Raystown Lake & Dam

We loved our first visit to Raystown Lake. Our experience was by a rented 58′ houseboat for the weekend. It was a weekend of fishing and reading and eating and SWIMMING!
It has been almost 40 years (!) since I have spent hours and hours in the water swimming and splashing and jumping and diving and floating and applying sunscreen and drifting. SO RELAXING — water temp was perfect. Water was clean, clean, clean. We never touched bottom at any of the three locations where we docked.
There were people camping, bicycling, water skiing, joy riding and kayaking. Water and trees were the road and buildings for the duration. Nice. Yes, you can tell I am a landlubber. No apologies but it was a great experience — who knew how awesome water noodles and a floating hammock could be?
Hoping to get the opportunity to do this again —

Raystown Lake is one of my favorite lakes in Pennsylvania (2^nd would be Lake Wallenpaupack). Raystown is a 30-​mile long, 8,300-acre lake (largest lake that is entirely within Pennsylvania). It is beautiful… just stunning !!!
There are numerous ways of experiencing everything Raystown has to offer. You can go boating, fishing, camping, kayaking, watercrafting, mountain biking, hiking, etc. There are many campsites on the lake as well as several boat launches and trails. The lake is stocked with large/​small-​mouth bass, lake trout, striped bass, muskies, etc. I would also recommend taking a long drive along the Juniata River up to the Raystown Dam.
We had rented a large, 60 foot houseboat for the weekend from the Seven Points Marina. The lake was so huge that it could almost swallow up the boat. The views from the houseboat of the surrounding hills on the shores of the winding lake are breathtaking. Since much of the surrounding land is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, it is not available for residential development. So, the land is covered by trees all the way down to the edge of the water ! (no lakefront houses, 118 miles of natural wooded shoreline). The air always seem cooler up in these neck of the woods. Swimming in the lake is super refreshing. It’s just one big party.
I would recommend experiencing the lake from both land and water. Maybe go boating one time then tent camping the next.
Go to Raystown now, just go!

Just got back from several days of camping and mountain biking at Raystown Lake. Fabulous place! First off, it is absolutely beautiful. The water is extremely clean and you can see your toes when standing waist high in the water. The tree lined shores and the beautiful red shale that line the shore just stunning. We rented a lakefront campsite in the 7 Points area that was impressive. There were plenty of trees, a fire ring with a grate for cooking, and a picnic table. We were able to pitch our tent in a shady area facing the lake. A great view to wake up to in the morning. We swam daily in the lake… So refreshing and fun. The highlight of our trip was the Allegrippis bike trails. We are big mountain bikers and love to explore new areas. The trails are well maintained and super fun. Trails are marked adequately. The system runs into a series of loops. The terrain changes through out the ride. There are a number of rolling climbs and switchbacks. We road 15 miles of the trails… My favorite being the Hydro Loop and Ray’s Revenge. The trails accessed the campground we were staying in so it was awesome to complete our ride on the trails, ride back to our campsite sweaty and tired, only to throw on the bathing suit and jump in the lake… Refreshing and a total wake up! The campsite is completely primitive, no bathrooms with plumbing. There was a water pump a short walk away from our campsite we would venture to in order to wash our dishes. We are headed back in August to rent a houseboat on the lake for a long weekend for a friend’s birthday! I am so excited to go back!

The Raystown Lake and Dam is a neat area to explore whether you’re a local or visitor. There’s so much history behind the creation of the snake-​like 8,000+ acre Lake Raystown and the 1968 – 1972 construction of the current Raystown Dam.
My father is from nearby Entriken, and I was recently reintroduced to this area during a family trip. In fact, my family once owned farmland that the lake now covers.
One of the primary goals of the lake and dam, in addition to flood control, was to bring tourism/​recreation to the area. Now nearly 2 million people visit annually to camp, boat, swim, fish, etc. Another primary – and controversial – goal of the lake and dam was to create hydroelectric power. Today one can view portions of the William F. Matson Generating Station, operating commercially since 1988, near the dam.
I highly suggest taking a drive along the Juniata River and then up to the top of the Raystown Dam. (Careful, some sections of Henderson Hollow Road leading to the dam are rough gravel.) During my family’s Memorial Day Weekend visit the Juniata River was really high – check out the photos – and the water so subsequently turbulent that the dam spillways weren’t even visible through the mist from the vantage points along the road leading up the dam. The thundering spillways were a sight to behold. At the top of the dam there’s a lovely free park with benches, picnic tables, restrooms, a memorial pagoda, and countless great photo ops.