If you want to drive a pontoon, a ski boat or a jet ski, Lake Wallenpaupack is the place: it's the Poconos' big lake with no horsepower limit and several marinas that rent. Beltzville Lake rents pontoons too. The state park lakes are quieter, electric-motor-only waters with rowboats, canoes and kayaks, and the Delaware River is for canoe, kayak, raft and tube trips.
Below is who rents what on each lake, and the Pennsylvania rules you need to know before you take the wheel.
The Boat Shop ↗New Wave Marina ↗Rubber Duckie Boat Rentals ↗Wallenpaupack Boat Tours & Rentals ↗Beltzville Boat Rental ↗Lake Harmony Watersports ↗
Lake Wallenpaupack: pontoons, ski boats and jet skis
- The Boat Shop (Tafton): pontoons, runabouts and WaveRunners, guided jet ski tours and captained rentals. Season June 1 to Labor Day.
- New Wave Marina, formerly Pine Crest Marina (Greentown): pontoons, slide pontoons, deck boats, fishing boats, speedboats and kayaks by the half day, day or longer. Renters must be 21+ with a driver's license (and a boating certificate if born in 1982 or later), plus a deposit.
- Rubber Duckie Boat Rentals (Hawley): ski boats, pontoons and a Boston Whaler; no jet skis. May to September.
- Wallenpaupack Boat Tours & Rentals (Hawley): pontoons for 8 to 14 people by the 2 hours or half day (renters 25+), plus kayaks and paddleboards. May to mid-September.
- Pocono Action Sports (Lighthouse Harbor Marina, Greentown): closed for the 2026 season because of low lake levels; 2027 bookings open in November.
- Heads-up: the lake's owner partly drained Wallenpaupack in fall 2026 for dam work, and the state pulled some public docks until spring 2027. Check with the marina about water levels before you book an early-season trip.
Beltzville Lake
Beltzville Boat Rental at Beltzville State Park near Lehighton rents pontoons from 20 to 60 hp (reserve ahead and take a short safety quiz by phone), plus kayaks, paddleboards, pedal boats and rafts. Beltzville has no horsepower limit but a 45 mph speed limit.
State park lakes: quiet water and paddling
- Promised Land State Park: rowboats, canoes, kayaks, paddleboats and electric motors by the hour or day.
- Tobyhanna State Park and Gouldsboro State Park: rowboats, kayaks, paddleboats, canoes and electric motorboats, Memorial Day to Labor Day.
- Mauch Chunk Lake Park, Jim Thorpe (run by Carbon County): kayaks, paddleboats, paddleboards, rowboats and canoes.
- These lakes are electric motors only, with no-wake rules.
Lake Harmony and Lake Naomi
- Lake Harmony is a private lake: every boat needs a Lake Harmony Group permit, and you can't rent a boat to drive yourself. Lake Harmony Watersports takes you out with its own crew for tubing, waterskiing and wakeboarding, and rents kayaks, canoes and paddleboards.
- Lake Naomi's boathouse is for club members only. Guests in a Lake Naomi or Timber Trails home for a week or longer (Saturday to Saturday) can get a temporary membership.
Delaware River: canoe, kayak, raft and tube
- Chamberlain Canoes (East Stroudsburg): canoes, kayaks, rafts and tubes.
- Adventure Sports (East Stroudsburg): canoe, kayak and raft trips of 6, 10 and 16 miles.
- Edge of the Woods Outfitters (Delaware Water Gap): canoes, kayaks, rafts and tubes.
- Kittatinny Canoes (Milford and Dingmans Ferry): river trips from mid-May to late September.
Pennsylvania rules before you drive
- Anyone driving a jet ski needs a Pennsylvania Boating Safety Education Certificate, at any age.
- Anyone born on or after January 1, 1982 needs the certificate to drive a boat over 25 hp.
- Kids 11 and under can't drive a jet ski or a boat over 25 hp, and 12 to 15-year-olds can't rent a jet ski.
- Life jackets: children 12 and under must wear one on small boats and on every kayak, canoe and paddleboard. From November 1 to April 30, everyone on a boat under 16 feet or a paddle craft must wear one.
- Rental companies set their own ages and deposits (often 21 or 25 and up), so ask when you book.
