Playgrounds With Boat Rentals Near Allentown, PA
Beltzville State Park is the nearest place to Allentown where a playground, a beach and a boat rental share one stretch of shoreline: about half an hour up the turnpike extension, with the playground between Picnic Pavilion Four and the sand beach, and kayaks, paddleboats and a reservable pontoon west of the beach. For the widest choice of boats, Nockamixon State Park rents seven kinds of craft on its 1,450-acre lake, from paddleboards to pontoons.
The ten parks here split on two questions worth settling before you pack the car. Can the kids swim, and where? Five have lake beaches, three allow swimming only in a pool, and two county pages don't say. And how close is the playground to the water? At Beltzville, Tobyhanna and Mauch Chunk it sits by the beach, while Locust Lake's three playgrounds are inside its camping areas.
Our picks
- Closest all-in-one day: Beltzville State Park. About half an hour away, with swings, a 525-foot sand beach and the boat cove all within sight of each other.
- A group that wants different boats: Nockamixon State Park. Canoes, kayaks, rowboats, paddleboats, paddleboards, small motorboats and pontoons, plus a pool with two waterslides.
- Trying a sailboat: Marsh Creek State Park. The only rental here with sailboats and summer lake tours, on 535 acres where the park advertises its prevailing winds.
- Lake swimming with a lifeguard: Mauch Chunk Lake Park. Lifeguards on duty at the lake beach during posted hours, with play equipment and the boat rental a short walk apart.
- Most generous rental hours: Promised Land State Park. Boats daily from the Saturday before Memorial Day through Labor Day, plus the two weekends either side, by the hour or the day.
At a glance
| Option | Address | Playground | Boat Rentals | Swimming | Lake Size | Park Size | Motor Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2950 Pohopoco Drive, Lehighton, PA 18235source | ADA accessible children's playground between Picnic Pavilion Four and the beachsource | Kayaks, paddleboats and a pontoon boat (reserve ahead), west of the swimming beachsource | Lake beachsource | 949source | 3,002source | Unlimited horsepowersource | |
| 1542 Mountain View Drive, Quakertown, PA 18951source | Beside the swimming pool, on a spur off the main bike trailsource | Canoes, motorboats, rowboats, paddleboats, kayaks, paddleboards and pontoon boatssource | Swimming poolsource | 1,450source | 5,286source | 20 horsepower limitsource | |
| 2821 Hill Rd., Green Lane, PA 18054source | Two children's playgroundssource | Canoes, kayaks, standup paddleboards, paddleboats and small electric fishing boats, May through Septembersource | 814source | 3,400source | Electric motors onlysource | ||
| 625 Lentz Trail, Jim Thorpe, PA 18229source | Play equipment for children at the beach areasource | Canoes, kayaks, rowboats and paddleboats at Boat Launch Asource | Lake beachsource | 345source | Electric motors onlysource | ||
| 264 Creek Road, New Britain Township, PA 18901source | Playgrounds listed among the park's featuressource | Rowboats, canoes, pedal boats and single or double kayaks, rented dailysource | 1,500source | ||||
| 114 Campground Rd, Tobyhanna, PA 18466source | By the swimming beach, with a small playfield near Lot #4source | Rowboats, kayaks, paddleboats, canoes and electric motor boats, daily Memorial Day weekend to Labor Daysource | Lake beachsource | 170source | 5,440source | Electric motors onlysource | |
| 220 Locust Lake Rd, Barnesville, PA 18214source | Three playgrounds inside the camping areassource | Canoes, kayaks, paddle boards, pedal boats and row boats with or without a motorsource | Lake beachsource | 52source | 1,772source | Electric motors onlysource | |
| 843 Park Road, Elverson, PA 19520source | Next to the Hopewell Day Use Pavilion, by Hopewell Lakesource | Rentals at the Hopewell Lake pool complex, daily Memorial Day to Labor Day and weekends in May and Septembersource | Swimming poolsource | 68source | 7,730source | Electric motors onlysource | |
| 675 Park Road, Downingtown, PA 19335source | Near the pool complex and picnic areasource | Rowboats, canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, sailboats and summer lake tours at the East Launchsource | Swimming poolsource | 535source | 1,784source | Electric motors onlysource | |
| 100 Lower Lake Road, Greentown, PA 18426source | In the Day Use Picnic Area, a short walk from the main beach and boat rentalsource | Rowboats, canoes, one- and two-person kayaks and paddleboats, with electric motors for rentsource | Lake beachsource | 422source | 3,000source | Electric motors onlysource |
Playground by the beach, the pool, or the campsite
For small children, the best days keep everything in one place. Beltzville, Tobyhanna and Mauch Chunk Lake Park put the play equipment by the swimming beach, and Promised Land's is a short walk from both the beach and the boat rental. At Nockamixon, French Creek and Marsh Creek the playground is by the pool complex instead, which works just as well if the pool is the plan.
Locust Lake is the awkward fit. Its three playgrounds are inside the camping areas, day-use parking is limited, and the park warns beachgoers to expect about a half-mile walk from the visitor lot. Green Lane has two playgrounds, and Peace Valley's county page lists playgrounds among its features without saying where.
Lake beach, pool, or no swimming
Five parks let you swim in the lake: Beltzville, Mauch Chunk, Tobyhanna, Locust Lake and Promised Land. They are not equal. Mauch Chunk guards its beach but charges summer admission ($3 an adult for Carbon County residents, $10 for everyone else) and has closed the swimming area at short notice when lifeguards were short. Promised Land has no lifeguards at either beach, and at 1,800 feet on the Pocono plateau its water stays cold well into the season.
Nockamixon, French Creek and Marsh Creek keep swimmers out of the lake and in a pool (guarded at French Creek and Marsh Creek), and Nockamixon's charges admission and runs weekends only at each end of summer. Green Lane's and Peace Valley's county pages never mention swimming, so plan those as paddling days.
Quiet water or ski boats
Beltzville is the only lake in the table listed with unlimited horsepower, so a hot Saturday can bring ski boats past your paddleboat. Nockamixon allows up to 20 horsepower. Every other lake with a stated rule allows electric motors only, so the water stays quiet around a paddler.
Size shapes the paddle too. Locust Lake's 52 acres are the smallest listed and correspondingly calm, and Tobyhanna's 170 are small enough to cover a good part of in an afternoon. Green Lane's 814-acre reservoir is a drinking-water supply with registration and quarantine rules for private boats, so renting there is far simpler than bringing your own.
The options in detail
Beltzville State Park
The closest big-water day out to Allentown, about half an hour up the turnpike extension. The 949-acre lake is the only one on this list with no horsepower cap, so the boat rental west of the beach hands out kayaks and paddleboats alongside a reservable pontoon, and the water can get busy with ski boats on a hot Saturday. The playground sits between Picnic Pavilion Four and the 525-foot sand beach, which is the whole appeal for families: park once, and the swings, the sand and the boat cove are all within sight of each other. There is no camping here, so it is strictly a day trip.
Nockamixon State Park
The biggest rental fleet anywhere near Allentown: the concession on Lake Nockamixon puts out canoes, kayaks, rowboats, paddleboats, paddleboards, small motorboats and pontoons, so a group that cannot agree on one kind of boat can still go out together. Swimming happens at the park pool, not in the lake, and the pool is the family draw in its own right with two waterslides and a shallow end with fountains. The playground is beside that pool complex, on a spur off the main bike trail. Worth knowing before you drive: the pool charges admission and keeps a short weekends-only shoulder season at each end of summer.
Green Lane Park
Montgomery County's largest park, and one of the few on this list with two children's playgrounds rather than one. The rental concession at the Hill Road Day Use Area is privately run and unusually well stocked for a county park: canoes, kayaks, standup paddleboards, paddleboats and small electric fishing boats from roughly May through September, plus guided pontoon tours on a limited basis. Everything on the water is electric or paddle powered, so the reservoir stays quiet. The catch for a hot-day family trip is that there is no swimming beach here, and the reservoir itself is a drinking-water supply with a boat registration and quarantine regime for private craft, which is exactly why renting is the easy way in.
Mauch Chunk Lake Park
A Carbon County park outside Jim Thorpe where the beach, the play equipment and the boat rental all sit within a few minutes' walk of each other, which is the practical case for bringing small children. The rental at Boat Launch A puts out canoes, kayaks, rowboats and paddleboats and also sells live bait; the lake is closed to gas engines, so it stays calm. It is the one park here that guards its swimming area, with lifeguards on duty during posted beach hours, and the one that charges admission in summer: a few dollars a head for Carbon County residents and noticeably more for everyone else. Lifeguard staffing has forced short-notice beach closures, so it is worth a phone call before a long drive.
Peace Valley Park
Bucks County's 1,500-acre park around Lake Galena, with its own boat rental renting rowboats, canoes, pedal boats and single or double kayaks by the day. The county lists playgrounds among the park's features, and the Peace Valley Nature Center at the northeast end of the lake adds more than fifteen miles of trails, so it suits a family that wants a paddle and a walk rather than a beach day. Bucks County publishes less detail about this park than the state does about its own, which is why several columns here are blank: the county page does not state the lake's size, its motor rules or whether swimming is allowed.
Tobyhanna State Park
A Pocono plateau park where the playground is right by the swimming beach, so the two things a kid wants are in one place. The rental runs daily from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, weather permitting, and covers rowboats, kayaks, paddleboats, canoes and electric motor boats. At 170 acres the lake is small enough to paddle a good part of in an afternoon and, being electric only, quiet the whole time. It is about an hour from Allentown, which makes it a longer drive than Beltzville for a similar day, but the campground means you can turn it into a weekend.
Locust Lake State Park
A camping park first and a day-trip park second, and the distinction matters here: its three playgrounds are inside the camping areas rather than beside the beach. The camp store doubles as the boat rental and puts out canoes, kayaks, paddle boards, pedal boats and rowboats with or without a motor, on a 52-acre lake that is the smallest on this list and correspondingly calm. Day-use parking is genuinely limited, and the park warns beachgoers to expect a walk of about half a mile from the visitor lot with everything they are carrying. If that sounds like a lot with a toddler, sister park Tuscarora up the road has an easier beach.
French Creek State Park
The largest park on this list by a wide margin, billed by the state as the biggest unbroken block of forest between Washington and New York. Boat rentals run out of the Hopewell Lake pool complex, daily between Memorial Day and Labor Day and on weekends in May and September, and the playground is right there next to the Hopewell Day Use Pavilion. Swimming is at the guarded pool only: both lakes are closed to swimmers. It is the furthest south of the ten, roughly an hour and change from Allentown, so it is a full day rather than an afternoon.
Marsh Creek State Park
A sailing lake more than a swimming one: 535 acres in the Chester County hills with prevailing winds the state park itself advertises, and the rental at the East Launch is the only one here that rents sailboats and runs lake tours through the summer. Rowboats, canoes, kayaks and paddleboards are the rest of the fleet, with weekend rentals sometimes offered in spring and autumn if the weather holds. The children's playground sits by the pool complex and picnic area, and swimming is pool-only, in an L-shaped guarded pool with a sprayground. It is the longest drive on this list from Allentown.
Promised Land State Park
Two lakes, two sand beaches and the most generous rental hours here: the concession runs daily from the Saturday before Memorial Day through Labor Day, plus the two weekends either side of that, by the hour or the day. Rowboats, canoes, one- and two-person kayaks and paddleboats are the fleet, and electric motors can be rented separately, with boats staged at Pickerel Point and Lower Lake as well as the main beach. The playground is in the Day Use Picnic Area a short walk from the beach and the boat rental, alongside a sand volleyball court and a basketball hoop. There are no lifeguards at either beach, and at 1,800 feet on the Pocono plateau the water stays cold well into the season.
How we researched this
A park needed both halves of the question on record: a playground and a boat rental it runs or hosts, within roughly an hour's drive of Allentown. Tuscarora State Park rents boats, but no source mentions a playground there. Hugh Moore Park in Easton, which would have been the closest by far, is shut for the rest of 2026 while a bridge into the park is closed. Core Creek Park in Langhorne qualifies but sits about 75 minutes away toward Philadelphia. Blue Marsh Lake and Spruce Run could not be confirmed because their managers' sites would not load, and Hickory Run has a good playground but no boats for hire.
Five cells are empty where the managing agency never states the fact: Peace Valley's lake size, motor rule and swimming, Green Lane's swimming, and Mauch Chunk's park acreage. Admission and rental rates are left to the write-ups, since only Mauch Chunk publishes a gate fee and the concessions rarely post prices. Rental seasons run weather permitting and beaches can close for staffing, so call the park office on the morning you go.