Recommendations - Departing from the Bucks Co/Philly area?

[kvn290]

We are expecting delivery of a bouncing baby AR190. For local outings, we'll be going to the Delaware River (Upper Black Eddy). But where do you all recommend for a long weekend or vacation? I've done some research on Lake Wallenpaupack. Looks amazing. Any other suggestions? Is Lake Harmony worth it? Unfortunately, the wife doesn't do camping, so rustic is out.

 

[Hedorah14]

There's all sorts of good coves for anchoring out and enjoying the day along the Delaware. Just keep an eye on the tide some of the coves and beaches can get a bit on the shallow side. As far as overnighting there's a bunch of marinas with the usual pay to stay situation that are pretty civilized.

 

[TimW451]

A lot of people in SE PA go to Chesapeake Bay. Havre de Grace, Northeast, & Chesapeake City are good spots. Each have a walkable town with shops, restaurants, and B&Bs.

 

[BigT51]

I stopped by the Havre de Grace public ramp last Sunday and the sea grass was bad, really bad. I wouldn't have tried to launch if I had my boat with me. Late in the summer this is usually a problem but I never saw it that bad before. The empty trailers in the ramp parking lot were covered with the grass. The ramp manager said the storms coming up the coast weren't helping either. I should have taken pictures but didn't. Not sure how other ramps are but I believe Gunpowder isn't renting boats because of the grass. Hopefully it clears up but there was so much of it, it's going to take awhile.

 

[Hedorah14]

The grass has been really bad all season

 

[Sbrown]

The eel grass is bad for boating, but GREAT for the bay and its aquatic inhabitants health.

 

[Mike Dumigan]

Wallenpaupack is nice, have rented homes with docks a couple of years. Busy on weekends, but nice during the week. Also Raystown Lake in central PA is nice. Upper Chesapeake, put in at Anchor Marina and head to Sand Island.

 

[mjs5128]

- Wallenpaupack is our go to, but it does get busy on weekends and we avoid the holidays. It's just close enough to get a good day trip in without a 2+ hour drive. We've camped at Ironwood Point for the past few years and are able to rent a slip in their marina. Rented a house this past year, and a lake front next year.
- Beltzville is pretty small with an even smaller area for water sports, but not a bad place to go if you're just looking to get on the water for a few hours
- Blue Marsh is nice, ridiculously busy with jet skis during the weekends. We were there in June and it took an hour to get a spot at the dock to load up at the end of the day.
- I've been to Raystown only once (not on my boat) and it was pretty nice. My neighbors were able to rent a house boat out there for a week earlier this summer. Sounds like that will be a trip for us in the future.

I can't speak to the Delaware River and Chesapeake, I'm more of a lake body than anything else. But, I know a lot of people that love both those places.

 

[BigT51]

I go to Raystown fairly often and it's a fun lake - lots of coves and inlets to anchor and float. It gets busy on weekends, especially this year, so we would always try to get there by 11:00 am at the latest. Some of the ramps are 100% full by then - like Snyder's Run (one of the most popular) near Huntington. I've switched to Shy Beaver ramp which is one of the biggest and usually the last to fill up. It's down by the Lake Raystown Resort Marina. The lake is long and somewhat narrow so you need to watch coming around the turns, there are some big boats that run on the lake.

Blue Marsh only allows one person to be towed at a time so my kids don't like that and yes, the jet skis are getting out of control.

Lately I've been heading to the Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna, it's not busy at all and fairly large (spans PA and MD). There are bald eagles nesting along the river and the Peach Bottom Power Plant keeps the water pretty warm. The wife wants to make an October run to see the trees and eagles so I'm holding off winterizing the boat.

 

[jamesk]

I go to Raystown fairly often and it's a fun lake - lots of coves and inlets to anchor and float. It gets busy on weekends, especially this year, so we would always try to get there by 11:00 am at the latest. Some of the ramps are 100% full by then - like Snyder's Run (one of the most popular) near Huntington. I've switched to Shy Beaver ramp which is one of the biggest and usually the last to fill up. It's down by the Lake Raystown Resort Marina. The lake is long and somewhat narrow so you need to watch coming around the turns, there are some big boats that run on the lake.

Blue Marsh only allows one person to be towed at a time so my kids don't like that and yes, the jet skis are getting out of control.

Lately I've been heading to the Conowingo Dam on the Susquehanna, it's not busy at all and fairly large (spans PA and MD). There are bald eagles nesting along the river and the Peach Bottom Power Plant keeps the water pretty warm. The wife wants to make an October run to see the trees and eagles so I'm holding off winterizing the boat.

Conowingo Dam? What boat ramp do you use?
Do you have to worry about hitting things in the water or is it pretty straight forward to navigate around?
Thanks!

 

[BigT51]

Conowingo Dam? What boat ramp do you use?
Do you have to worry about hitting things in the water or is it pretty straight forward to navigate around?
Thanks!

The two ramps we've used are Muddy Creek and Dorsey Park. Muddy Creek is very popular with the kayakers and you need to follow the channel markers across the river and past the islands - there are some hidden rocks around the islands but if you stay in the channel there's no problem. Dorsey Park is located at the entrance to the Peach Bottom Power Plant and is never crowded and has two ramps and a long dock connecting them. The ramps are pretty steep and sometimes have driftwood floating around but it's never kept us from launching or retrieving. Once your downstream of the islands, the water opens up and is never busy. We occasionally see logs floating in the river - especially after storms - but it's not too bad and easily avoidable. We like to go past (downstream) the power plant since the water is warmer (discharge from the plant) and clearer (they must filter the water during the reactor cooling process) and the current isn't as strong. The bald eagles are down that way as well.

 

[Fourjets]

A lot of people in SE PA go to Chesapeake Bay. Havre de Grace, Northeast, & Chesapeake City are good spots. Each have a walkable town with shops, restaurants, and B&Bs.

Kentmore park! On sasafras