Most Pocono lakes allow electric motors only, which makes them calm, quiet water for kayaks, canoes and paddleboards. State parks rent boats all summer, and the Delaware River through the Delaware Water Gap is a gentle river trip that suits beginners.
If you bring your own boat, Pennsylvania asks for a registration or a launch permit at state parks and Fish & Boat Commission lakes, and its life jacket rules get stricter in the cold months. Here's what to know, as of 2026.
Where to rent
- Tobyhanna State Park and Gouldsboro State Park: rowboats, kayaks, canoes and paddleboats, daily from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day.
- Mauch Chunk Lake Park, Jim Thorpe: Carbon County rents kayaks, paddleboards, canoes, rowboats and paddleboats at Boat Launch A, 8am to 6pm daily in season, weather permitting. Reservations are recommended.
- Beltzville State Park: kayaks and paddleboats rent west of the beach daily in summer.
- Promised Land State Park, Greentown: canoes, one- and two-person kayaks, rowboats and paddleboats, from the Saturday before Memorial Day through Labor Day plus two weekends before and after.
- In our lake communities: Emerald Lakes rents 4 single kayaks, 2 tandem kayaks and 2 paddle boats at Pine Tree Lake on summer weekends, 11am to 6pm, and Arrowhead Lakes' Rental Shack at the Island Complex rents paddleboards, kayaks and canoes in season. You'll need the community's badge or pass.
Rules for paddlers
- To launch a kayak, canoe or paddleboard at a Fish & Boat Commission lake or access area, or at a state park or forest, the boat needs a Pennsylvania boat registration or a launch permit. The Commission doesn't accept other states' launch permits, so the simplest choice for visitors is a Pennsylvania launch permit from HuntFish PA.
- Everyone in a canoe, kayak or rowboat, or on a paddleboard, must have a wearable, USCG-approved life jacket that fits.
- Children 12 and under must wear their life jacket while underway in any canoe or kayak and on any paddleboard.
- From November 1 to April 30, everyone must wear a life jacket on any kayak, canoe or paddleboard, and on boats under 16 feet, on all Pennsylvania waters.
- Carry a whistle, and a light if you paddle between sunset and sunrise.
River trips on the Delaware and the Lehigh
The Delaware River through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is fairly calm, with quiet pools and a few short riffles. Pennsylvania-side accesses include Milford Beach, Dingmans Ferry, Eshback, Bushkill and Smithfield Beach, which has boat and canoe launches and fills up on summer weekends. Park-authorized liveries such as Adventure Sports in East Stroudsburg, Chamberlain Canoes in Minisink Hills, Edge of the Woods Outfitters in Delaware Water Gap and Shawnee River Trips in Shawnee on Delaware rent canoes, kayaks and rafts, mostly May to September. The Park Service asks everyone to wear a life jacket and to check the USGS Montague river gauge before going.
On the Lehigh, the stretch from Jim Thorpe to Bowmanstown is mostly flat water with riffles. Guided easy-water trips include Whitewater Rafting Adventures' Summer Rafting (8 miles, ages 4 and up, April to October), Pocono Whitewater's Family Style Whitewater (8 miles of Class I–II water, ages 4 and up) and Jim Thorpe River Adventures' EasyWater trip. For the bigger rapids, see our whitewater rafting guide.
