Blue Marsh Lake
Blue Marsh Lake
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Bodies of Water • Nature & Wildlife Areas
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  • GerryBaron06
    Spring City, Pennsylvania999 contributions
    Nice getaway for a day trip
    We were able to get a nice view of the lake and dam from the visitor center. Due to COVID-19, we did not venture towards the beach. The lake is not as busy with boats as what I have seen elsewhere (e.g., Lake Lanier in Georgia).
    Visited August 2020
    Written September 4, 2020
  • Eka
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania5 contributions
    Nice lake but
    The lake was beautiful however the beach was crowded and the bathrooms were disgusting. Went on a weekend in July lots of family reunions. Very hard to find a place to sit. Lots of loud music and people did not take care of their area. But if you could find a quiet place, the lake was pretty to look at.
    Visited July 2020
    Traveled as a couple
    Written September 7, 2020
  • Frankie B
    1 contribution
    Chillaxing
    Blue Marsh gets a bad rap. It is a beautiful lake filled with many types of fish including large mouth and small mouth bass. If you are a bird watcher, or just like wild life in general, this is the perfect setting for that. I can’t talk on the cleanliness of the bathrooms or beach, but if you like boating, fishing and relaxing then this is the place for you.
    Visited September 2021
    Traveled as a couple
    Written February 10, 2022
  • Dalmery D
    1 contribution
    Death Lake
    Stay away from this lake … too many deaths in this lake wether you can swim or not. This lake has no limit safety net where swimmers should not pass. No life guards on duty. This lake NEEDS TO BE CLOSED!!!!!! Do not take your kids here.
    Visited July 2022
    Traveled with friends
    Written July 26, 2022
  • podrozniczka60
    New Jersey14,763 contributions
    Picturesque Reading rivera.
    We had only a rather superficial encounter with Blue Marsh National Recreation Area . It is a lovely and impressive complex - an artificial lake, beach and walking area. We did not stay on the beach . It was busy but not crowded, some boaters, lots of fishermen. Instead we found the area very pleasant for a relaxing stroll.
    Visited August 2020
    Written August 13, 2020
  • lukey1_11
    54 contributions
    Not what it used to be
    Avoid Blue Marsh Lake at all cost. What was once a wonderful lake to swim, fish and boat is now a three ring circus overcrowded especially on weekends and there is a total lack of respect by the the visitors. The boat ramp is something to watch as you will see the worst human behavior you can imagine. Jet skiers set up tents all along the shore near the boat ramps, park their cars wherever they want and play loud music like it is their personal space and care or no one else. They leave trash behind and do not follow any boater safety rules. It is no wonder there are so many accidents. The boaters are just as bad and to be honest, this lake should be closed to boaters and jet ski use. The park rangers are a joke and nobody takes them serious. The park hires interns for the summer that have no idea what they are doing and act as mediators rather then law enforcement. If you want to see comedy in action, take a trip to one of the two main boat launches on a weekend and prepare to be amazed at utter stupidity in action. While fishing in the coves where it is “no wake”, i watch all day to see jet skis and boats blow through at full speed and nobody does anything about it. It used to be a great place, no it is just an accident waiting to happen. So sad.
    Visited July 2019
    Traveled with family
    Written July 15, 2019
  • Dan A
    Camp Hill, Pennsylvania1,234 contributions
    Good day in the sun.
    I visited blue marsh lake with my family of 5. We met other family members there and got a nice big spot for all of us. We were able to use one of the many charcoal grill that's they have available for use free of charge. I went on Labor Day and parking was free. I'm not sure if you have to pay other times. We had kayaks, a boat and a jet ski which there was space for all of them right by where we were set up. The game commission is very active with this area doing license and life vest checks. A lot of boats that are not compliant get stopped and towed in so make sure that you follow the rules or get a fine. Some boaters can get quite aggressive with there driving and speed very fast so be careful in the water. There are also bathrooms on site that were ok but no soap was provided that I saw. If you have a smaller or unpowered boat there is a section further up from the main beach which is all a wake free zone. All in all it was a good day and the family had a good time. If your ok with a lot of loud people and music you won't have any issues.
    Visited September 2017
    Traveled with family
    Written September 6, 2017
  • Casandra F
    1 contribution
    Gorgeous views, terrible party location
    The view is positively gorgeous, especially when there's a flock of boats out enjoying the lake and the pavilions are spacious and seemed well maintained. I booked for a summer weekend, though I called the park service because I noticed it mentioned parking fills up and sometimes there is a wait in line. This concerned me since I was expecting up to 70 people. The lady assured me that while yes the weekends get very busy, if I had the party later in the afternoon I should have no problem. I decided on a late afternoon time. Needless to say she was either misinformed or just didn't care not to feed me a line. By 1pm the entire parking lot was empty near my pavilion, I was feeling relief. After I chased at least 3 parties away from the pavilion who insisted it was free public space. No, I paid and reserved it months ago, thanks. I left to get all the food I had stored and returned an hour later only to be completely denied access to the park. I tried to pull into the drive which was lined up with cars, but had room for more, waiting for parking and an extremely rude park ranger started screaming at me that I was not permitted into the park. I explained to him that I had hundreds of dollars worth of food in my car, hot AND cold and that I had paid for the pavilion use. He continued his rude tirade, clearly not caring whatsoever. I asked him repeatedly what my options were, which he ignored. He made me back out of the drive, pull along the road across the street, and gave me no solutions other than 'well you can start walking your food up'. Which was a good half mile into the park mind you. Eventually about 20 minutes later he let me in line to wait for parking, which took another 20 minutes or so. All in all most of my guests said they waited for parking for 45-60 minutes each. The pavilion rental was $60, but I spent upwards of $1000 on the party which was supposed to be a memorable day for the guest of honor. Unfortunately because of all the delays it ended up being rushed, anxiety ridden and kind of a bust. An expensive bust. The view was great, as all my guests agreed. But the rude behavior by the park ranger, the misinformation from the lady at the park service, and oh yeah, the horribly disgusting bathroom facilities, made it a terrible experience all around. I should have gone with my gut when I saw the mention of parking issues and looked elsewhere. I understand having to wait for parking, even after being misled, but to not even be allowed to WAIT for that parking after I paid for the pavilion was beyond frustrating. I do wonder if now that access is free as of 2016 it's created more demand and the situation I ran into. In any case, go for the boating and the view, but don't give them any of your money for a reservation.
    Visited August 2016
    Traveled with friends
    Written March 31, 2017
  • SHayes3
    Reading, Pennsylvania174 contributions
    Hiking, Biking, Boating....
    Great place for hiking with your dogs, biking the trails, and boating. Two boat launches (we use the one on Rt. 183 to put our Kayaks in the water. Plenty of trail network for hiking and biking. While the lake is used heavily it never feels crowded because of its size.
    Visited January 2018
    Traveled as a couple
    Written April 2, 2018
  • miscalane
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania815 contributions
    Nice for little kuds
    This place is a small beach on a lake with swimming within the buoyed off area. The water was clean, the sandy part of the beach a little narrow but adequate. Lots of grounds to spread out & play in the grass. Picnic tables in the shade part way down the somewhat steep incline to get from the parking lot to the lake. There is also a sand box near the picnic tables. The snack shop/showers/bathrooms are also halfway down the hill and were clean. There is a playground off to the side of the building. Lesson learned: pack lightly. Only take the essentials down the hill. This free activity is perfect for little kids.
    Visited August 2017
    Traveled with family
    Written August 7, 2017
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions

4.0
34 reviews
Excellent
11
Very good
15
Average
4
Poor
2
Terrible
2

Dalmery D
1 contribution
Jul 2022 • Friends
Stay away from this lake … too many deaths in this lake wether you can swim or not. This lake has no limit safety net where swimmers should not pass. No life guards on duty. This lake NEEDS TO BE CLOSED!!!!!! Do not take your kids here.
Written July 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

podrozniczka60
New Jersey14,763 contributions
Aug 2020
We had only a rather superficial encounter with Blue Marsh National Recreation Area . It is a lovely and impressive complex - an artificial lake, beach and walking area. We did not stay on the beach . It was busy but not crowded, some boaters, lots of fishermen. Instead we found the area very pleasant for a relaxing stroll.
Written August 13, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

lukey1_11
reading54 contributions
Jul 2019 • Family
Avoid Blue Marsh Lake at all cost. What was once a wonderful lake to swim, fish and boat is now a three ring circus overcrowded especially on weekends and there is a total lack of respect by the the visitors. The boat ramp is something to watch as you will see the worst human behavior you can imagine. Jet skiers set up tents all along the shore near the boat ramps, park their cars wherever they want and play loud music like it is their personal space and care or no one else. They leave trash behind and do not follow any boater safety rules. It is no wonder there are so many accidents. The boaters are just as bad and to be honest, this lake should be closed to boaters and jet ski use. The park rangers are a joke and nobody takes them serious. The park hires interns for the summer that have no idea what they are doing and act as mediators rather then law enforcement. If you want to see comedy in action, take a trip to one of the two main boat launches on a weekend and prepare to be amazed at utter stupidity in action. While fishing in the coves where it is “no wake”, i watch all day to see jet skis and boats blow through at full speed and nobody does anything about it. It used to be a great place, no it is just an accident waiting to happen. So sad.
Written July 15, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dan A
Camp Hill, PA1,234 contributions
Sep 2017 • Family
I visited blue marsh lake with my family of 5. We met other family members there and got a nice big spot for all of us. We were able to use one of the many charcoal grill that's they have available for use free of charge.
I went on Labor Day and parking was free. I'm not sure if you have to pay other times. We had kayaks, a boat and a jet ski which there was space for all of them right by where we were set up.
The game commission is very active with this area doing license and life vest checks. A lot of boats that are not compliant get stopped and towed in so make sure that you follow the rules or get a fine.
Some boaters can get quite aggressive with there driving and speed very fast so be careful in the water. There are also bathrooms on site that were ok but no soap was provided that I saw.
If you have a smaller or unpowered boat there is a section further up from the main beach which is all a wake free zone.
All in all it was a good day and the family had a good time. If your ok with a lot of loud people and music you won't have any issues.
Written September 6, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Casandra F
1 contribution
Aug 2016 • Friends
The view is positively gorgeous, especially when there's a flock of boats out enjoying the lake and the pavilions are spacious and seemed well maintained. I booked for a summer weekend, though I called the park service because I noticed it mentioned parking fills up and sometimes there is a wait in line. This concerned me since I was expecting up to 70 people. The lady assured me that while yes the weekends get very busy, if I had the party later in the afternoon I should have no problem. I decided on a late afternoon time.

Needless to say she was either misinformed or just didn't care not to feed me a line. By 1pm the entire parking lot was empty near my pavilion, I was feeling relief. After I chased at least 3 parties away from the pavilion who insisted it was free public space. No, I paid and reserved it months ago, thanks.

I left to get all the food I had stored and returned an hour later only to be completely denied access to the park. I tried to pull into the drive which was lined up with cars, but had room for more, waiting for parking and an extremely rude park ranger started screaming at me that I was not permitted into the park. I explained to him that I had hundreds of dollars worth of food in my car, hot AND cold and that I had paid for the pavilion use. He continued his rude tirade, clearly not caring whatsoever. I asked him repeatedly what my options were, which he ignored. He made me back out of the drive, pull along the road across the street, and gave me no solutions other than 'well you can start walking your food up'. Which was a good half mile into the park mind you. Eventually about 20 minutes later he let me in line to wait for parking, which took another 20 minutes or so.

All in all most of my guests said they waited for parking for 45-60 minutes each. The pavilion rental was $60, but I spent upwards of $1000 on the party which was supposed to be a memorable day for the guest of honor. Unfortunately because of all the delays it ended up being rushed, anxiety ridden and kind of a bust. An expensive bust.

The view was great, as all my guests agreed. But the rude behavior by the park ranger, the misinformation from the lady at the park service, and oh yeah, the horribly disgusting bathroom facilities, made it a terrible experience all around. I should have gone with my gut when I saw the mention of parking issues and looked elsewhere. I understand having to wait for parking, even after being misled, but to not even be allowed to WAIT for that parking after I paid for the pavilion was beyond frustrating. I do wonder if now that access is free as of 2016 it's created more demand and the situation I ran into.

In any case, go for the boating and the view, but don't give them any of your money for a reservation.
Written March 31, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SHayes3
Reading, PA174 contributions
Jan 2018 • Couples
Great place for hiking with your dogs, biking the trails, and boating. Two boat launches (we use the one on Rt. 183 to put our Kayaks in the water. Plenty of trail network for hiking and biking. While the lake is used heavily it never feels crowded because of its size.
Written April 2, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

miscalane
Philadelphia, PA815 contributions
Aug 2017 • Family
This place is a small beach on a lake with swimming within the buoyed off area. The water was clean, the sandy part of the beach a little narrow but adequate. Lots of grounds to spread out & play in the grass. Picnic tables in the shade part way down the somewhat steep incline to get from the parking lot to the lake. There is also a sand box near the picnic tables. The snack shop/showers/bathrooms are also halfway down the hill and were clean. There is a playground off to the side of the building.

Lesson learned: pack lightly. Only take the essentials down the hill.

This free activity is perfect for little kids.
Written August 7, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Deemarie1
Allentown, PA63 contributions
Aug 2015 • Family
We had a fun time at Blue Marsh Lake on Saturday August 22, 2015. We got there at 8:00a.m there was no security guards at that time. We put the $3.00 in the yellow envelop, cut the bottom part to place on the car dashboard and drop the envelop in the drop box. We got there early to get a picnic table and a place to grill. Great spot close to the lake. We were there with family and friends and we had everything we needed to have a wonderful time. The 4 children had a wonderful time swimming and then at the end went on the Fox Trot Trail. We stay for 9 hours. We will visit again great time.
Written August 23, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Michael M
1 contribution
Aug 2019
This lake is great for boating, very large area for tubing & skiing, large no wake sections to anchoring your boat to relax, swim & fish. There needs to be better enforcement especially with the jet skiers. Too much nutsin around close to the launch areas & no wake areas when there is a large open lake area to play. Also the swim beach needs to be contained to only the swim area not next to it where boats come in & out for the picnic area. A few times the beach was closed due to elevated bacteria levels but yet everyone was allowed to swim & crowd the water just outside the beach area where all the boat traffic is. Isn't that defeating the purpose? May as well just keep the beach open & keep people safe. Access fees should go back into effect possibly even upping it to 5 or even $10.00 a car & this money can go towards more law enforcement & or maintenance
Written October 12, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Shelly S
42 contributions
Jun 2016 • Couples
Decided to take advantage of a beautiful day, so my boyfriend could enjoy his new kayak. This was my first time at the lake, and his second. We got there at about 10:45, and parked in the C lot, a bit away from the beach area which was filling up quickly. The lake is beautiful, with a nice sandy beach area where many families were picnicking. There is a concession stand and rest rooms/changing area at the beach spot. We went to one of the grassy areas away from the roped-off swimming spot in front of the beach. The grassy areas seem to draw less people, but the overall vibe is pretty relaxed and fun. Note to families: when I walked across to the rest rooms I definitely caught the scent of some weed being smoked. Didn't bother me and no one was being obnoxious about it, but if you aren't okay with that you might want to stay away from the beach area at peak times.
Written June 21, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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