Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2021 - 30

Cowanesque Lake
TIOGA COUNTY
Cowanesque Lake
by Linda Stager
photos by the author
Tioga County Pennsylvania's largest lake was not always a
lake. It was a sleepy, little river working its way through the
Cowanesque Valley of northern Pennsylvania. Tiny towns
dotted the landscape along the river from the village of Nelson
in the west to Lawrenceville in the east. It was a bucolic, little
valley of farms and vintage small-town life, a place of old ways
and old traditions.
But, sometimes, things must change out of necessity. In June,
1972, the great floods occurred and forced massive change.
Hurricane Agnes arrived over a course of several days and not
only devastated much of the Cowanesque Valley and Tioga
County, it devastated the entire state of Pennsylvania. The tiny
Cowanesque River flows into the Tioga River and later into
the Susquehanna River in New York, where it eventually flows
by Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, and Harrisburg, Dauphin
County, before entering the Chesapeake Bay.
After Hurricane Agnes, change was a necessity. Out of the
subsequent flood response plan was the creation of the Tioga
Reservoir in 1973 and the Cowanesque Dam in 1980. The
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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * July/August 2021
latter dam created Cowanesque Lake (pronounced Cow-anes'-kee),
Tioga County's largest single lake, a 1,085-acre
surface area impoundment of water along the original
eastern section of the Cowanesque Valley.
From total destruction came the creation of a premier
recreational destination, bringing visitors from a wide area to
camp, hike, boat, swim, water ski, picnic, hunt, and fish.
The Cowanesque Lake project is owned and run by
the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The dam is a
rock and fill embankment almost 2/3-mile long and 151 feet
high. A 4.2-mile lake varying in depth from mud flat to up
to 60 feet deep forms behind the dam. Almost 17 miles of
shoreline give plenty of opportunity to visitors to access
the water for recreation.
A campground on the north shore includes 86 family
sites (52 sites are full hook-up), 24 group camping sites,
and 16 primitive, wooded hike-in camping sites. The
Tompkins Campground also has its own boat launch. The
campground is open from mid-May to mid-September
every year.
Two public boat launches on the south shore of
Cowanesque Lake are available as well as multiple picnic
pavilions. A grass beach, concrete-base swim area with
bathhouse, and a seasonal concession stand are also here.
Frequently, kayaks may be rented at the concession.
A 4-mile walking path, the Moccasin Trail, follows
the shoreline near the old Nelson village site. The 2019
Pennsylvania Trail of the Year, the 327 mile long Mid State
www.fishandboat.com

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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2021

Contents
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2021 - Cover1
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2021 - Cover2
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2021 - Contents
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2021 - 4
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2021 - 5
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2021 - 6
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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2021 - Cover3
Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - July/August 2021 - Cover4
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