Spending Time Out in Nature at Raystown Lake

We live in the suburbs and while we enjoy city life…there are times that we just need to escape. Heading into the mountains gives us a mental-break and allows us to re-energize our souls. After spending time out in nature, I always feel re-energized, de-stressed and refreshed.

In central Pennsylvania we have Raystown Lake which is located in Huntingdon County. It’s about a 3 1/2 hour drive from our home. Once you leave the city, you’ll drive through many small towns and pass through numerous mountains to get there. I have to admit, it’s a really nice drive.

Raystown Lake offers all kinds of fun outdoor activities. You can go boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, scuba diving, camping and they have on-site picnic grounds. It’s Pennsylvania’s largest lake (completely contained within the state) and it attracts thousands of visitors every year.

We headed up to Raystown Lake for an overnight trip. During our stay we enjoyed a little bit of fishing & boating…but the main highlight during our little trip was the hiking. We love to hike and really enjoyed hiking on two different trails. We tend to stick to the “marked” trails and on trails that have water features like natural springs, small creeks and/or waterfalls.

If swimming is your thing…they do have a sandy beach area where families like to hang out. I love to swim, but not a huge fan of swimming in lakes. Sorry! Near the beach area you’ll find some nice picnic tables if you want to enjoy a nice lunch. We brought along “brown-bagged” lunches and enjoyed sitting by the water to enjoy our lunch.

You can visit the lake year-round and even during the wintertime you’ll find some activities going on. You can go hiking, cross-country skiing, ice fishing, etc. I’ve never been there during the winter season, so I can’t personally speak about the wintertime activities. With that said, my brother goes there all of the time to do ice fishing and said it’s great for that!

Now that our grandchildren are getting older, we’re going to plan a camping trip up to Lake Raystown and take them along. We have a nice travel trailer and I think the kids would absolutely love spending a few days in the country. Need to get that trip scheduled for later this year.

Here are four photographs from our little trip. It’s a really nice area to visit if you’re looking to spend some time outdoors and in nature.

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