
ItOpened scans the Recreation.gov calendar for Damsite and Spillway Recreation Area around the clock. When a site matching your dates and your vehicle opens, you get a text with a direct link to it. You book it yourself, in your own account, at the normal price. We never book, hold, or resell — your fee pays for monitoring, and openings are first-come, so speed is the whole game.
| Crooked Creek Lake | Cancellation alerts available |
|---|---|
| Crooked Creek Lake Pavilions | Cancellation alerts available |
| Hancock Bend Boat Launch and Recreation Area | Cancellation alerts available |
Page data refreshed 2026-10-29. Site facts come from the official directory listing for Damsite and Spillway Recreation Area; cancellation statistics come from our own scanning logs.