Lake Nockamixon State Park is a beautifully diverse 5,286-acre environment of forests, aquatics, grasslands, and groves. The 1,450-acre lake is fed by three main tributaries: Tohickon Creek, Three Mile Run, and Haycock Run; all of which contribute to the park’s wetland and riparian habitats. The park provides countless activities to choose from, including boating, fishing, camping, hiking, biking, disc golf, horseback riding, and scenic picnics. Nockamixon State Park even has seasonal activities like hunting and sledding because the park is open year-round, and from sunrise to sunset in day use areas. The park offers many opportunities for education, including partnering with schools to help teach young students about environmental consciousness and practical skills. There are several free events at the park, from boat tours to stargazing, as well as monthly meetings. Maps and directions can be found on the Commonwealth of PA website here, and reservations for camping, events, and rentals can be made online or by calling.
Nockamixon boasts 12 trails ranging from easy to moderate, providing access to all experience levels and types of users. With 5 out-and-back trails and 7 long loops, there is plenty to see while exploring around the park. Some trails are designed just for hiking, and others are made to accommodate biking and horseback riding as well. Along with 10 miles of mountain biking trails, there is plenty of space for everyone. In the winter season, the 2-mile Bike Trail is even open to cross-country skiing. Check it out.
Nockamixon State Park is a hub for birding with more than 250 different species of birds on record. With so many diverse habitats to choose from, it’s no wonder such a variety of aviators reside within the park. Ducks, swans, geese, and other waterfowl are known to enjoy the areas around the fishing pier in the fall and spring, along with some species of raptors. While finches and sparrows reside year-round in the forests surrounding the trails, Baltimore orioles, Prairie warblers, and White-eyed vireos migrate into the area for the spring and summer months. The dam is also a common birdwatching location, seeing visits from herons, Great egrets, osprey, and wrens. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania website provides recommended watching locations here.
Nockamixon Lake offers 1,450 acres of angler territory with a few restrictions around marinas and bridges. Common species include smallmouth and largemouth bass, muskellunge, channel catfish, carp, pickerel, and walleye, among others. There are multiple habitat structures throughout the lake indicated on a map showing lake depths and features, found here on the Commonwealth of PA website.
The State Park also hosts countless other amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and insects. From the southern flying squirrel to the painted turtle, there is so much wildlife to get out there and observe.
Lake Nockamixon is home to many types of habitats due to its diverse geography. It has natural and manmade aquatic habitats, littoral zones, wetlands, riparian zones, grasslands, forests, and woodlands. Some plants that inhabit these areas include the white water-lily and sago pondweed in aquatic zones, and goldenrods in riparian zones. Grasslands that the park reclaimed from farmers in the 1960s grow indiangrass and switchgrass, native alternatives to the overgrowth that existed before. Juniper and evergreen groves are dotted around the park, with oak and pine making up an abundance of the woodlands. Mountain-laurel, bloodroot, and mayapple scatter the undergrowth, making for beautiful shoulders on each trail.
The Nockamixon State Park was originally created as a means of recreation for residents of the area and to preserve the valley for future generations. The Tohickon Valley, named for the main creek that cut through it, was purchased by the state and intentionally flooded. Despite the pushback from the estimated 800 residents who opposed the project, Nockamixon Lake was created. Originally named Tohickon Lake after the valley in which it resides, the lake was renamed to Nockamixon after the Lenni-Lenape Native Americans who originally lived in the area. Meaning “place of soft soil,” Nockamixon is likely beloved by every generation of people who came to its welcoming grounds.
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