The JournalA glacially carved lake that once supplied East Coast ice markets, now one of the quieter fishing and boating destinations in the northern Poconos.
Gouldsboro's rolling, wetland-dotted terrain was shaped by glacial activity, and long before it became a state park in 1958, the land did double duty — part of the Tobyhanna Military Reservation during both World Wars, and, in the early 20th century, the site of a thriving ice-harvesting industry that supplied East Coast markets until the 1930s. The park takes its name from the nearby village of Gouldsboro, itself named for financier Jay Gould.
At its center is the 250-acre Gouldsboro Lake, which holds bass, pickerel, yellow perch, and panfish and draws anglers and boaters year-round. The surrounding 2,800 acres of oak, maple, and hemlock forest support deer, black bears, and a wide range of bird species, and the park's hiking trails wind through genuinely quiet terrain — this is one of the less-trafficked parks in the region, even in summer.
Gouldsboro sits directly behind our Gouldsboro Lake destination, and its proximity to Scranton makes it a natural pairing with Steamtown National Historic Site for guests who want to split a day between the park's quiet water and a couple of hours of railroad history — both fit comfortably into a single afternoon from our nearby residences.