A 250-acre lake with electric-motors-only boating, a sand beach, short trails and a past as an ice-harvesting site. What to do at Gouldsboro State Park, how to get there, and what to know before you go.
Gouldsboro State Park is a 2,800-acre park in Monroe and Wayne counties, built around the 250-acre Gouldsboro Lake, where boating is limited to electric motors at slow, no-wake speed. It has a sand beach open late May to mid-September, boat rentals, an accessible fishing pier and easy trails that begin in the day use area. It's a park for paddling, fishing and short walks, and its history includes an ice industry that shipped lake ice to East Coast cities by rail.
Key Takeaways
- I.Gouldsboro Lake allows electric motors only, at slow, no-wake speed, and rowboats, kayaks, paddle boats, canoes and electric motorboats can be rented daily from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, weather permitting.
- II.The sand beach is open from late May to mid-September, 8 AM to sunset, and DCNR's guide says to swim at your own risk.
- III.The park's trails are short: Old 611 (1.25 miles), Old Entrance Trail (1.8 miles) and Prospect Rock Trail (2.9 miles). The Frank Gantz Trail, rated most difficult, links to neighboring Tobyhanna State Park.
- IV.There is no campground at Gouldsboro, and snowmobiles are prohibited. Tobyhanna State Park, next door, has a 140-site campground.
Gouldsboro State Park at a glance
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Park size | 2,800 acres |
| Lake | Gouldsboro Lake, 250 acres |
| Counties | Monroe and Wayne |
| Opened | 1958 |
| Park office | 114 Campground Road, Tobyhanna, PA 18466 (shared with Tobyhanna State Park) |
| Phone | 570-894-8336 |
| Boating | Electric motors only; slow, no-wake speed |
The park's official recreational guide, published by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR, 2023 edition, shared with Tobyhanna State Park, retrieved October 6, 2026), is the source for the park-level facts here. The two parks sit side by side, and our guide to Tobyhanna State Park covers the larger park next door.
Boating, fishing and swimming at Gouldsboro Lake
Gouldsboro Lake has 50 overnight mooring spaces. They're seasonal and need a mooring permit, available at the Tobyhanna State Park office. Rowboats, kayaks, paddle boats, canoes and electric motorboats can be rented daily from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day, except in inclement weather. Motorboats must display a boat registration from any state. Non-powered boats must display a boat registration, a launch or mooring permit from Pennsylvania State Parks, or a launch use permit from the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
For anglers, common species in Gouldsboro and Tobyhanna lakes are bass, pickerel, yellow perch, catfish and sunfish, and Gouldsboro Lake also has walleyes and crappies. An ADA accessible fishing pier is available at each park. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission regulations apply.
The sand beach is open from late May to mid-September, 8 AM to sunset. DCNR says to swim at your own risk and follow posted rules, and it doesn't mention lifeguards, so treat the beach as unguarded. Pets aren't allowed in swimming areas. Picnic areas with tables and charcoal grills are open year round from sunrise to sunset, and the day use area has an ADA accessible picnic pavilion with electricity in Lot 3 that can be reserved up to 11 months in advance for a fee.
Hiking and mountain biking at Gouldsboro State Park
DCNR describes the terrain of both parks as rugged, with hiking that's challenging but rewarding. Gouldsboro's own trails are short, and Old 611 and Old Entrance Trail both begin in the day use area. All trails are blazed, and double blazes mark a change of direction or a trail junction. Motor vehicles are prohibited on trails.
We sorted the park's trails by DCNR difficulty and length.
| Trail | Length (DCNR) | Type | DCNR rating | Blazes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old 611 | 1.25 miles | Connector | Easiest | Blue |
| Old Entrance Trail | 1.8 miles | Out and back | Easiest | Blue |
| Prospect Rock Trail | 2.9 miles | Connector | More difficult | Blue |
| Frank Gantz Trail | 1.3 miles in the park (3.2 total) | Point to point | Most difficult | Red |
Old 611 follows a small section of Route 611 that was abandoned after Interstate 380 was built, and Old Entrance Trail follows the park's original entrance. Both offer chances to watch wildlife and to see a roadway corridor turn back into a natural area, and both allow hiking and mountain biking, with cross-country skiing recommended. The Prospect Rock Trail connects Old Entrance Trail and Old 611, with numerous wildlife-watching chances and a challenging elevation change. The Frank Gantz Trail is 3.2 miles in total and links Tobyhanna and Gouldsboro state parks through the Black Bear and Bender Swamps Natural Area, a 1,600-acre area of acidic shrub swamps. DCNR rates it most difficult.
Our AllTrails-based records describe longer routes that combine these trails: a 5.7-mile loop linking Old Entrance Trail, Frank Gantz Trail and Old 611 (rated moderate, with about 232 feet of elevation gain), and a 5.8-mile Prospect Rock loop (351 feet of gain). Those figures are route-planning distances for whole loops, which include connecting segments, so they're longer than the individual DCNR trail lengths. AllTrails also rates the whole loop, while DCNR rates each single trail, so the ratings don't line up. DCNR counts 20 miles of hiking across both parks.
Winter at Gouldsboro State Park
Gouldsboro and Tobyhanna lakes are both popular ice-fishing spots, and ice skating is available when natural conditions permit. DCNR says ice thickness isn't monitored and advises at least 4 inches for a single user and 7 inches for a small group. Old 611 and Old Entrance Trail are recommended for cross-country skiing. Snowmobiles are prohibited in Gouldsboro State Park, though a one-way, 5.1-mile snowmobile trail runs on the Lakeside Trail in Tobyhanna State Park, from the day after the last day of deer regular firearm season in December until April 1.
Wildlife and safety
Black bears are common in the area. DCNR advises keeping food in the trunk of a car or in a camper, and never feeding or approaching wildlife. DCNR's guide notes that bears that depend on human food can become aggressive when people get between them and the food. If that happens, make loud noises like yelling, honking a car horn or banging a pot, and tell a park employee if you have trouble with a bear. BearWise, a black bear safety program, adds that you should never run from a bear or climb a tree (BearWise, bear safety tips, retrieved October 6, 2026).
The Pocono Plateau has rocky soil, bogs and dark evergreen forests, and the guide lists blackburnian warblers, red-breasted nuthatches and northern waterthrushes as common bird species. In spring, spotted and Jefferson salamanders and wood frogs migrate to the bogs to breed. Carnivorous pitcher plants and cotton grass grow in the bogs.
For ticks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises showering within two hours of coming indoors, doing a full-body check and treating boots and clothing with permethrin (CDC, Preventing Tick Bites, retrieved October 6, 2026).
Most of Gouldsboro and Tobyhanna state parks are open to hunting, trapping and dog training during established seasons, and DCNR asks everyone to use extreme caution around firearms. Pets must be on a leash, caged or crated, and alcoholic beverages are prohibited.
One warning applies to the neighboring park. DCNR says visitors in remote, undeveloped areas of Tobyhanna State Park could encounter old, unexploded artillery shells, which are severely rusted and look like pointed cylinders of rusted steel. If you find one, don't touch or move it, and call the park office to report its location. If you continue onto Tobyhanna State Park's trails from Gouldsboro, keep this warning in mind.
History: ice, rails and a military reservation
The land's broad, flat, swampy terrain shaped its settlement and industries. From about 1900 to 1936, Tobyhanna and Gouldsboro lakes were the site of active ice industries. Ice was cut from the lakes in winter, stored in large barn-like structures and loaded into railroad boxcars bound for East Coast cities, and in summer, up to 150 boxcar loads a day shipped from the Tobyhanna, Gouldsboro and Klondike plants. Some ice even went to Florida hospitals.
The village of Gouldsboro, north of the park, was named for Jay Gould (1836-1892), a financier who by 1892 owned 10 percent of all railroad track in the country. One of his railroads, the Erie-Lackawanna, parallels the park's eastern boundary, and that line is now part of the Steamtown National Historic Site excursion route between Scranton and Pocono Summit.
In 1912, the federal government acquired the land that became the Tobyhanna Military Reservation. It was used for tank, ambulance and artillery training in World War I, housed Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees in the early 1930s, trained West Point cadets from 1937 to 1941 and held German prisoners of war in World War II. In 1949, the Commonwealth received title to most of the 26,000 acres, about two-thirds of which became State Game Lands 127, with the rest used for the two state parks. Gouldsboro State Park opened in 1958, and in 2004 the lake and land owned by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission were transferred to DCNR.
Getting to Gouldsboro State Park
DCNR's guide gives road directions but no driving times from larger cities. The park entrance is one-half mile south of the village of Gouldsboro on PA 507. PA 507 intersects with I-380 at exit 13, two miles south of the entrance, and with I-84, 13 miles north of the entrance. The nearest hospital is St. Luke's Monroe Campus, 100 St. Lukes Lane, Stroudsburg. In an emergency, call 911.
Where to eat in Gouldsboro
Each of these Gouldsboro restaurants is listed under its nearest destination guide by drive time, Gouldsboro Lake, so check the distance from the park before you plan around one. A reserve score is Pocono Reserve's own rating. First Place Cafe is a casual, budget-friendly cafe for breakfast sandwiches and coffee (reserve score 79), and AJ's Pizza and Parm House, in a Route 940 shopping center, is known for wood-fired pizza with a charred crust ($, reserve score 71). The Dutchman Tavern is a casual neighborhood tavern with burgers, sandwiches and pub plates ($$, reserve score 68).
A rail connection near Gouldsboro
The Steamtown National Historic Site excursion route follows the same rail line that runs along the park's eastern boundary, per DCNR. Steamtown, in Scranton, is a history stop with seasonal excursion trains, and no drive time from the park is listed here, so check its schedule and the distance before you plan around it.
Frequently asked questions
Can you swim at Gouldsboro State Park?
Yes. The sand beach is open from late May to mid-September, 8 AM to sunset. DCNR says to swim at your own risk and doesn't mention lifeguards, so treat the beach as unguarded.
Can you use a motorboat at Gouldsboro Lake?
Only electric motors, at slow, no-wake speed. Rowboats, kayaks, paddle boats, canoes and electric motorboats can be rented daily from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day.
Is there camping at Gouldsboro State Park?
No. The campground is next door at Tobyhanna State Park, which has 140 sites and is open from mid-April through mid-October.
Can you snowmobile at Gouldsboro State Park?
No, snowmobiles are prohibited in Gouldsboro State Park. A one-way snowmobile trail runs on the Lakeside Trail in Tobyhanna State Park.
What fish are in Gouldsboro Lake?
Bass, pickerel, yellow perch, catfish and sunfish, plus walleyes and crappies, according to DCNR.
Keep planning
For nearby places to eat and explore, see our Gouldsboro Lake destination page, and our guide to Tobyhanna State Park next door.
Last updated October 6, 2026. Park details come from Pocono Reserve research and the Pennsylvania DCNR recreational guide for Tobyhanna and Gouldsboro State Parks (2023 edition). Hours, seasons and rates change, so confirm with the park office at 570-894-8336 before you go. Cover photo: Nicholas A. Tonelli, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Sources
- Pennsylvania DCNR, Tobyhanna and Gouldsboro State Parks recreational guide (2023 edition, map rev. 3/19/24). Retrieved October 6, 2026.
- BearWise, bear safety tips; CDC, Preventing Tick Bites. Retrieved October 6, 2026.