Elizabeth Exline 2023-12-19 07:57:41
With so many ways to explore Pennsylvania’s greater-than-great outdoors, you might think you’ll need a whole extra suitcase for all your adventure gear. No need. Take advantage of the many boats, bikes, and more offered at state parks, which make it easy to enjoy your favorite activity or even try something new. Home to forests, lakes, wetlands, and fields, French Creek State Park in Elverson is a wildlife enthusiast’s dream. As it turns out, it’s also a great place for an aquatic workout. Enter stand-up paddleboarding (SUP). You’ll need a use permit from the Fish and Boat Commission if you bring your own, or you can rent one from French Creek Boat Rental. SUP not your thing? You also can make waves with a rowboat, kayak, or a contraption known as a sunfish, which is essentially a surfboard with an attached sail. What’s better than meandering through miles of trees and foliage? Gliding through them on a paved, 7-mile trail. Pick up your set of wheels—bikes, tandem bikes, child trailers, and tag-a-longs are all on offer—at the Spoke House at Moraine State Park in Portersville from Memorial Day through Labor Day (plus weekends through October). Located in the northwest corner of the park, this rental facility is positioned so you can start at the lake and pedal your way inland. If you’re going to visit Canoe Creek State Park in Hollidaysburg, it seems only natural you’d make a point of, well, canoeing along the 155-acre lake. Fortunately, canoes are available from the boat concessionaire (along with kayaks, paddleboats, rowboats, and SUPs) during the warm seasons. Go for the birdwatching, the wildlife, the fishing, or as a prelude to exploring the rest of the 961-acre park. There are a lot of reasons why Presque Isle State Park in Erie is one of Pennsylvania’s most popular state parks. The 13 beaches on Lake Erie are one. But if you’d rather admire the water than swim in it, then head over to The Yellow Bike Rental Company and outfit yourself with a set of rollerblades or a four-wheeled surrey. The latter looks like a mashup between a bike, a golf cart, and a buggy. Take it on a tour of the isle’s top attractions, including Perry’s Monument and the North Pier Lighthouse. If you have your eye on hooking a walleye or largemouth bass in the warm and tranquil Hills Creek Lake at Hills Creek State Park in Wellsboro, or a perch or bluegill at the slightly smaller Stephen Foster Lake at Mount Pisgah State Park in Troy, then check out the Find a Waterway program powered by Pennsylvania’s Fish and Boat Commission. The program offers complimentary loans of rods, reels, and fully outfitted tackle boxes at these and other sites throughout the state. Stay & Play When you don’t want the fun to end, you can explore a range of curious overnight options at many state parks. Take, for example, the yurts at Clear Creek State Park in Siegel. Perched on a wooden platform, the two circular structures are crafted from canvas and wood and offer basic accommodation for four people per yurt. (Hello, bunkbeds!) Cabins more your thing? Cook Forest State Park offers a variety of luxury log cabins for two to seven people, including a rather romantic Treehouse option. Gifford Pinchot State Park in Lewisberry, meanwhile, offers 10 modern and furnished cabins with all the basics, although visitors must bring their own linens, toiletries, and kitchenware. Larger groups may choose to reserve a lodge at either Codorus State Park in Hanover or Shawnee State Park in Schellsburg. Both these sizeable structures have certain minimum stay requirements, but the amenities (air-conditioning, full kitchens, and indoor and outdoor living spaces) make it easy to linger.
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