Lake Wallenpaupack is a manmade lake created by PPL(Pennsylvania Power & Light) in 1926 for hydroelectric purposes. The lake encompasses both Pike and Wayne counties, almost directly down the middle of the Lake. The Lenape Indians named the area "Wallenpaupack" which means "The Stream of Swift and Slow Water."
In order to create the lake, the dam was constructed on Wallenpaupack Creek at Wilsonville. The land of Wilsonville and the surrounding area in the valley was purchased by PPL from about 100 owners at about $20 an acre and all property was razed or moved. Seventeen miles of roads and telephone poles were rerouted, and one cemetery had to be relocated. The former town of Wilsonville now lays under the water near the dam. PPL owns acreage around the lake to an elevation of 1,200 feet above sea level. Since the lake elevation is 1,190 feet above sea level at capacity, the power company still owns the extra 10 feet right near the shoreline.When the lake was completed, four areas of company-owned land at various locations around the lake were set aside for public access and for camping. These are the Ledgedale, Ironwood Point, Wilsonville, and Caffrey recreation areas.
Lake Wallenpaupack is a center of recreation for the surrounding communities, providing boating and fishing access in the summertime, as well as ice skating and ice fishing in the winter. Lake fish include smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, rock bass, walleye, muskellunge, pickerel, rainbow trout, brown trout, catfish and yellow perch. Striped bass and hybrid striped bass have been stocked in the lake. The lake is 13 miles long, has 52 miles of shoreline, and is about 60 feet deep at its maximum depth.
