Lake Wallenpaupack has no horsepower limit, which surprises a lot of first-time visitors used to smaller Pocono lakes. That freedom comes with real rules worth knowing before you launch.
Speed limits and no-wake zones
The lake allows up to 45 mph sunrise-to-sunset on weekends and holidays from the Saturday before Memorial Day through Labor Day, dropping to 25 mph overnight. Slow-no-wake zones cover Wallenpaupack Creek, the area from Ledgedale Bridge downstream, the water near the dam, and the channel between Cairns Island and the Pike County shoreline. Waterskiing is banned on weekends and holidays at the lake's western end, and kiteskiing or parasailing is banned on weekends and holidays lakewide, and always between Ledgedale and Kipp Island (58 Pa. Code §111.52).
Where to launch
Mangan Cove, run by the PA Fish & Boat Commission off SR 590, is the only free public launch on the lake, with about 48 trailer spaces. Brookfield Renewable runs four fee launches — Caffrey, Ironwood Point, Ledgedale, and Wilsonville — with the fee waived if you're camping at that site. Wilsonville and Caffrey also have pump-out stations.
Renting instead of trailering
If you don't own a boat, a handful of marinas around the lake handle rentals directly: New Wave Marina in Greentown rents pontoons, speedboats, fishing boats and kayaks in 3- and 7-hour blocks; Pirate's Cove Marina in Hawley runs a full-service rental fleet including Bentley pontoons; and Pocono Action Sports, based at Lighthouse Harbor Marina in Greentown, offers captained charters plus wake surf and wakeboard lessons.
One rule that catches people off guard
The lake's four islands — Epply, Kipp, Burns and Cairns — are daylight-use only, with no camping or fires allowed. Kipp Island is closed entirely from January 1 through July 31 to protect nesting bald eagles, so don't plan a landing there in spring.