Tawanda's Tracks: Wilsonville Recreation and Camping Area, Hawley, PA

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Wilsonville Recreation and Camping Area, Hawley, PA

Date of Stay: Wednesday August 19 – Sunday August 23, 2015 (4 nights)

Rate: $28/night

Website: Wilsonville Recreation and Camping Area
   113 Ammon Drive(across from Dunkin Donuts)
   Hawley, PA 18428
   570-226-4382

Description: About 20 miles east of Scranton PA in the Poconos, this park is maintained by the local electric company (PPL) which built the dam forming Lake Wallenpaupack in the 1920’s. PPL has a nice trail right at the campground, a nearby Environmental Learning Center, and an environmental preserve on the lake. We were on site 17 with W/E(50A) and surprised to get sat tv through the trees. The roads and sites are dirt and gravel. No sewer hookups even for the reasonably priced seasonal sites but they do have a honeywagon service.

Trash and Recycle: Trash cans at just about every site but didn’t notice any recycle.

Activities: I enjoyed the Wallenpaupack Lake Trail and Wallenpaupack Creek Trail which go right along the lake through the cg and then past the dam and down stream by the flume line. I went one direction one day and the other direction the next day. The Lake Wallenpaupack Visitor Center is near one end while the PPL Environmental Learning Center is near the dam. Both of these are very nice facilities to visit. Across the lake from the campground is Shuman Point Natural Area with a 3 mile trail in the woods near the lake. I liked the old stone walls there that once bordered farm fields. The Visitor Center has the typical area brochures but it also has some local history info boards and a huge taxidermy Black Bear. The PPL Learning Center has a couple of meeting rooms along with a couple of classrooms; one for younger students and one lab room for teens. There is an authentic Native American Canoe there that was discovered after a hurricane in 1955. It is an 18 foot dugout from a chestnut log built in the late 1600’s. The campground has several seasonal sites and I struck up a conversation with some of the long term patrons. The following weekend will be the Wally Lake Fest which has a boat parade going right by the campground. The seasonals won last year with a pontoon boat decorated like a fire truck with water even shooting out of a fire hose. I saw some pictures and it really looked like a fire truck on the water. They were working on this year’s entry which is a steam locomotive on the pontoon boat. It will have wheels that turn and steam puffing out the pipe. A smaller boat will follow right behind it full of “coal”. I think they will win again.