When we traveled up to the Poconos to explore Lake Wallenpaupack, we were immediately fascinated by everyone boating or in a canoe. My husband is pretty avid when it comes to the outdoors, so he was definitely for the idea of taking a canoe out on the calm lake waters. After checking into it, our hotel actually did offer free canoe rentals with our room so that was pretty sweet. If that is something you are interested in, you will want to check with yours before you go.

To prepare for canoeing, I did a couple steps beforehand, and these will also help you as well! Summers in upstate Pennsylvania are very sunny, so you will want to apply generous amounts of sunscreen before you go out boating or on the water. The water reflects the sun back at you, so it is really important that you take steps to insure you do not get sun burnt. I also brought a very large hat, extra water, snacks, water shoes (your feet are going to get wet), and of course even more sunscreen! We wanted to take pictures on the lake, so a neat trick for you is to bring a little sandwich bag for your phone. That way, say if it happened to get a little splash of water on it, the phone would be safe. I put mine in a sandwich bag, and then in the snack container to keep it out of the sun as much as possible as well. After you are out of the water, it is also nice to have extra towels and clothing with you. When we go on a trip, we usually try to do as much as possible in a short amount of time to really take in the area, so this helped save time to go right to the next activity afterwards. The hotel provided us with safety vests, paddles, and the canoe itself.

Once we arrived at the lake, they pulled a canoe right up on the edge of the water. Since I had never done this before, I honestly was wondering how we were going to get it moving! We took a couple steps forward into the lake holding the canoe and jumped right in. (This is where those water shoes come in handy!) Luckily, it went right into the lake with ease.

We had hiked the day prior, and the water looked fairly calm. It was not too windy, but I think because you are on a canoe, you do feel the movement of water a little bit more. It is a completely different perspective being on the water, and it was so neat to see the houses lining the lake, other boats, and keeping an eye out for fish. We did see really little ones and that was so cool! A couple times, larger boats would fly by, and to keep our balance in the canoe, we kind of ducked down into it to keep it steady. Coordinating our paddling was something else we figured out there, but once we got it, we were flying around Lake Wallenpaupack.

I would recommend going on a canoe if you are traveling to the Poconos, and it is a very fun outdoor experience! It is imperative that you take safety first into account and really be aware of your surroundings. You will also want to check out the weather, and make sure you ask your hotel if there are any other safety measures you will want to take when on a canoe, and always wear your life jacket! It is especially important if you have not done this before that you take all safety measures into account before your journey.

Let me know in the comments if you have gone on a canoe before, and what you thought of it! I hope that you have a wonderful day, and remember to click that subscribe button!

I highly recommend the book “Hiking Waterfalls In Pennsylvania.” It specifically maps out where you can find waterfalls in each area and region of the state. If you are an outdoor adventurer, you will want to check this out!

For more information regarding this book, just click on the Amazon affiliate link below!

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Additional Related Articles-

https://www.visitpa.com/region/pocono-mountains/lake-wallenpaupack

Lake Wallenpaupack

Shuman Point The Pennsylvania Poconos

Ricketts Glen State Park

The Historical Valley Forge National Park

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NortheastAllie

For generations, my family has lived in the Philadelphia area, and my writing reflects these influences. This blog explores perspectives on life, encouragement, travel, health, and local living.

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