Some of these 1 star reviews are SENDING ME lmaaoooo. From the racism (how dare "Spanish people" be at the beach playing "their" music amirite) to the small town cops I'm so done lol. Anyway I had a fabulous time. Read on for more por favor. My commentary is about the HIKING - nothing more nothing less. We had a tri-chapter meetup with my peeps from Body Liberation Outdoor Club - Northern NJ, Hudson Valley, and Eastern PA. Btdubs, if you're looking to enjoy the outdoors in an affirming space, holler at me. Anyway, we met at the Christman, Falls, and Cove Ridge trailhead and hiked a substantial loop to the falls, the Pohopoco river(?), and in and out of the woods. It was fantastic! Some nice elevation, soft packed trails, not too much mud, leafy forest bed, and as is common on the east coast - some roots and rocks to make sure you're paying attention. 5 miles of glorious spring sunshine and whispering trees. Couldn't ask for more! You Should Know: -parking at this trailhead is safe - room for about 8 or 9 cars and directly across from houses -this trail is NOT accessible -some parts of the trail sit high above the river - watch your step or else you'll take a devastating tumble to the great beyond -about 3/4 mile grassy walk to the actual trail from the parking area -If you use All Trails app, it was surprisingly accurate IYKYK - no bathrooms anywhere near here - pack in and pack out read more

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First time visitor here - we wanted to see the park before it got busy. Springtime is perfect for a more laidback visit. We wanted a quiet walk along the banks of the lake and found the best place for us to park and walk was at the Pavillion 2. Loved finding all those tiny white shells along the banks. read more

I recently went with my kids to relax , walk and grill out . We were planning on seeing the sunset , but they closed at 8 P.M. and the sun didn't set yet . My kids said Let's no go here no more.It wasn't even dark yet and didn't get to finish our food , cause we had to leave due to park closing early than sunset . read more

we were staying in AIRBNB nearby and my wife found this park "attraction near me". this state park has to offer something for every age group. Picnic, swimming in lake, BBQ, park, kayaking, Jet skiing, etc...seems like There's no shortage of outdoor adventure in the Pocono Mountains just over an hour from Philadelphia, it is popular with those who enjoy exploring the great outdoors. visitors can enjoy more than 500 feet of sandy shoreline along Beltzville Lake. This swimming beach is open during the summer months, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, from 8:00 a.m. to sunset. much of the park is centered around a beautiful lake, providing plenty of opportunities for fishing, swimming, boating, picnic, and hiking. As Beltzville State Park is a day-use recreational facility, no camping is available onsite. read more

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Great park with lots of opportunities for fun. Came to check it out before committing to bringing our toddler. In half a day we hiked around a waterfall, went fossil hunting (found a bunch!), and went freshwater swimming. Overall it was great! Our trip started with an early morning hike of the trails around the waterfall area. From the trailhead there is a pretty short walk right to the waterfall area if that's all you want to see. There are also a series of hiking trails on both sides of the water. I would recommend those as it is a more fulfilling journey to discover the waterfall than go straight to it. It was early enough that we pretty much had this area to ourselves. The waterfall isn't huge, but it is very pretty. We did a solid hike and found a nice private area overlooking the waterfall to bone. Two critiques. First, this was the most poison ivy I have ever seen in my life. I kid not. Watch out if you don't have a tolerance... it is everywhere... . Second would be that the trails could be blazed a little better in some areas. To be fair all the areas were totally serviceable, and its probably hard to get seriously lost there, but sometimes there were a lot of competing trails mixed in with the blazed ones. From here we went to the Parking Lot B area and looked for fossils along the rocky shores. We found a whole bunch and took a select few home for our daughter. We will bring her when she is a little older to search for fossils. I have to say that this was super cool because they are really all around, at least small ones... so you can really get into it and try to find an impressive one. Again except one fishing boat and a dog walker we had this entire area to ourselves. If you want to do this activity bring sandals or water friendly shoes. Also, read, poison ivy. After this we went to the swimming beach which was starting to get populated by lunchtime (on a Monday). The water was great. Spare a few kids toys it was clean of trash and debris. Very linear bank and sand was well done. If you are not used to man made fresh water beaches, it coarse, not like the ocean's beach. There were a lot of people using the beach and having parties nearby. I was actually sort of surprised how many people were having parties with music etc for a (cloudy) Monday morning. I expect that on nicer days/weekends it is packed and maybe a little rowdy. The music didn't really bother me, but I know it would be off putting to some people. It was starting to fill up when we left around 1. We will definitely be coming back with our daughter and maybe some friends. read more

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Beltzville is one of the bigger and more well known PA state parks. Primarily it's most known for the 950+ acre Beltzville Lake which was created by the Army Corp of Engineers in the 60's as a flood control project to help control the Pohopoco Creek (the Pohopoco feeds the Lehigh River which feeds the Delaware River and eventually that heads down to the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean) So the main draw to this park is the lake which provides all the usual things you would expect with fishing, boating and during summer there is even a small beach where non-lifeguarded swimming is allowed. Note that the lake has a long history of getting closed at least a few times every summer from high unsafe bacteria levels which they attribute to excessive human urination/defecation, heavy rains which cause park septic systems to overflow into the lake and excessive shit from the large goose population that calls the lake home. Caveat Emptor if you swim and dear lord don't drink the water as thousands have gotten sick from it. www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-cause-of-high-bacteria-levels-at-beltzville-lake-20150605-story.html While things like hiking and hunting certainly exist here, if you hit the trails chance are you're not going to see anyone. Part of that is simply that if you've ever done any kind of hiking in PA State Parks you would know that aside of summer weekends and in particular summer holiday weekends most of these places are highly underutilized. But with Beltzville part of it is simply this park's size which at over 3,000 acres makes it easy to get lost in your own little world with no one else around. For me the best thing that this park does is to offer a lot of programming year round where they really try to engage the local community. There's different types of trail walks, live animal shows, kids day camps, fossil digs, astronomy programs and the super dork best of them all which is the once a year tour down 170 feet into the Army Corp of Engineers tower which controls that water release levels from the lake into the Pohopoco Creek. So with all this, what does Beltzville not offer? Camping. The park is a day use only so everyday by sunset all of the entrance gates get closed and the rangers sweep the area the best they can. This place is one of the better PA state parks especially for NE PA. Well worth a visit year round as there is always something to see or do. www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/BeltzvilleStatePark/Pages/default.aspx read more

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Cool place to swim, bring the family and grill at the picnic tables. The water is perfect and lots of space to swim and not feel cramped or crowded. There is even a concession stand. The scenery and mountains are amazing. This place is awesome! read more

Beltzville State Park - Beach/ lakes and mountains - Parks Near Me - Lehighton, Pennsylvania

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I won't lie. This pains me to say. I grew up on Beltzville but... the place is headed in a bad direction! People have no respect for the park!! Often times you can find trash littered around the lake but worst off all.... dun dun DUNNNN the beach!!! Loud hip hop music from rebellious youngsters can be heard echoing off everything!! And worst of all.... HELLO??? Can anyone read?? Cannot tell you how often I see people driving through the no wake zone!!! It is ridiculous but the lake still has a soft spot in my heart. Thank you all for reading. read more

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Swam in lake. Filled with debris. Got food from stand and received 1 piece of hair in 1 slice of pizza, and 2 hairs in my other slice. Burger bun was stale. read more

My little brother goes here to kayak and invited me out. It was a beautiful Saturday so we packed up our gear and went up. There was pretty much no one there. A few boats being unloaded and loading but that was it. We were on the water for probably 4 hours and only passed one other group on paddle boards. It was absolutely gorgeous and no one bothered us. No Park Rangers or anything like that. The bathrooms were clean too. That's pretty rare for any park. It was super easy to get to with plenty of parking. Nice large launch area. We brought our own kayaks but there were full racks there with canoes and kayaks. Not sure if you can rent them or where you would go to rent them. There was no information center that I saw. read more

Normally I love this lake. Cleve and I went many times in the past. The kids really liked it because they are swimming now and it was fun for them. Be careful with what you bring and leave on your beach blanket. We went to The food stand only to return to "skippy's" Frozen swimmies and floatie missing. I knew that would happen too. I saw a man walking around with a bucket of toys. Then he hid behind a tree. I bet his wife watched him do it too. He was a thief! My husband went on a mad search. He found them at the beach. The man returned puzzled as to where they could have gone. My husband was ready for a fight but fortunately he found them fast. read more

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I've been to this park a few times a few years ago and enjoyed it. Today, I drove over a hour to three park rangers standing in front of the entrance. I thought maybe they were closed for the holiday. When I asked the park ranger why the park was closed, he was incredibly rude. With a hostile tone, he stated the park was closed by 10am due to crowds and that I should have planned my day better if I wanted to get in. I wish I got the officer's name to report him. I will never return to this park. read more

If you're going in the water make sure you have waterproof boots the stones on the edge in the beach area do a lot of damage aside from that it's just a Park read more

Had an opportunity to visit Beltzville Lake (Lehighton) today here in the state of Pennsylvania on June 5th 2021 at 5 PM. The park police we met today left me speechless. As soon as we entered this beautiful park , they pulled us over . I was a driver and my husband set in the passenger seat . Officer looked at him , and asked how many times he smoke marijuana today. My husband replied :"No, I never smoked marijuana"(which is true) . The officer said :"Well, you look high" . This is disrespectful, and I felt that he was making fun of the appearance of my husband. I felt really unappreciated , and I believe , that officers have no right to talk like that to human beings !! His badge number is 694 station 6433 2.Beltzville Lake closes at 8PM . At 7:29 two polices came out to us (including little children) , and said that we need to pack our S**T and get out of here . By using more cuss words , they left, one officer said his name was Anderson really rudely, for the review .... Horrible experience with the park police read more

Today we drove up to the entrance of the State Park and we were met by a women park Ranger. It was around 5PM and we asked why the park was closed. She very nicely told us, because the park was at compacity and if we came during the week it would probably be better. She told us it was a lovey State Park and she hoped we would come back another time. She was very helpful and extremely pleasant. read more

I recently came here for a birthday Party and i was really surprised by this park. I was under the impression it was just like any ordinary park. Boy, was i wrong. This state park is one of the few out in Pennsylvania, but the lesser known and a apparently a best kept secret. When you drive in you may get lost because it's huge, there are many parking lots. Green space is plenty. We had no problem finding a picnic table, although you should get here early. This place has a beautiful but small beach, a playground for the kids, a volleyball section and a lake just to name a few. You may also rent boat,canoes or even fish. The best part is you can have a bbq,but bring your own because its hard to find an available one not in use. The bathrooms are semi clean but it's a bit of a walk to find it so try to settle in close by. The park hours are strictly enforced by the park police, but they are very friendly and helpful. The trip from nyc was long but so worth it, a slice of heaven away from the daily grind. I highly recommend you come with your family, they'll love it. Oh bbq read more

Beltzville State Park - Lake - Parks Near Me - Lehighton, Pennsylvania

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Absolutely love this lake! Anytime we visit Pennsylvania my family always stops here. The lake is beautiful and clean. You feel so refreshed after taking a dip in it. But there's more to this park then just swimming; you can boat and fish there as well. They have an area where you can rent boats during the summer season. There are available grills where you can barbecue some goodies up. As well as shower areas for that quick rinse after taking a swim. This lake is honestly my favorite lake, it's just that type of place where you feel happy after going to it. read more

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I used to go with my family and friends to this park. I love the site. I do miss going there and meeting new people I can't wait to go back I love hiking in the area. I can't wait to return read more

Big and fun lake! They do kayak renting but no jet ski :( a little disappointed but overall our experience was nice, the water is not cold at all. The only thing is how crowded it is, despite covid it seems like people don't want to wear a mask and social distance. read more

Loud , I mean loud music and trash and dirty diapers and beer bottles all over. Don't waste your time unless your one of those people that trash a place and leave. read more

This park was beautiful! Totally worth the hour drive while there's other parks that are much closer. Went here fishing where we found a nice little spot to plop our lawn chairs in the water and wet our feet. The water looked amazing. Next time we come here we're definitely renting a boat. I think it's very important to add you can fish (license required), boat, and jet ski! I know they have boat rentals but I am not sure about the jet skis but I know they do have a website to look up for what is available to rent. The other side is where you can swim. They also have picnic tables and some are roofed to block you from the sun. Not sure if they have grills but I'll definitely look into that next time we go. There's also a trail to go walking on. Dogs are welcome but of course you must clean up after them. The park is nice and clean. I really cannot wait to come back here! *Side note: the park closes at sundown. We left around 8:30pm and the gates were still open even though we wish we could have stayed longer butttt we didn't wanna risk getting locked in.* read more

This is about the lake swimming area: Free parking. Free to get onto the beach area. Man made beach so sand is soft and clean. Lake water was clean. There is a large grassy area with lots of picnic tables & charcoal grills to use. Then there is the sand area in front of the lake. Clean bathrooms with outdoor showers to clean off. There was a small store near bathrooms selling stuff, not sure exactly what, but did see people coming from there with drinks. Im guessing it gets pretty crowded during the weekends read more

My husband and I went Saturday. This place is insane on the weekends. People BLARING their music from all corners and we even watched people just toss their litter on the ground. My husband and I didn't even get out of our car because it was that crowded. We went during the week and it was much better. I would steer clear of this place on the weekends. The 2 stars for being able to go during the week without a bunch a hooligans littering, yelling and blaring their music. read more

If your looking for a place to enjoy a beautiful summer day, this is the park for you... I came here with my family to spend a nice day together, picnic, and do some swimming. We had an amazing time. We mainly stayed near the lake, which offers a man-made beach, showers/restrooms/changing area and a snack station. I noticed lots of picnic tables on the lawns behind the restrooms, although I did not go back there. The park is swim at your own risk, meaning there are no lifeguards on duty. The water is pretty calm (being that it is a lake). They designate an area in the lake for people to swim. The rest of the lake is occupied by water toys; ie speedboats, jetskies, rafts, etc. Parking is free and plenty of it. The parking is not far from the water. The place is kept clean and the people were calm and very considerate to the others around them. I only wish it was closer to where I live, it's about 2 hours from NYC. Overall, I would definitely recommend this place to others if your up for the drive. Happy Yelping :) read more

Great park, something for everyone. Water, fields, dense forests hikes, well kept trails. But, why people feel it is okay to throw their garbage wherever they'd like, I dont understand! We should be thankful to have such a wonderful place to visit. Scum obviously like to visit too,I mean why wouldn't they, it's beautiful- scum choose to throw their garbage anywhere they want. Stay home u filthy people!!! We met some very nice park rangers-thanks for doing what you do. read more

Very nice place. Had a good time. Lots of people here but the space is large enough so that every party has it's own comfort space. The beach is nice also. read more

Beltzville State Park - Lake view - Parks Near Me - Lehighton, Pennsylvania

Such a beautiful swimming lake. And the water is beautiful. You can enjoy an entire day there and it is free. There are bathrooms, changing rooms, picnic areas with benches and grills, trash cans to dispose of your trash, and they even have a concession stand I would highly recommend down here and we had a blast this summer read more

Whatever you do, do not go there on weekends, way too crowded and you will feel out of place. There are also great fishing spots and hiking trails all around the lake. Highly recommended. read more

Absolutely the worst park experience in my life. The park and water is beautiful but the police and management absolutely lost their mind. We planned a get together and my grandparents showed up a little later at 10am but the park police were incredibly rude and told my grandparents to leave as the park was closed due to to much people (that was a lie). My grandparents were forced to park on the side of the road before the park and walk to us. They got a call later that the park police ticketed and towed away their car. The police were giving out tickets like it was candy for every minor violation they thought they saw. They close at 7pm and many park police would drive around and rudely yell at everyone to leave faster or they will give more tickets. The management here definitely has some sort of superiority complex. Unless you want to lose 500$ in fees and tickets stay way from this horrible place. read more

The park itself is average, crowded with lots of people, decently clean, and plenty of parking space. I have been here twice in my life. Beach is nice, clean and there are grills available. They have an area where you can rent boats --- boats are really crappy, and the 'speed boat' does not live up to its name. However, my experience with the boat rental office was horrible. The workers/employees were nice and were explaining the situation calmly when we had reserved boats for a certain time but we could not rent it since the printer was broken and we cant sign waivers which is totally understandable.... BUT the manager/head person in the office was RACIST and hot-headed to asians. He specifically blamed us for "taking up all the boats" (which was SO not true since it looks like the majority of people renting boats were non-asians) and basically YELLED at us for asking the same questions, STARED out of the window at us from the office to make sure we wouldn't come back inside. Yes I understand, we are a large bunch of people and many of us want to go on the boats. Each family wanted to get a boat and I know we all had the same questions but there was NO NEED to show attitude and YELL at people. Yes, I know the printer is broken now and you cant print waivers. Just because you told something to one person, doesn't mean everyone heard it. If you can't handle customers, you should not be in that position. Absolutely disgusted by him. Advice to management --- GET new boats, and fire the ass-manager. read more

Run while you can with water this polluted you might find a fish with three eyes. The landscape is nice but DON'T GO SWIMMING if you value your life. The official usually have notices posted if the levels of bacteria are too high read more

The park during summer is Spanish crowds only. Not a single other type of race person. They play spnish rap too loud. You can't have a peace of mind here. They burn food on grills. Smoke contaminates air. It's disgusting. When I went there yesterday, I made a u-turn. read more

Beautiful lake and very kids friendly. You could rent canoes, kayaks or paddle boats here. My family really had a great time riding those boats. I will totally come back here the next time I visit PA. read more

We really enjoyed the view! However, it was very dirty with loud music... the parking was worse... a lot of filth on the ground and on the grass!! It is a pity that a beautiful place like this is having this type of problem! read more

Amazing park, not crowded, lakeside beach offers a not too deep lake front to swim in. Picnic tables and can grill here. Non powered boat rentals to use on lake available. No life guard on duty so it's a swim at your own risk lake. Changing rooms, first aid station and concession stand available. Parking close and convenient. read more

Seriously, this park is so beautiful. My husband and I come here to enjoy some peace of mind and have a nice, peaceful day on the water, followed by a nice picnic and swim at the beach. However, the BLAIRING spanish/rap/whatever music that people blast here on full volume while all of the rest of us are just trying to enjoy a peaceful day at the lake after a long work week is very upsetting and ruins the whole place. There are so many park rangers here and not one of them does anything about it. I understand that everyone is entitled to freedom of speech, it's a free country, etc, but come on, this is not okay. A group of people blasting their aggressive music as the soundtrack of the entire beach and picnic area should not be allowed. Why is it? Just this weekend, we were having such a nice day andgrilling after kayaking on the water and it happened again. A group of people plopped down next to our picnic area and BLASTED their spanish language music so aggressively that every single party around them became upset and were forced to end their days early. When they saw people getting upset, they turned the music up even louder. We were forced to leave because we were so upset, even though we drove 1.5 hours to come here. It's not fair. Please do something about this. It ruins the whole place. Everyone is entitled to listen to music, but it should be a Reasonable level and shouldn't have to force people out of the park because of it. :( People are So rude here. They walk all over your beach towel, throw garbage, put their things down in your picnic area, yell and scream, blast their music, let their kids run all over so close to your lit grills, etc etc. Please do a better job of patrolling this place so it is not ruined for the people who actually care and respect this park. read more