Cherry Springs State park is definitely worth the 5 hour drive. I’m south of Pittsburgh (it’s about the same distance) and I’ve taken that trip a few times over the last few years.

It’s a dark park - no white light permitted in certain areas. So TAKE RED LIGHT FLASH LIGHTS !!!

When driving late at night you’ll need to park your car in a lot and walk a short distance into the Star gazing field. Red light Flash Lights !!!

You probably already know that that park is the darkest area along the eastern seaboard. There’s zero light pollution- so you’ll see more stars EVERYWHERE. if you know a few constellations, look for them ; you’ll see double the stars when at that park.

There really aren’t meteor showers during March - but it’s still worth the trip. Hotels aren’t close- but midnight drive in that area can be pleasant / just be careful of deer and snowy road conditions. You’ll literally be in the middle of the largest forest in Pennsylvania- so make sure you’re prepared and your car is in excellent condition.

Sorry - I didn’t really speak to the hotel concern. Because I’ve always camped using a tent. It’s amazing to just roll out of a sleeping bag at 2 am and lean out of your tent and see the most amazing sky. You’ll forget that you’re In Pennsylvania

Absolutely worth that drive!! —from someone who also lives in the generally outside Philly area. We camped at Lyman run state park and had to make the reservations pretty far in advance in order to get a weekend close to a new moon. It’s a short drive from cherry springs so we just drove over in the evening when we were ready to stargaze. We’ve considered going back and have looked at some airbnbs, so know there are some in the area too!

The limiting factor is cloud cover. If the sky is clear it is Beautiful. If the clouds block the sky you are shit out of luck...

The closest hotels are in Coudersport up rt 44. Millstream or Westgate. There are no chain hotels up there. I'm not sure if Sweden Valley will be open or not. I want to say there was a B&B up there...Frosty Hollow or something like that, it's pretty close along Rt44.

The end of March will still be cold up there so bring your "winter" gear.

I'm in the Poconos and stayed at the Hampton in Mansfield, Tioga County and drove over there stopping in Wellsboro on the way.

Not a bad drive considering the distance.

Some things to consider:

1. Moon phase. March 25th is a waxing crescent, which should be great, but if you change dates and end up going during a full moon, then there's going to be a big spotlight in the sky all night long. So if you want to see stuff like the Milky Way, look up a moon phase chart and time your trip appropriately. New moons are ideal. IIRC waxing half moon rises late so it's good for evening viewing while waning half moon sets early so it's good for early morning viewing.
2. Dress warm. Even in the summer. It's cold at night, especially when you're sitting still all night. Layers and blankets are your fiends.
3. There's two viewing areas, separated by a road. There's a parking lot on one side of the road with a viewing field and some seats that are protected from the lights of the lot and the street by a berm. That area is open to any visitors. The other side of the street is only for people camping overnight in the park, and it's the side that has bathrooms and shelters to block the light.
4. The people coming for stargazing I've found to be very friendly and welcoming, but I found the locals to be less so. Surrounding areas have giant signs saying, "This is GOD'S Country" and the like. I have been incoherently yelled at in the past just for looking like I'm from the city. Also the surrounding counties - Potter and Tioga, etc, are known for being one of the state's centers of white supremacist activities. So just be warned and be careful.
5. While I've found the cell reception at the park itself to be pretty good, the surrounding area is a giant cell phone dead zone. You'll be struggling to find a single bar. So bring maps, as in the paper variety. Plan for a low-tech weekend in general. And don't whip out your phone at the park at night without a red filter screen protector or something. Red lights only in the park.
6. Have a backup plan in case of bad weather.

we have reservations in Ole Bull state park for July with a small group of other campers and are so excited! we had to make the campground reservations almost a year in advance

Is there anywhere to set up hammocks? I much prefer that to tents for my camping.

Lookup darksky.net I think. Stay very flexible. Don’t target a particular night, be able to choose a few nights and then let that site tell you about the cloud cover vs moonlight etc.

The northern tier is has an entire different culture than the rest of the commonwealth.

Definitely use this website if you want the best skies possible, but remember the gods of star gazing are fickle and chaotic. I've been up there a few times, winter is definitely better for viewing because of the drop in water vapor.

I'll echo everyone in the comments BRING RED FLASH LIGHTS/HEADLAMPS. Also, unless you have a very powerful telescope... you're not gonna see much BUT the planets will be VERY clear, best Saturn and Jupiter I've ever seen with my rinky dink rig. No worries though, the community up there has always been kind to me and there's usually somebody up there with a gargantuan scope and a digital display that captures galaxies really well, and it's also a great time to geek out with each other and learn new stuff.

I've been up there on New Moon nights and Full Moon nights and honestly because my rig isn't that great I loved the Full Moon night. For a first timer I'd take a new moon night because there's def gonna be a lot more gazers and scopes looking at stuff.

Idk if they've changed the rules but me and the wife went up and just fell asleep in a few blankets while stargazing, nobody bothered us or kicked us out.

I'd consider renting a van through Vanture Customs. We're Philly-area too and rented "The Wanderer" for our Cherry Springs trip. We're campers anyway but considering what the weather could be like in March, a van gives you the ability to stay close by but sleep warm too. I believe Ole Bull is open year round and it's not too far from Cherry Springs.

The only other consideration is the combo of distance and luck of clear skies. We're 4 hours away, and while we consider it absolutely worth the drive, we try to do at least an extended weekend. We've gone and had only 1 good night to view stars, and we had a trip with no clear nights. Giving yourself an extra night or two, if you're able, is worth it in my opinion!

Re #4 I’ve always understood that to be ‘GODs’ country in the remote wild sense not a Christian nationalist thing honestly

have been multiple times. I drive about 3hrs to get there, and it's worth every last bit. The most important thing is watching the moon phase, unfortunately my first trip out I made the mistake of not looking and the giant spotlight in the sky blocked the entire milky way cortex out of view.