Memorial Lake State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on in East Hanover Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is surrounded by

Fort Indiantown Gap Fort Indiantown Gap, also referred to as "The Gap" or "FIG", is a census-designated place and National Guard Training Center primarily located in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States. A portion of the installation is located in eastern Daup ...

Military Reservation, headquarters of the Pennsylvania National Guard. It includes

Memorial Lake A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

, which is , and is a 30-minute drive from Harrisburg just off Exit 85 of Interstate 81. Memorial Lake State Park was established in 1945 in memory and honor of Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers who served in World War I and World War II. Hiking,

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors ( ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event such as preceding ...

king,

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 ...

, and ice skating are some of the recreational activities available at the park. Fishing and ice fishing are popular recreational activities at the park. The common game fish are largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, yellow perch, white crappie,

black crappie The black crappie (''Pomoxis nigromaculatus'') is a freshwater fish found in North America, one of the two types of crappies. It is very similar to the white crappie in size, shape, and habits, except that it is darker, with a pattern of black sp ...

, bullhead,

channel catfish The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, the ...

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

, sucker, trout, and various species of panfish. Memorial Lake is a warm water fishery. All rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission apply. There are two boat launches at Memorial Lake. Gas powered boats are prohibited. Non powered and electric powered boats must display a current registration from any state or a launch permit from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.

Boat rental

Not only does Memorial Lake have multiple boat launches for those with personal boats, there is also a boat rental for those that want to experience boating first hand. Rental boats include Paddle Boats, Fishing Boats, Canoes, Single Kayaks and Tandem Kayaks. Boat rental hours vary by season, detailed information regarding the boat rental can be found a
Green Way Outdoors

Nearby state parks

The following state parks are within of Memorial Lake State Park: ''Note: shows Memorial Lake State Park'' * Boyd Big Tree Preserve Conservation Area ( Dauphin County) * Gifford Pinchot State Park ( York County) *

Joseph E. Ibberson Conservation Area Joseph E. Ibberson Conservation Area is a Pennsylvania state park in Middle Paxton and Wayne Townships, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is dominated by large hardwood trees and offers opportunities for hiking, cross-coun ...

(Dauphin County) * Samuel S. Lewis State Park (York County) *

Swatara State Park Swatara State Park is a Pennsylvania state park in Bethel, Swatara and Union Townships, Lebanon and Pine Grove Township, Schuylkill Counties in Pennsylvania in the United States. of Swatara Creek lie within the park's boundaries, which are r ...

(Lebanon and Schuylkill Counties)

References

External links

* {{authority control State parks of Pennsylvania Protected areas established in 1945 Parks in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania Protected areas of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania