Having Fun on the Water in PA

I absolutely love the summer, but don’t do well with extreme heat, and was lucky enough to spend my summers growing up (and parts of my subsequential adult summers) in Northeast PA.  I was also privy to a newer home that doesn’t overheat, a backyard swimming pool, and plenty of friends with pools and lakes of their own.

I currently live on the thirdfloor of a renovated warehouse, which is awesome aesthetically, but something of an automatic sauna come April, in downtown Lancaster.  I no longer have the luxury of a pool and most of my friends are also living in apartments without one.

Last weekend, the first big heatwave of the season, all I wanted to do was be submerged somewhere outdoors.  I ended up with my buddy at a nice air conditioned bar, but did some research for the next time a heatwave gives me summer’s version of cabin fever.

Now, I haven’t tried any of these myself, but probably will in the upcoming weekends, granted the weather cooperates.  This is just a sampling of what PA has to offer, mostly centered around southern PA and the Lehigh Valley.  I’ll try and most in the future after I do some more research into other options and regions.

• Fitzwater Station: Fitzwater Station is a restaraunt in Phoenixville, PA situated on the Schukill River.  They seem to have a decent happy hour, a deck, and offer their own kayaking rental behind the bar.  I don’t know about you, but after submerging myself, an adult beverage is next on my list of things I need on a hot day.
• Reading River Tubing: More Schukill River fun.  I always associated tubing with the Delaware River up in NY, and was pleasantly suprised (excuse my ignorance) to find several PA locations.  The Reading River Tubing website is pretty Spartan, and I couldn’t get an answer when I tried calling the number provided, but just saw this recently as a Living Social Deal, so it must exist.
• Delaware River Tubing: I go rafting (aka floating) on the Delaware every summer and nothing beats a gorgeous day floating laxidasicaly down the river.  I go between the PA/NY border, but there’s a thriving tubing business between the NJ/PA border in Bucks County as well.  The tubing looks pretty first rate AND there is hotdog stand in the river. 
• Jim Thorpe Whitewater Rafting: This I have done before (two years ago) and it is not floating.  Pocono Whitewater is located in Jim Thorpe.  Keep in mind, this will be a workout, and you will get wet.  I did a trip in the fall, when the water wasn’t super high, but you can consult the website to find dam release days, which will up the water levels, currents, and overall experience.  Pocono Whitewater also offers full moon paddling as well as what will need to be a more planned out trip (and much more intense paddling) on the Hudson River in NY. 

Jim Thorpe’s a neat small town, with alot of outdoor activity and a supposedly haunted past, that I’d like to dedicate a post and visit to in the near future.  I’d pick Pocono Whitewater if I were to take a trip up there on the fly, but Jim Thorpe River Adventures, and Whitewater Rafting Adventures also operate in the area.  The prices and trips offered seem comparable.