Shenango Lake Shenango Lakeside Picnic Shelter

Situated within the suburban Shenango Valley, Shenango Lake provides an attractive setting where visitors can spend the day picnicking, fishing, boating, or enjoying nature's beauty at one of the lake's many recreation areas. The Shenango Recreation Area Day Use sits within the Shenango Rec Area, adjacent to the campground, and provides one covered group picnic shelter — the Lakeside Shelter — with electric, plus a basketball hoop and volleyball court nearby. The Lakeside Shelter accommodates between 42 and 56 people, depending on whether tables are used at 6 or 8 people each. Grills are on site, and flush toilets and drinking water are provided at the nearby restroom by the boat launch (seasonal). A children's swing set, volleyball court, basketball hoop and plenty of open fields are also on site, and overnight camping is available at the adjacent 330-site Shenango Recreation Area Campground. One note on Sundays: a church group meets at the Lakeside Pavilion from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., so access to the shelter is only available after the church service. The lake offers picnicking, fishing, boating, swimming, hiking, wildlife viewing and hunting, with areas provided for unlimited horsepower operation as well as restricted horsepower and minimum wake operation. Many fishing enthusiasts are attracted to the waters of Shenango for the crappie, bass, walleye, catfish and muskellunge that inhabit the river, lake and tailwaters. Shenango Lake stretches 11 miles up its namesake river, covering over 11,000 acres. The shore is lined with a northern hardwood forest of shady and colorful trees such as black cherry, beech, maple and hemlock; deer, turkey and other small game are plentiful, with excellent opportunities to observe osprey and eagles. The Shenango and Mahaney Recreation Areas feature restoration chestnut tree orchards managed through a partnership with the American Chestnut Foundation for research and education, with the goal of developing blight resistant American chestnut trees. Nearby, the Shenango Water Trail provides 7.5 miles of scenic river corridor for paddlers with three access points between Kidds Mill Park and Big Bend — life jackets must be worn on all canoes and kayaks — the historic Kidds Mill Covered Bridge features the unique "Smith-Truss" design from the 1800s, and remnants of the Erie Extension Canal can be found in Sharpsville below the Shenango Dam.