Crater Lake — Local services in Walpack Township

The place itself is gorgeous. Clean water, not too deep so very family and kid friendly, plenty of parking. There are a number of trails around, including a segment of the Appalachian trail. There are two small bathroom facilities right at the parking lot.

You will have no shortage of wildlife there as well. There are fishes in this lake just like pigeons in NYC (not sure if fishing is allowed though). As soon as you enter the lake they come in from everywhere to welcome you. If you stay still for long enough you'll feel them pecking your legs. After the initial "they're trying to eat me" reaction, kids love it too. In addition to that we also saw a couple of water snakes around. They're far from being considered very dangerous but if you're naturally inclined to freak out when you see one, it's good to at least know you might see them ahead of time.

The 3 starts are due to the access to Crater Lake. It takes considerably longer to get there due to the roads being so poorly maintained. There are huge potholes everywhere during the long drive there, forcing you to constantly drive over the opposite lane, break to a halt or swing your vehicle wildly to avoid them. Another part of the way there is via dirt road which could also be...

A little history. This was called Harding Lake in the 50's and in the 60's, development allowed over 200 houses to be built around the lake. It was very active in the summer. The water was actually clearer than it is now. The lake nearby called Lake success is not really a lake but low rocky area that might get water in it after a heavy rain. When the Tocks Island proposal Delaware Dam) came in the 70's, all the homes and private land was acquired by the government and all the homes destroyed. The Tocks Island project never came to fruition so the government changed the area into a recreational area. Someone introduced Beaver to the area in the 80's and the Beavers damaged the environment around the water s edge. That made the water cloudy. The east end of the lake we called "The Beach". The west end has high rock formations which is a good place to camp ( if you don't get caught). The AT trail runs along the west end and northern part of the lake. Hemlock Pond and Long Pine Pond are only so-so and not worth much time...

I take my kids here every week during the summer. It’s a beautiful place to spend a day at. The water is crystal clear, with fish that come racing from everywhere when they see a shadow over the water. A couple snakes here and there, but nothing to be afraid of. They won’t touch you, they have no interest in you. Bull frogs, they have a lot of frogs. They have large tadpoles that swim around, and some newts. Two small bathrooms in the parking lot, but after all, you are in the woods. You can not describe how magical and amazing it is in words, it’s Disney for the...