Colyer Lake is set to reopen this weekend.
The lake’s dam was deemed unsafe and the lake was drained in late 2014. Now, nearly two years later, it’s set to reopen Sunday.
“It’s been 15 years since it’s been up this high,” resident John Mentzell said. “We’re really excited.”
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission started refilling the lake in December 2015. The lake is currently open for canoeing and kayaking, but fishing will be limited to catch and release regulations until the fish have time to repopulate. It’s a process that could take between three and five years.
“It was one of the reasons we moved here and it’s so nice to have a 77 acre lake a quarter mile from our house,” Mentzell said. “When it was drawn down to, first 2/3 capacity and then 1/3, and then almost nothing, it was just like part of the landscape went away. But now that it’s back, it’s great.”
The Save Colyer Lake group will host a grand reopening on Sunday, June 12 at 1:00 p.m. The lake will have a new hiking trail for visitors to enjoy and handicap accessible kayak platforms will be added to the boat landings.