Click on map for larger downloadable image.

Other features

Bank and boat fishing are popular. Although the lake is not stocked, it supports fishable populations of bluegills, pumpkinseed, yellow perch, bullhead, and an occasional bass. A boat launch serves the impoundment; however, no motors are permitted on the lake. Salmon Creek, below the dam, is a popular trout stream. There is a blueberry patch in the upper loop of the campground.
The impoundment serves as a waterfowl refuge. It is the home of many herons, ducks and geese. Beavers also live in and around the lake.
A system of interconnecting loop trails serves the area, offering views of a wide variety of natural habitats. A boardwalk crossing at the upper end of Beaver Meadows Lake is a highlight of the trails.
You may want to visit the large area of battered timber about two miles north of Beaver Meadows. The devastated zone resulted when tornadoes wrought havoc and destruction in northwestern Pennsylvania in May 1985. Destructive tornado activity in this part of the country is unusual.

History

The recreation area features a 34-acre lake on the lower end of Penoke Run. Workmen from the Work Program Administration (WPA) built the dam which created the lake in 1936. Corpsmen from the former Blue Jay Job Corps Center built Beaver Meadows campground and boat launch in the 1960s. (The Center occupied the site now known as Abraxas.) Trails were added in the 1980s by Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) enrollees.