Best Pennsylvania Lakes for Boating

35 Pennsylvania lakes meet our boating bar — each has a cited public-access or conditions signal behind it. Top of the list: Lake Arthur in Butler County. Ranked by public boat ramps and marinas, then surface acres; surface acreage and live readings are shown where published.

Public boat ramps come from PFBC open data; marinas from OpenStreetMap; surface acres from USGS NHD or cited research.

  1. 1

    Lake Arthur

    Butler County, PA3,075 acres

    17 public boat ramps

    See full conditions & things to do
  2. 2

    Pymatuning Reservoir

    Crawford County, PA13,926 acres

    16 public boat ramps

    See full conditions & things to do
  3. 3

    Raystown Lake

    Huntingdon County, PA8,136 acres

    9 public boat ramps

    See full conditions & things to do
  4. 4

    Glendale Lake

    Cambria County, PA1,585 acres

    9 public boat ramps

    See full conditions & things to do
  5. 5

    Lake Wilhelm

    Mercer County, PA1,567 acres

    9 public boat ramps

    See full conditions & things to do
  6. 6

    Allegheny Reservoir

    McKean County, PA12,222 acres

    8 public boat ramps

    See full conditions & things to do
  7. 7

    Lake Wallenpaupack

    Pike County, PA5,461 acres

    7 public boat ramps

    See full conditions & things to do
  8. 8

    Foster Joseph Sayers Lake

    Centre County, PA1,676 acres

    7 public boat ramps

    See full conditions & things to do
  9. 9

    Lake Marburg

    York County, PA1,173 acres

    7 public boat ramps

    See full conditions & things to do
  10. 10

    Quemahoning Reservoir

    Somerset County, PA877 acres

    5 public boat ramps

    See full conditions & things to do
  11. 11

    Lake Nockamixon

    Bucks County, PA1,420 acres

    4 public boat ramps

    See full conditions & things to do
  12. 12

    Promised Land Lake

    Pike County, PA468 acres

    4 public boat ramps

    See full conditions & things to do
  13. 13

    Pinchot Lake

    York County, PA358 acres

    4 public boat ramps

    See full conditions & things to do
  14. 14

    Blue Marsh Lake

    Berks County, PA1,178 acres

    3 public boat ramps

    See full conditions & things to do
  15. 15

    Shawnee Lake

    Bedford County, PA445 acres

    3 public boat ramps

    See full conditions & things to do

More best-of lists for Pennsylvania lakes

Pennsylvania boating — frequently asked

What is the best lake for boating in Pennsylvania?

Lake Arthur in Butler County tops the list — 17 public boat ramps. 35 Pennsylvania lakes qualify for this list overall.

How is this Pennsylvania boating list ranked?

Every lake on the list has a cited public-access or conditions signal — never an opinion. We rank by total public ramps (PFBC) + marinas (OpenStreetMap), then by surface acreage (USGS NHD). LakeVibe doesn't invent rankings: a lake only appears here when the data already supports it.

Which Pennsylvania lakes are best for boating?

Our top picks are Lake Arthur, Pymatuning Reservoir, Raystown Lake, Glendale Lake. Tap any lake for its full conditions, things to do, and where to stay.