Fun Spot: Pymatuning Reservoir in Pennsylvania
Updated: Apr. 06, 2020Accessible via US-6 or US-322, north of Jamestown, Pennsylvania Once a great swamp, the reservoir was created when the Pymatuning
Accessible via US-6 or US-322, north of Jamestown, Pennsylvania
Once a great swamp, the reservoir was created when the Pymatuning dam was completed in 1934. It was intended to conserve water going into the swamp, impound floodwaters, and regulate the flow of water into the Beaver and Shenango rivers. The name Pymatuning came from the Iroquois and means “the crooked mouthed man’s dwelling place,” referring to someone’s deceit.
The lake teems with activity in the summer, when warm-weather fishing is bountiful. The annual Winter Fun Days offer a whole range of winter sports, from ice fishing to cross-country skiing. Most of Pymatuning Reservoir is in northwestern Pennsylvania, but one-quarter of it rests in Ashtabula County, Ohio.
The spillway near Linesville is known as the place “where the ducks walk on the fish.” So many carp congregate to catch stale bread thrown by visitors that the ducks have no room to swim, and it looks as though they’re walking over the fish.
Open year-round.
www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/pymatuning.aspx
(724) 932-3141
