Saturday Sunshine Drenched Beltzville State Park
LEHIGHTON PA – Carbon County PA businesses, events, and other public venues won’t officially have the opportunity to re-open until next weekend, under coronavirus lockdown orders lifted there by Gov. Tom Wolf. However, a sun-filled visit Saturday (May 16, 2020) to Beltzville State Park, just outside Lehighton, found plenty of people enjoying the park with limited facilities.
It re-opened Friday (May 15) with the governor’s permission. The more than 2,900-acre park is a 54-mile drive from Sanatoga village center, primarily on Interstate 476 North.
The park was developed around the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control project – Beltzville Dam on Pohopoco Creek – across Franklin and Towamensing townships. Opened in 1972, it includes a visitor center with exhibit halls, family campsites, cabins, unique houses, lodges, cottages, yurts, a beach, swimming pool, walking trails, and other amenities. All are being opened gradually on differing schedules.
Saturday’s guests could be seen (above and below) sun-bathing on its sandy beach (although swimming was prohibited and the shoreline fenced off), fishing (those wielding poles said fish were biting at live baits), and walking with loved ones for the exercise. Some chose just to sit and watch the lake and its activity, with a variety of motor boats launching from its busy, three-trailers-wide ramp.
Rabbits and squirrels congregated around one of the park’s historic features, a relocated and repaired covered bridge. Local folklore claims that if you make a wish while walking silently across the bridge, it will come true.
Photos by Debbie Zlomek for The Post Publications
Editor’s Note: When The Posts take a road trip, its readers go too. “Travels With The Post” is a series that reports on places and activities beyond our usual coverage area, but usually within a drive of 3-1/2 hours of Pottstown PA. Joe Zlomek, managing editor of The Posts, is an accredited travel writer and a TripAdvisor.com contributor since 2006. Read other articles in this series.
