TheLakeInsiderThe insider's guide to America's luxury lakes
← Lake Wallenpaupack
The local guide

Everything worth doing.Within 20 minutes.

Editors' picks across 8categories — the dock with the deepest channel, the winery with the view, the restaurant with the right wine list, the trail nobody's on at sunrise.

The table

Restaurants

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Hawley
The Dock on Wallenpaupack

Water-inspired food and vintage-cocktail twists right on the lake, with weekly live music and enough deck seating to make the wait worth it on a Saturday. The default pick when the group wants a view with dinner rather than a formal room.

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Hawley
Gresham's Chop House

Steaks, seafood, and Italian standards with a dining room, lounge, and outdoor deck all facing the water — the lake's steakhouse-formal answer to the more casual dock bars nearby. Book the deck for sunset if the weather's holding.

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Lakeville
Capri Restaurant & Lounge

A Lakeville institution since 1958, with a ten-mile scenic view over the lake and Italian classics — linguine in clam sauce, house-made gnocchi, veal a la parmigiana. Banquet packages run up to 175 guests, so a wedding or reunion crowd may already be booked; call ahead on a summer weekend.

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Hawley
Glass — wine.bar.kitchen

American-style tapas at the Ledges Hotel, overlooking a waterfall cascading through the Wallenpaupack Creek gorge rather than the lake itself — hummus, Pennsylvania pierogis, and a shareable cheese board, with an all-American wine and beer list. Multi-level outdoor patio with live music in season.

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The tap

Breweries

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Hawley
Wallenpaupack Brewing Company

A Welwood Avenue taproom that won three gold medals at the 2022 World Beer Awards — a real destination brewery, not just a local pour. Closed Tuesday and Wednesday; the kitchen runs alongside the beer list for a full dinner rather than a drinks-only stop.

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The outdoors

Parks & trails

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Hawley
Palmyra Township Public Beach

The only public beach on the lake, on Lake Wallenpaupack Road — lifeguards, a snack bar, volleyball courts, and picnic tables and grills that rent for $10 a day. Open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, 11 to 5, weather permitting.

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Hawley
Wallenpaupack Lake Trail

A flat, three-mile packed-gravel out-and-back over the dike near Route 507, passing the Visitors Center and Palmyra Township Public Beach — open shoreline views, bald eagles and osprey, wheelchair-accessible on the Tafton Dike section. No dogs or bikes permitted, unusual for a lake trail this size.

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The water

Boat launches

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Lake Ariel
Mangan Cove

The lake's only free public launch, run by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission off Route 590 near Wilsonville — parking for about 48 trailers. Four fee-based Brookfield-owned launches (Caffrey, Ironwood Point, Ledgedale, Wilsonville) cover the rest of the shoreline; camper fees are waived at those.

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Greentown
New Wave Marina

A full-service marina on Route 507 in Greentown (formerly Pine Crest Marina) — pontoons, deck boats, speedboats, fishing boats, kayaks, and runabouts by the half-day, full-day, or multi-day, plus boat sales and slip rentals May through October.

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Iconic stops

Iconic stops

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Lake Ariel
Claws 'N' Paws Wild Animal Park

A private zoo built from one trail and 18 species in 1974, now five trails and over 120 species on Ledgedale Road — hand-feed parrots and giraffes, a petting zoo, a dino-dig pit, and a daily Animal Ambassador show. Open mid-April through late October only.

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