Although the beach is always our first choice for summertime, we love the water. We hit the pool 3 times a week to play. But there’s another option to head to on a hot summer day. Try out your local state park. Bald Eagle State Park is super close for us and is super fun for Aiden.
Bald Eagle State Park
Whether you like the beach, camping, hiking, boating, or fishing there’s lots to do at a state park. Because it was hot today we headed over to the water and playground for a few hours to beat the heat.
The best part is there’s no charge to get into this park. There is so much you can do here. If you’re ever in central PA you should check it out. The crowds are light on the weekdays so you’ll have lots of space to play and enjoy the park.
Here are a few of the highlights of Bald Eagle State Park.
State Park Playground
Right off of the main parking lot for the beach area is a beautiful playground area. It’s got 3 slides, two swings, monkey bars and climbing area.
Aiden spent a ton of time playing and was super excited when he made it all the way a crossed the monkey bars. And even tried jumping off the swings.
There are a bunch of trees around the play area which offers a lot of shade with I appreciated more then he did.
Beach
The swimming area has soft sand and lots of sunshine and spots of shade. It’s raked regularly on the on season. Perfect for sandcastle building and we took full advantage of that.
The water is from a reservoir, so it tends to have some green algae depending on where you stand or swim. So it kind of has a bay feel to it. You do get a little bit of waves especially when the boats go by.
Related post: HOW TO TEACH YOUR TODDLER TO SWIM
There is a bathhouse with bathrooms and changing areas. One cold shower outside of the restrooms for washing off the sand. There’s a first aid station that appeared not to be manned despite the heat index for the day.
Also no lifeguard on duty so swim at your own risk. There is an emergency box by the water and rangers that do stop from time to time.
Related post: OPEN WATER ADVENTURES WITH LITTLES: CHESAPEAKE BAY
Picnicking
If you’re up for a picnic lunch you can use one of the many picnic tables near the water. Or if you are part of a group you can reserve a pavilion with a fire pit. If it’s not reserved it’s available to anyone for use.
Boating
Boating at this part requires registration. If it’s got a motor it must have been registered and you must be certified by the Fish and Boat Commission in PA. Max speed is 45 miles an hour.
Fishing
You need a fishing license in PA to go fishing for 18+. It’s highly recommended that you get a trout licence as well, just in case (it’s cheaper than the fine if you get caught with a trout). Kids are allowed to fish without a license. Unfortunately if you handle the pole you’re fishing according to the rangers so make sure you have your licence if your kids might hand it off to you.
Hiking
We didn’t do any hiking this time but we’ve done some wandering on other visits to this park. There a bunch of trails, some flat and some not so flat. One will lead you to the Nature Inn and another to a really pretty outlook. Still others wander you around the part to different fishing areas and bird watching spots.
Camping
There’s a lot of choices if you’re into camping. There’s RV and trailer hook ups, yurts, and primitive camping. You can book your spot 11 months ahead of time.
Nature Center
This park is really active when it comes to education. There’s always something going on on the weekends. If you check out their events on Facebook you’ll have a lot to do all summer long.
Nature Inn
If you’re into nature but don’t really like the outside at night you can book a room at the Nature Inn. Right now it’s $95 for a small room, check out their website for current prices.
Have you ever been to a state park?
It’s hard to stay home when there’s a beach so close by. Do you have a state park nearby? Have you been to a state park like this one? What do you like to do at a state park? Let me know in the comments.
Click to Learn More Bald Eagle State Park
We are HUGE fans of exploring our home state. We have so many hiking trails and state parks. My kids and I are always busy!
Sounds like a lot of fun! We need to try hiking the trails next time we’re there.
This looks like an amazing place to visit. We’ve started going for mystery drives on weekends, we pick a direction and drive!! We’ve found some beautiful parks to visit.
This looks perfect fun for summer you child look so adorable 🙂
We love our local state parks! So awesome. Looks like you all had fun!!
There are some cool state parks here in Indiana that I have been meaning to check out. Can we say motivation?
What a great idea. State parks offer so many activities for the whole family to enjoy.
We used to spend many summers exploring state parks when I was growing up. It’s some of my favorite memories of my childhood.
he is definitely enjoying his time and that sand castle is perfect!!! Thanks a lot for sharing all these amazing memories with us.
We frequent our local state park that’s about an hour away. Lots of things to do there. We usually go there for the trails.
It looks and sounds like there’s so much to do. Loved the photos too. 🙂