Wand’ring Thru Wayne & Pike County PA

Is Lake Wallenpaupack the largest man made lake in PA?

In a word, no, even though you may see it stated as such on real estate websites.  Some sites say it’s the 2nd largest man made lake in PA, but it’s not quite that either.

Lake Wallenpaupack is the 3rd largest man made lake in PA…unless you disqualify the largest lake due to the fact that part of it is shared by Ohio.

Here are some facts:

Pymatuning

Pymatuning Reservoir claims to be the largest lake, period, in the Commonwealth of PA…but part of it is also in Ohio.

Constructed in the 1930s (a CCC Project) is 17,088 acres in size.  Pymatuning seems to have the market cornered on “the most” - it is the largest State Park in PA, has the most campsites in the PA state camping system, and hosts more visitors than any other state park in PA.

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Raystown Lake

Raystown Lake in Huntingdon County claims to be the largest man-made lake that is entirely within the Commonwealth.  It is 28 snake-like miles long and is made up of 8,300 acres.

It was created in the late 1960s and early 1970s by the US Army Corps of Engineers as a flood control project.  Like Lake Wallenpaupack, Raystown Lake has part of a village beneath its depths.  Maximum depth is about 200 feet.

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Lake Wallenpaupack

Lake Wallenpaupack is 5,700 acres, is 13 miles long, and has a maximum depth of about 60 feet.  As you probably know, PPL (Pennsylvania Power and Light) owns the lake.  The lake was created in the late 1920s into the 1930s as a hydroelectric project.  The lake still generates electricity during high energy demand times.

So, Lake Wallenpaupack is not the largest man made lake in PA, and unless you really want to argue details about borders, it’s not even the 2nd largest lake in PA.

Oh well…Lake Wallenpaupack can still be the BEST even if it’s not the BIGGEST, right? It is the largest lake in northeast PA, and the nicest powerboat lake around.

Click the picture below to see some other views of Lake Wallenpaupack - it’s beautiful all year long.

Lake Wallenpaupack

I’m sure there’s a dock with your name on it - call me to claim it today!