The 5,900-acre Bald Eagle State Park features wildlife and bird watching, camping, fishing, swimming and the LEED Gold certified Nature Inn – named the best eco-friendly resort in the country by USA Today for 2017. A 1,730-acre lake laps the flanks of Bald Eagle Mountain, surrounded by forests and wetlands.
Bald Eagle State Park is a bird watcher's paradise. If you're lucky, you'll catch a glimpse of bald eagles soaring over the lake or nesting.
Outdoor
Nature Recreation
The 5,900-acre Bald Eagle State Park is in the broad Bald Eagle Valley of northcentral Pennsylvania. The 1,730-acre lake laps the flanks of Bald Eagle Mountain, surrounded by forests, fields and wetlands. With two campgrounds, boating, fishing, swimming, the Nature Inn, and diverse habitats that are excellent for wildlife watching, Bald Eagle State Park is a favorite outdoor destination in the heart of Pennsylvania.
Outside
Bird watch
The Park contains diverse habitat that attracts many bird species. Novice and experienced birders alike find exploring the park with a pair of binoculars a treat no matter what the season. In the spring, catch glimpses of warblers and flycatchers, while swallows display courtship rituals and sing melodies while searching for nesting spots. On the lake, see herons, gulls, geese and osprey. In fall, you can find migrating mergansers, cormorants, and buffleheads. Year-round residents like sparrows, finches, and cardinals can often be seen during the winter in shrubby areas.
Hike
Hit the Trails
Bald Eagle State Park has 14.5 miles of a network of hiking trails that guide hikers through a variety of habitats with scenic views and wildlife viewing opportunities. Unnamed extension trails lead to recreational facilities like boat launches, the marina, the modern campground and the beach.
Visit
Nature Inn
The LEED Gold certified Nature Inn was named the best eco-friendly resort in the country by USA Today for 2017. Visitors to the park may visit the eBird Trail Tracker kiosk at the Nature Inn. Through the cooperative eBird program with Cornell University’s Laboratory of Ornithology, park visitors can use these kiosks as electronic gateways to bird sightings at Bald Eagle State Park. Visitors can view which birds are being reported at the park and where, record their own observations, and view photos, audio, video, and life histories of these birds. Park observation records become part of eBird, an online checklist program that scientists, birders, and anyone with Internet access can use to review bird observation information from specific locations across North America. Nature Inn provides overnight accommodations as well.
Cast a Line
The 1,730-acre Sayers Reservoir and its 23 miles of shoreline offer excellent warm water fishing. Common species are crappie, yellow perch, channel catfish, tiger muskellunge, and largemouth and smallmouth bass. The lake is a panfish enhancement waterway - special regulations apply.
