National and State Parks - Recreational Areas
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Shawnee State Park
State Park Information
State Park Overview
Camping
Camping modern sites, some with electric
The 293 sites have picnic tables and fire rings and
accommodate either tents or trailers. 65 sites have electric hookups. Two campsites are ADA accessible. There is a sanitary dump station and centrally located washhouses with flush toilets, showers and laundry tubs. A camp store sells wood, charcoal and other camping supplies and is open from Memorial Day Weekend to Labor Day. The camping season begins the second Friday in April and ends in late December.
Organized Group Tenting
An 80-person capacity rustic tenting area with composting toilets and a hand-pumped well is available April through December for organized youth and adult groups. Advance reservations are required.
Trails
Bicycling 7.5 miles of trails
The 3.4-mile Lakeshore Trail is easy biking and includes a small section of shared road. All other designated bicycling trails are moderate difficulty.
Picnicking
Boating
Boating electric motors only
The 451-acre Shawnee Lake has three boat launch areas and 183 boat mooring spaces. A boat dock is ADA accessible. The boat concession rents paddleboats, canoes and rowboats during the summer.
Motorboats must display a boat registration from any state. Non-powered boats must display one of the following boat registration from any state launching permit or mooring permit from Pennsylvania State Parks that are available at most state park offices launch use permit from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
Swimming
Fishing and Hunting
Fishing
The 451-acre Shawnee Lake is stocked with warm-water game fish. Common game species are smallmouth and largemouth bass, northern pike, walleye, muskellunge, pickerel, catfish, crappie, yellow perch, bluegill, sunfish, sucker, bullhead and carp. An ADA accessible fishing pier is by the Diehl Parking Lot. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission laws apply.
Ice Fishing
Common species caught through the ice are yellow perch, northern pike, walleye and pickerel. The ice thickness is not monitored. For your safety, be sure the ice is four inches thick and carry safety equipment.
Hunting and Firearms
Over 3,000 acres are open to hunting, trapping and the training of dogs during established seasons. Common game species are deer, rabbit, squirrel and grouse.
Hunting woodchucks -lso known as groundhogs, is prohibited. Dog training is only permitted from the day following Labor Day to March 31 in designated hunting areas. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the Pennsylvania Game Commission rules and regulations apply. Contact the park office for accessible hunting information.
Use extreme caution with firearms at all times. The park is used by other visitors during hunting seasons. Firearms and archery equipment may be uncased and ready for use only in authorized hunting areas during hunting seasons. In areas not open to hunting or during non-hunting seasons, firearms and archery equipment must be kept in the owner?s car, trailer or camp.
History of the Area
Shawnee State Park is named for American Indians who lived for a short time in the vicinity of the park during their westward migration from the Potomac in the early 1700s.
General Forbes camped his army within the boundaries of the park while building the Forbes Road in the campaign of 1758 against the French at Fort Duquesne, Pittsburgh. One can still walk remnants of the Forbes Trail within the park.
The white barn, buildings and houses now surrounded by a lake of water were once surrounded by a sea of grass. These buildings belonged to John Bowman?s ?Water Brooks Farm.? John Bowman was president and chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh and was the driving force behind the building of the Cathedral of Learning.