Before I start telling you about the day at the lake let me tell you a brief history of Blue Marsh Lake.
Blue Marsh Lake is located northwest of Reading in Berks County, Pennsylvania. This is a multi-purpose project built and maintained by the Philadelphia District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The dam was authorized by Congress for flood control, water supply, water quality and recreation. Construction began in 1974 and was completed in 1979. The dam is located on the Tulpehocken Creek and the project's water control practices benefit downstream communities. The project provides flood risk management benefits primarily for Reading, Birdsboro and Pottstown areas. Water supply and water quality management practices benefit areas further downstream, including Philadelphia.
While the main purpose of Blue Marsh was to provide flood control to part of the Schuylkill River Valley, over the years the lake has become a recreational hotspot. With over 36 miles of trails, 6200 acres of land, 1148 acres of water, picnic areas, a small beach and boat launches the lake can accommodate all kinds of outdoor enthusiasts. The dam is an earthfill dam that that is 1,775 feet long, 98 feet high and can hold upwards of 16.28 billion gallons of water. During the summer months, the water level is maintained at 290 feet above sea level. In the winter the lake is drawn down five feet to provide for additional flood water storage.
Now to the day trip.
We started at the visitor center the center has a wrap around deck and on the back side of the building you can see the lake. When you go inside you will see all the history of the lake and photos of how they built it. In that same room there are pictures on display that are in the Army Corps of Engineering yearly calendar . The public can enter photos on the their Facebook page and people vote for their favorites . The ones with the most votes get to have their picture in the calendar and the photo is on display all year. in a small room is a history of the area and things on display. You can see them in the photos below. After we left there we went to the Still Basin Lot . At the breast of the dam you can fish there and there is a hiking trail that goes to the top of the dam and to the back of the lake . Last time we were there we saw two Blue Herons in the water. This time there were a lot of people fishing and they were sitting up in the trees. We walked that trail this time it is 2 .5 miles. The trail is wide and easy to walk on. After we left there we went to 2 new spots The lake shore view which you can see the whole lake . and we went on the Union canal trail . and then we went back to the visitor center to take pictures of the sunset. There are a lot of hiking trails that are also for Mt.Bikes as well. There is even a mountain bike skills area and 2 boat launches and a main park to go swimming and have a picnic . We will be making a lot more trips to the lake in the future. You can find more info on the lake you can find info on the Blue Marsh Lake Facebook page or click on the link https://www.nap.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Blue-Marsh-Lake/fbclid/IwAR3Lh3a6mtP_Mnte9SkmCd6JJiKPSYLAn9asaxM0OE-lQikD_d5HtmkCBRc/
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