Lackawaxen’s outdoor beauty enjoyed by locals and tourists
Lackawaxen’s rivers, lakes and mountains entice many to make two-to-three-hour drives from New York City and Philadelphia to spend weekends — or entire summers — hiking through forests, boating across the water and wading into the Lackawaxen River to fish for trout. This Northeast Pennsylvania township among the Pocono Mountains is home to Woodloch Resort, which draws 80,000 visitors annually. “Our population increases significantly in the summertime,” says Cathy Wargo, the township’s assistant treasurer. When those tourists leave at the end of the summer, Lackawaxen’s 5,400 year-round residents enjoy the peacefulness and natural beauty of the community.
Housing developments centered around ski slopes, lakes, golf course
Lackawaxen’s residents are a mix of longtime locals, weekenders, summer vacationers and retirees, Wargo says. “A lot of residents from New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia will move here when they retire if they already have a summer home here.” Houses are clustered in the community’s large residential developments. For example, A-frame homes and contemporary designs from the ‘70s fill Fawn Lake Forest, and the homes often come in colors such as green and brown that blend in with their wooded surroundings. On Masthope Mountain, Dutch colonials and ranch homes were designed to look like cabins. These homes sometimes have elevated views and are located near Ski Big Bear, a resort on the mountain. Tudor- and Colonial-inspired New Traditional houses line the fairways of the Country Club at Woodloch Springs. Homes sell for a median price of $345,000, lower than the national median.
The CAP Index Crime Score for Lackawaxen is 1 out of 10, below the U.S. average of 4.
Lackawaxen and Delaware rivers among the recreation opportunities
More than 12 miles of the Lackawaxen River wind through the community, and about two dozen fishing spots dot the banks. On the townships’ east end, the Lackawaxen River empties into the Delaware River, which kayakers and canoers can reach using the Zane Grey Public Access Boat Launch. Just steps from the Lackawaxen River is Veterans Memorial Park. Inland from the rivers, Ski Big Bear opens its slopes to skiers, snowboarders and snow tubers from December to March. On the west side of Lackawaxen, the township recently added four new trails to Sunrise Park. Nearby, the public can book tee times at The Country Club at Woodloch Springs. Lackawaxen also encompasses two State Game Lands districts, areas conserved by the state for hunting and trapping.
Many students attend the Wallenpaupack Area School District
Children can start at Wallenpaupack North Primary School, which teaches kindergarten through second grade and gets a B-plus from Niche. Next door, third through fifth graders can attend Wallenpaupack North Intermediate School, while sixth, seventh and eighth graders go to Wallenpaupack Area Middle School. Both receive B grades. B-plus-rated Wallenpaupack Area High School has more than 30 clubs, including the Aviation Club, which lets students work on aircraft and practice with flight simulators.
Dining, shopping and more at various riverside villages
Where a local may go for restaurants, shops or entertainment depends on where they live in Lackawaxen. For example, residents of the north end are across the Delaware River from Narrowsburg, a New York hamlet home to Pete’s Market grocery store and Tusten Theatre, which hosts stage shows and screens vintage movies. People living on the east side of the community can go to Lackawaxen, a smaller community within Lackawaxen Township, to grab breakfast or lunch at Two River Anglers Cafe, located in a riverside bait shop. Near the west end of the township, restaurants and thrift stores line Main Avenue in the borough of Hawley.
Novelist Zane Grey celebrated every summer
In July, people gather for the Zane Grey Festival, a free event that commemorates writer Zane Grey and is held at the Lackawaxen house where he lived in the early 1900s. Grey helped popularize Western novels, and the festival features rides in horse-drawn wagons and a demonstration of the “ring of fire,” a process historically used to burn rims off locomotive tires.
A car-dependent community in Northeast Pennsylvania
Several highways and county roads connect the community, which sprawls for nearly 80 square miles. One of the most unique transportation routes is Roebling’s Delaware Aqueduct. John A. Roebling, the engineer behind the Brooklyn Bridge, designed this suspension bridge in the mid-1800s, and locals still use it to cross the Delaware River. “It has been resorted, and you can drive over it,” Wargo says. U.S. Route 6 and Interstate 84 are also nearby. Wayne Memorial Hospital is 12 miles west of Lackawaxen in Honesdale. It’s at least a 40-mile drive to Scranton and a similar distance to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.
Written By
Alex Soderstrom
