Beltzville State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Franklin (given name) * Franklin (surname) * Franklin (class), a member of a historical English social class Places Australia * Franklin, Tasmania, a township * Division of Franklin, federal electoral d ...

and Towamensing townships, Carbon County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in the United States. The park opened in 1972, and was developed around the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

flood control project Beltzville Dam on

Pohopoco Creek Pohopoco Creek (locally known as Big Creek) is a tributary of the Lehigh River in Monroe and Carbon Counties in Pennsylvania in the United States. The creek is long and its watershed is in area. It was historically known as Heads Creek, Pocho P ...

. The village of Big Creek Valley was vacated in 1966 to make way for Beltzville Lake. Beltzville Lake is a with of shoreline. Beltzville State Park is east of Lehighton just off U.S. Route 209. The park is at an elevation of . Beltzville Lake is a popular fishing destination. Anglers can fish for

striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has al ...

, largemouth and smallmouth bass,

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Percif ...

, and

muskellunge The muskellunge ''(Esox masquinongy)'', often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. Origin of name The name "muskellun ...

. Pohopoco Creek is stocked with trout by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Hunting is permitted at Beltzville State Park. Hunters are expected to follow the rules and regulations of the

Pennsylvania Game Commission The Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) is the state agency responsible for wildlife conservation and management in Pennsylvania in the United States. It was originally founded years ago and currently utilizes more than 700 full-time employees and ...

. The common game species are

ruffed grouse The ruffed grouse (''Bonasa umbellus'') is a medium-sized grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada to Alaska. It is the most widely distributed game bird in North America. It is non-migratory. It is the only specie ...

squirrels Squirrels are members of the family (biology), family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flyi ...

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family (biology), family Phasianidae in the order (biology), order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera na ...

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which in ...

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

, and

rabbits Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit specie ...

. The hunting of

groundhog The groundhog (''Marmota monax''), also known as a woodchuck, is a rodent of the family Sciuridae, belonging to the group of large ground squirrels known as marmots. The groundhog is a lowland creature of North America; it is found through mu ...

s is prohibited. The swimming beach is open from late May until the middle of September along of sand beach. There is a bathhouse with showers, a food stand, and

first-aid First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial int ...

building at the beach. Recreational

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for "Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chris ...

is prohibited at Beltzville State Park. Beltzville State Park has four picnic pavilions and several large picnic areas. Playgrounds and playfields are in the area of the picnic tables. Visitors also have the use of modern restrooms and drinking water. A large parking lot and a boat dock are also close by the picnic areas. There are of hiking trails at Beltzville State Park. The trails follow old roads, paths in the woods and follow the banks of small streams. Saw Mill Trail starts just west of Beltzville Dam is a path through the history of the park. Hikers will pass the remains of a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

, small ponds, an abandoned

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

quarry and a wetland. Phot beltzville2

Beltzville Lake is popular with recreational boaters. The maximum boating speed permitted is . Boats with inboard engines with out-of-the-transom or straight stack type exhausts are prohibited. Camping overnight on boats is also prohibited.

Canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

s and other small boats are often seen in the shelter coves of Beltzville Lake.

Water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...

is permitted only in the south end of the lake in the marked water skiing area. Boats are required to travel in a counterclockwise direction. Boats not towing water skiers or tubers are not permitted to enter the waters of the skiing area. Beltzville State Park does not close for the winter months, when Beltzville Lake is busy with

ice fishing Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities. Shelters Longer ...

and

ice boat An iceboat (occasionally spelled ice boat or traditionally called an ice yacht) is a recreational or competition sailing craft supported on metal runners for traveling over ice. One of the runners is steerable. Originally, such craft were boats ...

ing. The trails of the park are open for

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

Nearby state parks

The following state parks are within of Beltzville State Park: *

Big Pocono State Park Big Pocono State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Jackson and Pocono townships in Monroe County, Pennsylvania in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The park is located on Camelback Mountain and is maintained jointly by the Pennsylvania Department ...

(

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

) *

Delaware Canal State Park Delaware Canal State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Bucks and Northampton Counties in Pennsylvania. The main attraction of the park is the Delaware Canal which runs parallel to the Delaware River between Easton and Bristol. The Delawar ...

( Bucks and Northampton Counties) *

Gouldsboro State Park Gouldsboro State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County and Lehigh Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park includes the Gouldsboro Lake. Gouldsboro State Park is located very close ...

(Monroe and Wayne Counties) *

Hickory Run State Park Hickory Run State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Kidder and Penn Forest Townships in Carbon County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is spread across the Pocono Mountains. The park is easily accessible from Interstate 476 and ...

(Carbon County) *

Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center is a Pennsylvania state park near Wind Gap, in Bushkill Township, Northampton County in Pennsylvania. The Jacobsburg National Historic District is almost entirely surrounded by the park. Jacobsburg En ...

(Northampton County) *

Lehigh Gorge State Park Lehigh Gorge State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Luzerne and Carbon Counties, Pennsylvania. The park encompasses a gorge, which stretches along the Lehigh River from a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control dam in Luzerne County to J ...

(Carbon and Luzerne Counties) *

Locust Lake State Park Locust Lake State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Ryan Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania in the United States. Locust Lake State Park is located approximately north of Pottsville, south of Mahanoy City, west of Tamaqua an ...

( Schuylkill County) *

Nescopeck State Park Nescopeck State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in Butler and Dennison Townships, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (in the United States). The park is one of the newest state parks in Pennsylvania. In the early 1970s, the state acquired 164 p ...

(Luzerne County) *

Tobyhanna State Park Tobyhanna State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on mostly in Coolbaugh Township, Monroe County, with a small portion of the park in Dreher and Lehigh townships in Wayne County, all in Pennsylvania in the United States. The park includes the ...

(Monroe and Wayne Counties) * Tuscarora State Park (Schuylkill County)

References

External links

* {{authority control State parks of Pennsylvania Protected areas established in 1972 Parks in Carbon County, Pennsylvania 1972 establishments in Pennsylvania Protected areas of Carbon County, Pennsylvania