Hawley is the biggest tourist town within 45 minutes of the cabin, and the only reason anyone built a tourist town here is the lake next to it. Lake Wallenpaupack is 13 miles long, 5,700 acres, and the second-largest lake entirely inside Pennsylvania. It got built in 1926 when the power company dammed Wallenpaupack Creek for hydroelectric power and flooded a hundred farms in the valley. Hawley grew up around it. If you're at the cabin and you want a real lake day, with rentable pontoons, a marina scene, and a town with restaurants worth driving for, this is the trip.
The lake, in 90 seconds.
Lake Wallenpaupack is man-made. The Lenape called this place Wallenpaupack, which translates roughly to 'the stream of swift and slow water,' and that's still the shortest accurate description. In the early 1920s, Pennsylvania Power & Light bought up about 12,000 acres of valley farmland for about twenty dollars an acre, razed or moved most of the structures, rerouted seventeen miles of road, relocated the Purdytown cemetery, and finished the dam in 1926. The town of Wilsonville still lies under the water near the dam. On a clear day you can stand on the Tafton Dike and try to picture the farms.
Today the lake is owned by Brookfield Renewable, which runs the hydroelectric plant 3.5 miles downstream at Kimbles. The water level rises through spring to a target elevation of 1,187 feet by June 1, then gets drawn down slowly through summer and into fall. After Labor Day it draws down more aggressively for annual dam testing. If you want the lake at full pool, plan to come between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
52 miles of shoreline. Maximum depth 60 feet. Two miles across at its widest. Bass (smallmouth and largemouth), walleye, muskie, pickerel, rainbow and brown trout, and striped bass that the state has stocked. The lake has no horsepower limit, so on summer Saturdays you'll see everything from kayaks to wakeboats to tubes to the occasional yacht.
Renting a boat on Wallenpaupack.
This is the one thing you can't really do from Shehawken Lake, because Shehawken doesn't have rental marinas. If you want a pontoon for the day, Hawley is the answer. The main options:
- Wallenpaupack Boat Tours & Rentals (the original, running since 1962, family-owned through four generations). Pontoons, kayaks, SUPs, and a 50-minute scenic boat tour if you don't want to drive. Located right by the Observation Dike. Office open 8am to 5pm.
- New Wave Marina (formerly Pine Crest), the other established marina, with pontoons and deck boats, half-day, full-day, and multi-day rentals.
- Pocono Action Sports at Lighthouse Harbor Marina in Greentown. Pontoons, slide boats, jet car boats, and a tiki boat for groups up to 18 if that's your thing.
- 1st Klas Marina in Tafton, a sixty-year operation, straightforward pontoon rentals.
- Rubber Duckie Boat Rentals, more than thirty years running, with jet skis and full water-sports equipment.
Pricing is roughly $100 to $200 per hour for standard pontoons, $350 to $600 for a basic full day, captained pontoon charters starting around $325 for two to three hours. Two practical things to know: Pennsylvania requires a Boating Safety Education Certificate for anyone born after January 1, 1982. Most marinas let you take the online course the day-of if you don't have one. And the rental seasons mostly run May through mid-September. The week after Labor Day is genuinely peaceful on the water but most rental shops are starting to wind down by then.
Hawley town, and the Silk Mill.
Hawley itself is small. Pop. about 1,200 in the borough. The town's center of gravity is the Hawley Silk Mill, an 1880s textile mill that operated as a working silk factory until 1956 and got converted into a 75,000-square-foot retail and dining complex in 2008. It's at 8 Silk Mill Drive, right where Paupack Creek tumbles past it. Inside:
- Cocoon Coffee House & Bakery on the first floor. Quiches, salads, soups, panini. Coffee from Moka Origins in Honesdale. The kind of place that's busy from 8am on Saturday but quiet by 2pm. Outdoor seating in summer.
- Hopping Eagle Brewery on the lower level. Smaller operation than Here & Now in Honesdale but the beer is good and the room is comfortable.
- Independent shops on the main floor, including art galleries, a florist, candle and gift shops, and a salon.
Across the creek from the Silk Mill, the Ledges Hotel sits in another 1890s factory building (the old O'Connor Glass Factory). Their restaurant, Glass.wine.bar.kitchen, does small plates with an all-American wine list and decks overlooking the waterfall. It's a real dinner spot if you want one in Hawley itself.
The other Hawley dinner answer is The Settlers Inn, a 1920s Arts & Crafts lodge a few blocks from the lake. Their restaurant is the most awarded kitchen in the area, focused on local sourcing. Reservations absolutely required on weekends.
When to go, when to skip.
The peak Wallenpaupack experience is June through August on a weekday. Boats are plentiful, the rental shops are fully staffed, the lake is at full pool, the Silk Mill restaurants haven't yet hit their summer weekend crush. Bring a bag, rent a pontoon, eat at Cocoon for lunch, dinner at Glass or Settlers, back to the cabin. That's the move.
Saturday and Sunday in July and August are crowded. Boat rental wait lists, restaurant lines, parking issues. If you're going on a weekend, get the boat reserved at least a week ahead and aim for a 9am pickup.
The big event is Wally Lake Fest, the last weekend of August. Three days of events scattered around the lake and through Hawley, including a live music day called Wallypalooza on floating docks in front of the Tafton Dike. Worth the drive from the cabin if you're around.
Winter has its own thing. The Ice Tee Golf Tournament, run by the Chamber of Northern Poconos, is a 9-hole golf competition played on the frozen lake. Not for everyone but genuinely a thing. The Silk Mill restaurants stay open year-round; the boat rentals don't.
Skip Wallenpaupack in late September and October if you're hoping for boat rentals. The lake drawdown after Labor Day means rental fleets get pulled, and by Columbus Day weekend most marinas are closed for the season.
Drive times from Hawley.
- To the cabin: 45 minutes
- To Honesdale: 25 minutes
- To Hancock, NY: 60 minutes
- To Scranton, PA: 35 minutes
- To Elk Mountain ski area: 50 minutes
- To NYC (door to door, weekend traffic): 2.5 to 3 hours
- To Philadelphia: 2.5 hours
Wallenpaupack vs. Shehawken, for staying put.
Here's an honest comparison cabin guests sometimes want and never quite get. Lake Wallenpaupack is bigger, busier, and more developed. There are summer houses every fifty feet along the shoreline. The waterfront is wonderful for a rented pontoon and a marina day, but it's not quiet. Shehawken Lake, where the cabin sits, is the opposite: 200 acres, no marina, no public boat ramp, the houses spaced out, and most evenings you'll hear only loons and the occasional fish jump. They're different kinds of lakes.
The right move is to do both. Use the cabin's paddle boards, kayak, and row boat on quiet Shehawken in the early morning and at sunset, then drive to Wallenpaupack for the pontoon-and-cooler day in the middle of your stay.
For the broader area, the Wayne County guide covers Honesdale, Hawley, and the rural ground in between. The Poconos weekend from NYC piece lays out a typical three-day itinerary that includes a Wallenpaupack day.
Where to stay.
If you're reading this and not yet booked, here's the quick pitch: the better stay for couples and small groups is a private cabin on a quiet lake within an hour of here. Three bedrooms, private dock, paddle boards, a kayak, a row boat, and a fire pit. About 3 hours from NYC. 4.86 stars on Airbnb, Guest Favorite. See it on Airbnb, or check availability and ask a question first.
