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.

On site 17  Site 17
Site 17  Syl grillin' at site 17
Site 17
Office/Store  Water feature at office
Office with nice water feature
Resident entertainment  Constant entertainment
Cutey Pie!  Dinner and a Show!
Constant entertainment at our site

Many arrowheads and artifacts  Info boards about building the dam
Big Bear! Bear attack! Big Bear!
Inside the Lake Wallenpaupack Visitor Center

Youth classroom  Lab classroom
Classrooms inside the PPL Environmental Learning Center
Info board  Dugout canoe and artifacts
Inside the PPL Learning Center

WLT info sign Building the Tafton Dike  WLT info sign Farm Land to Lake
WLT WLT WLT
Squirrel on WLT  Chipmunk on WLT
Along the Wallenpaupack Lake Trail

WCT Info sign 2  WCT info sign 5
Flume Line...Dam...Creekbed  Flume Line on WCT
WCT WCT WCT
Along the Wallenpaupack Creek Trail

Shuman Point Trail Syl at lake shore of Shuman Point Trail Shuman Point Trail
Trail crosses an old stone wall  Trail crosses an old stone wall
Along Shuman Point Natural Area Trail

Boat docks in the cg  Boat docks in the cg
Lots of boats docked at the campground

Boat float  Boat float
Locomotive steam engine for the boat parade

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