Raystown Lake 'Master Plan' will guide decision making for years to come

HUNTINGDON COUNTY, Pa. (WJAC) — Raystown Lake is a popular location in the summer months, and even more so during the pandemic. A lot of work goes into making sure the lake is successful.

6 News spoke with a park ranger about how they created their "Master Plan" to reflect community input, and capacity limits.

It’s the largest lake in Pennsylvania, it's 30 miles long and located in Huntgindon County.

On a nice day, Raystown Lake is extremely busy, but park rangers say they have even bigger and better plans for the lake in the upcoming years.

With more than 135,000 acres of public land, 3,000 campsites and hundreds of miles of hiking and biking trails, park rangers say they do everything they can to go above and beyond for visitors.

"If you love the outdoors, you're not going to find anything better than this," says Raystown Lake visitor Patrick Abbot.

Frequent visitors say Raystown Lake is just different from others.

"I haven't been to any park that's nicer than this,” says Abbot. “They have everything here. You can rent a boat, a houseboat, and stay out for three nights if you wanted."

The fresh water, camping sites, and activities are what draw outsiders in, but every 20 to 30 years, a master plan is created, to designate land usage, and help the lake reach new heights.

"Basically, it tells us areas that are designated for development,” explains Park Ranger Allen Gwinn. “Areas that are designated for wildlife management. Areas that are designated for certain activities or are available for certain activities based on partner interest and funding that would come from congress. So, it is a guiding document, much like a zoning plan for a city."

Ranger Gwinn says a survey showed most visitors wanted even more outdoor activities.

"We’re currently involved right now in developing a disc golf course that we will be putting in around the Seven Points visitor center hopefully for this summer, or if not, next summer,” says Gwinn. “We’re also working some partners to hopefully be able to develop some type of a boat launch or take out downstream of the dam near Corban’s Island so that tubers can put in at Corban’s Island float down the river and then take out at Corban’s Bridge."

And while Raystown Lake is a key spot for water enthusiasts,

"When you come out to Raystown on a Saturday or Sunday and its really pretty weather the boat launches fill up, all the parking spaces are taken, if you are trying to get a slip at the marina, all the marina slips are already taken and there's a waiting list," says Gwinn.

A 2018 study revealed the largest lake in Pennsylvania, has already reached capacity.

"The result of the capacity study told us that we cannot or shouldn't enlarge those parking areas or boating slip areas just because there are already enough boats on the water," explains Gwinn.

Park rangers say the limit is for everyone’s safety, and, for lake-goers enjoyment.

"If you have so many boats on the lake that you're not comfortable or you don't feel safe that detracts from your enjoyment from coming out here and we want everyone to leave with a good experience," Gwinn says.

And that’s their goal -- to keep adapting and making changes to the lake, so visitors look forward to coming back year after year.

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