The JournalA 170-acre lake with a genuine sand beach, on land that trained soldiers through two world wars before it ever became a park — here's what to know before a visit.
Long before it was a park, this land was the Tobyhanna Military Reservation, acquired by the federal government in 1912. The Army used it as a tank and ambulance corps training ground during World War I and an artillery-training center for the National Guard; during World War II, it held German prisoners of war. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania didn't receive title to most of the roughly 26,000-acre reservation until 1949, with the remainder still operating today as the Tobyhanna Army Depot next door.
The park itself covers 5,440 acres around the 170-acre Tobyhanna Lake, with camping, hiking, boating, fishing, and a genuine swimming beach among its main draws — the lake's calm, no-wake water makes it one of the more relaxed family destinations in the region. One practical note carried over from the land's military history: DCNR advises staying on marked trails in the park's more remote, undeveloped areas, where old unexploded ordnance has occasionally turned up. It's a low-probability concern on the maintained trail network around the lake, but worth knowing before wandering off-trail.
Tobyhanna is the state park behind our Tobyhanna Lake destination, so it pairs directly with everything we already feature there — Mountain View Vineyard's wine-and-brewery combo, Pocono Brewing Company, Kalahari's indoor waterpark, and Olde Engine Works' antique marketplace are all a short drive from the park entrance, making it an easy full-day base for guests staying at our Mount Pocono-area residences.