User:Kenzierhodes/Raystown lake

Lead:

Raystown Lake has many recreational activities. Some of the most popular activities are boating, swimming, mountain biking, scuba diving, fishing, and camping. Raystown Lake offers several boat launches as well as two larger marinas that have restaurants and often hold special events. There is also an abundance of campsites surrounding the lake. The lake also offers disk golf, a waterpark, fishing guides, and hiking trails. Firework displays are held at the Raystown Lake Resort on Memorial Day Weekend, July 3, and the Sunday night before Labor Day. The fireworks at the resort are watched from the lake but can also be seen from the Pennsylvania Route 994 bridge; the resort is just south of this bridge.

Much of the land surrounding the lake is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers and is not available for residential development; because of this summer homes were built near the lake rather than on the waterfront, and most of the lake remains undeveloped. This makes the experience of boating on the lake very different from many other lakes; the hills on the shores of the winding lake are blanketed right down to the water by the trees. Raystown has a fishery including largemouth bass, striped bass, smallmouth bass, muskellunge, walleye, pickerel, perch, calico bass, lake trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, brown trout, bluegill, catfish, carp, white bass, rock bass, salmon and shad.

Side Bar:

32mi (51.5 km)

Recreation:

Two of the most popular activities Raystown Lake offers are boating and camping. Raystown Lake has seven public boat launches; Seven points, Snyder's Run, Aitch, Tatman Run, Shy Beaver, James Creek, and Weaver Falls. There are also many campsites. Some of which are Sesquenhannock Campground, Pleasant Hills Campground, and Allegrippis Lodge. The lake is also known for its mountain biking, Seven points has a mountain bike skills park as well as many trails. Raystown Lake has two marinas. One is Seven Points which has a restaurant, a beach area, disk golf, boat rentals, and weekly summer events. The other is the Raystown Lake Resort. The resort offers boat rentals, cabins, camping, a waterpark, a restaurant, an ice cream shop, fireworks, and summer events.

Raystown is most popular for boating. The lake offers seven public launches; Seven points, Snyder's Run, Aitch, Tatman Run, Shy Beaver, James Creek, and Weaver Falls. There are also two marinas Seven Points and Raystown Lake Resort. At Seven Points Marina there are houseboat and pontoon rentals. They also offer permanent boat slips and rental boat slips as well as indoor boat storage. Along with boating activities, Seven Points has a restaurant, a beach area, and special events in the summer. Raystown Lake Resort also offers boat rentals, permanent boat slips, boat slip rentals, and summer events. The Resort also has a restaurant and an ice cream shop.

Raystown Lake also offers many campgrounds some of which are Sesquenhannock Campground and Pleasant Hills Campground. There is a variety of camping options including campers, tents, cabins, and some campgrounds only accessible by boat. Some other activities available at the lake are a mountain bike skills area, hiking and biking trails, bird watching, fishing, fishing guides, and picnic areas.