South Central Pennsylvania is best known as Dutch Country. This region has a smattering of small towns scattered across a picturesque countryside filled with small farms. However, the rolling hills of this region are also home to a number of incredible locations for outdoor recreation. Among them is Lake Marburg, which is located just north of the Maryland/Pennsylvania border between Baltimore and Harrisburg.
Lake Marburg’s rather remote location, coupled with the fact that the Keystone State is home to 2,500 lakes, often results in visitors overlooking this 1,275-acre reservoir. That oversight, along with the fact that Marburg offers outstanding fishing, idyllic wildlife watching, and a myriad of other recreational activities, makes it one of Pennsylvania’s best secret lakes. This lake is almost entirely surrounded by Codorus State Park, which adds to both the remote feel and recreational opportunities. Because the state park dominates the lake’s 26 miles of shoreline, Lake Marburg is sometimes referred to as Codorus Lake.
This lake provides year-round activities on both land and water. The park itself is open from sunrise to sunset every day of the year. As the seasons change, so do some of the available activities. For example, swimming, hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding are popular during the warm weather months. During winter, snow fills the ground, affording visitors the chance to do things such as cross-country skiing, ice boating, sledding, snowmobiling, and snowshoeing. Other popular activities, such as fishing and wildlife watching, are available throughout the year.
Plenty of ways to enjoy the water at Lake Marburg
In many ways, Lake Marburg qualifies as a freshwater fisherman’s dream destination. The lake is a viable location to target up to 18 different species of fish. Among those are some of the country’s most popular freshwater gamefish, such as largemouth bass, musky, walleye, pike, catfish, and crappie. Codorus Creek, which feeds into Lake Marburg, also has a fishable trout population. This gives anglers the ability to pursue both warm and cold water species in a single destination…