Shawnee State Park - Schellsburg, Pennsylvania - State/Provincial Parks on Waymarking.com

Shawnee State Park - Schellsburg, Pennsylvania


Information excerpted from DCNR and theWikipedia website
Shawnee State Park is named for American Indians who lived for a short time in the vicinity of the park during their westward migration from the Potomac to the Ohio Country in the early 1700s.

General Forbes camped his army within the boundaries of the park while building the Forbes Road in the campaign of 1758 against the French at Fort Duquesne, Pittsburgh. One can still walk remnants of the Forbes Trail within the park.

The white barn, buildings and houses now surrounded by a lake of water were once surrounded by a sea of grass. These buildings belonged to John Bowman’s “Water Brooks Farm.” John Bowman was president and chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh and was the driving force behind the building of the Cathedral of Learning.
Camping
Shawnee State Park has a 293 site campground. The sites are modern with some electric hook-ups. There is a centrally located bathhouse with flush toilets, hot showers and a sanitary dump station at the campground. The camp store sells fire wood, charcoal and other camping supplies. Camping season begins with trout season in mid-April and ends at the conclusion of deer season in late December.
Shawnee Lodge
Shawnee Lodge is the former home of John Bowman. Bowman was president and chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh and was instrumental in the construction of the Cathedral of Learning on Pitt's Oakland Campus in Pittsburgh. Bowman owned the barn, buildings and houses that are now surrounded by Shawnee Lake. The lodge on the island is open for rent year-round. It has a modern kitchen, a bathroom, living room, sitting room and four bedrooms.

Recreation
Shawnee State Park is open for year round recreation. There are 15 miles (24 km) of trails open for hiking and some are open to biking. Five pavilions are spread throughout the park along with numerous picnic tables.

Shawnee Lake

Shawnee Lake is a warm water fishery. It is stocked with game fish by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. The common fish are walleye, pickerel, smallmouth and largemouth bass, northern pike, muskellunge, catfish, crappie, yellow perch, bluegill, bullhead, sucker and carp. While pleasantly warm for swimming, and supportive of the above fish, Shawnee lake is too warm to support a trout population. There are three boat launches at Shawnee Lake for electric and non powered boats only. Gas powered boats are prohibited at Shawnee State Park. All boats must have a current registration with any state or a launch permit from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. The beach at Shawnee State Park is open daily from Memorial Day weekend until Labor Day weekend.[2]

Hunting
Hunting is permitted on over 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) of Shawnee State Park. The hunting of groundhogs is prohibited. Hunters are expected to follow the rules and regulations of the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The primary game species are squirrels, white-tailed deer, rabbits, and ruffed grouse.