Forget smooth rides and tranquil waters: some travelers have the need for speed — and rapids! Don’t get us wrong, we love a good picnic and can’t resist the chance to cast a fishing line, but adrenaline wins every so often. This summer, practice your water skiing, hold onto your inner tube, and kick it up a notch at some of the best boating lakes in PA just made for powerboating.
Don’t forget to have your boat registered with the PA Fish & Boat Commission. Out-of-state friends need not worry, it is legal to operate a boat registered in another state on Pennsylvania waters.
1. SHENANGO RIVER LAKE
Hermitage
Maximum Lake Speed: unlimited in portions
Shenango River Lake, one of the best boating lakes near Cleveland, has six boat launch ramps located around the reservoir — an 11-mile-long stretch of water that accommodates powerboats of unlimited horsepower. Feed your need for an adrenaline rush when you try your hand at wakeboarding, water skiing, knee boarding, tubing, wake surfing, air chair, or wakeskating!
2. CURWENSVILLE LAKE
Clearfield
Maximum Lake Speed: no horsepower limitations
You’ll find Curwensville Lake in the Pennsylvania Wilds, but you won’t find any limits on horsepower. At the 790-acre lake, children 12 years of age or younger are required to wear a life jacket when underway on a boat that is 20' or less. Watercraft operators, passengers, sailboarders, water skiers or anyone being towed behind a boat must also wear a life jacket.
3. LAKE AUGUSTA
Sunbury
Maximum Lake Speed: no horsepower limitations
Located at the confluence of the west and north branches of the Susquehanna River, the 3,060-acre Lake Augusta is formed by the world’s largest inflatable dam. When the dam is raised in the summer, the real fun begins! The dam raises the water level at least eight feet and creates four miles of unhindered boating.