Pike County PA, a Diamond in the Rough of Northeastern Pennsylvania

Pike County, PA, shaped very roughly like a diamond, lies with its eastern sides along the Delaware River across from the states of New York and New Jersey.  The northern side of the diamond lies in Lake Wallenpaupack and the southwestern side lies in the heart of the famed Pocono Mountains.  In area, Pike County PA covers 558 square miles including over 13 square miles of water.  The county is approximately one-half the size of the entire state of Rhode Island.

Population

Pike County PA is classified by population as a seventh class county.  Pike County PA has been called the fastest growing county in Pennsylvania and if in addition to the resident population we include property owners with second (vacation/weekend) homes, visitors at year round vacation resorts and hunting, fishing and camping enthusiasts, Pike County’s seasonal population estimates run to well over a million people!

Natural Resources

Today much of Pike County PA is still forested.  Over 105 square miles of State Forest land lies within its borders.  In the Delaware State Forest, which contains eight lakes, close to two million trees have been planted since reforestation projects first began in 1899.  Some wilderness areas such as glacial Bruce Lake in Promised Land State Park are maintained in natural primeval conditions.

Over 80 species of trees are found in Pike County PA, and each autumn the flaming fall foliage attracts thousands of visitors.  This phenomenon, rare to most of the world, is a natural wonder that seems to reach a peak of perfection in northeastern Pennsylvania.

State game lands cover over 37 square miles of Pike County PA.  Bear, deer, raccoons, foxes, squirrels, muskrat, mink, and beaver abound and in season attract thousands of hunters.  Birds of the area include turkey, grouse, pheasants, doves and woodcock.  For duck and geese the Shohola Falls Dam and Waterfowl Area has become a highly productive area and is a major stop-over point in the Atlantic flyway.  Heron, coots, rails, and snipe also frequent this area.

Lake Wallenpaupack, stretching out for more than 14 miles, has a shore line of about 53 miles.  Built in 1925 to provide hydroelectric power, the lake lies in both Pike County and Wayne County, covering the stream which marks the boundary between the two.  Around the lake has grown one of the most popular recreation areas in the northeast.  It offers swimming, power boating, sailing, sledding, ice-skating, ice-fishing, snowmobiling and tobogganing in winter.  And with the growth of the recreation industry, thousands of summer and year-round homes have been constructed, new businesses have sprung up and population near the lake, both visiting and year-round, has increased steadily.

The Delaware River follows the eastern boundary of Pike County PA for 63 miles and separates Pike County PA from Sullivan and Orange Counties in New York and Sussex County in New Jersey.  In colonial times, it helped open the nation’s interior to pioneers and trappers; in the nineteenth century it was used for rafting, while its valley hosted the Delaware and Hudson Canal on the New York side and the Erie Railroad on the Pennsylvania side.

Over 24 square miles of Pike County PA is owned by the Federal Government.  This land lying along the Delaware River from Milford to Bushkill has been designated as a portion of the 70,000 acre Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, a National Park Service Unit which extends into Monroe County Pennsylvania and Sussex and Warren Counties of New Jersey, and attracts over five million visitors annually.