Raystown Lake, PA

[divertodd]

ANybody ever do any diving in Raystown lake in Pennsylvania? If so...any spots you recomend?

 

[tic]

Re: Raystown Lake, PA

I'm NAUI certified and we boat at Raystown.. Haven't dove their though.. Visibility looks pretty good in the no wake area coves, for a freshwater lake that is....... Our depth sounder measured 160' in one area of open lake but the coves are typically 40-60', shallower near shore. Should be pretty good

 

[divertodd]

Re: Raystown Lake, PA

Thanks, I have a week off in August and thought I might Take the boat up and do a little camping for a few days. I miht have to bring a tank or two along. Which campsite do you recomend? or which launch?

 

[tic]

Re: Raystown Lake, PA

If you want luxury you should go to raystown resort and lodge campground.(excellent water park and a couple of restaurants, marina store, etc. etc.). If you prefer more primitive, 7 points campground which is still right on the lake. We use snyders run boat launch but that's at the north end of the lake.. 7 points and raystown resort both have their own launches. As with most lakes, try and avoid the weekends, it gets crowded.. It's really a clean lake and there are so many coves to anchor at you'll be spending a lot of time looking for the best dive spot... Again, visibility is prettty good for a freshwater lake...

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Raystown Lake, PA

Todd if you go with your boat I'd be interested to hear your experiences. I'd love to take my boat up there sometime. I was there for the first time last year and we just took a canoe. BAD IDEA. It was probably the nicest weekend of the whole summer so the lake was very very busy. The wakes coming off some of the large boats there made us fear for our lives. I don't think I'd even feel comfortable in my motor boat there on a busy weekend. We put in at the raystown resort and they have the nicest boat ramp I've ever seen. They also have a nice beach area set up there.

 

[tic]

Re: Raystown Lake, PA

We never go on weekends.... too crowded. Midweek with our 16' bowrider is no problem, very few boats on the water. Watch out for the behemoth house boats. They do a brisk business renting those on the lake and you never know who's at the helm, their ability, or level of sobriety

 

[tic]

Re: Raystown Lake, PA

We were on the lake all day Sat(only day we could go, the crows were horrendous).. didn't see any diver down flags though.

 

[aspeck]

Re: Raystown Lake, PA

Sorry I didn't see this earlier ...

Raystown becomes a zoo around noon on Friday through 5 pm on Sunday. Wednesdays are a little crowded, but the rest of the time it is pretty wide open.

As for diving spots - there are a few interesting places, depending on your abilities (the deepest spots in the lake are over 180 feet deep). Between mile marker 2 and 3 on the old channel is the old dam. It has been blown up, but the rubble is there ... but you need to be able to dive to about 150 feet.

Across from Mile marker 6, there is a road that comes into the water. Follow that road and you will swim by an old stone house. It was not destroyed when the built the new dam.

Also in that area are "The Cliffs." Sheer rock ledge holds some interesting rock formations and aquatic life.

There are 2 bridges (Finks and Entricken) that were blown up also, with the rubble still at the bottom.

Many other natural places of interest as well.

I am not a certified diver, so my experience diving has been limited, but I used to live on the old lake, so I watched these places being flooded ...

 

[divertodd]

Re: Raystown Lake, PA

Thanks for the info everyone. I guess I'll head up that way mid week and stay till Saturday. That will be toward the end of August. I appreciate everyones input!

 

[aspeck]

Re: Raystown Lake, PA

If you need any other info, or want to be pointed in a more concise location, shoot me an email and maybe I can meet you there ...

 

[yorab]

Re: Raystown Lake, PA

I was on the lake about 3 weeks ago. We rented a houseboat for 4 nights. I've rented them in the past. This year I decided to take some diving gear with me. In the shallower coves (<25 feet) the visibility was horrendous, I'd say about 3 feet. There seems to be a lot of vegetative and algea growth this year. In fact, an older fellow at the marina told us to be especially cautious of weed entanglement because this year there is more growth than he has seen in over 20 years. I didn't get a chance to dive at any deeper locations, so maybe the vis is better at depth.