Guilford Lake State Park

On the ground

Guilford Lake was originally built in 1834 as a canal feeder reservoir for the Sandy and Beaver Canal, a private venture planned to run 73 miles with two tunnels, 30 dams, 90 locks, three reservoirs, and a 400-foot aqueduct. The park takes its name from E.H. Gill, the canal company's chief engineer, who laid out a road through the area's swampy ground that became known as Gill's Ford. After the canal era ended, neighboring landowners breached the embankment in two places and farmed the exposed lake bottom until the state purchased the land in 1927 to rebuild the reservoir. The Division of Conservation completed the new dam in 1932, and the Dam/Spillway remains a historic feature within the park today.

A half-mile hiking trail skirts the lakeshore and is accessible off Teegarden Road, and a Wetland Boardwalk gives visitors a closer look at the park's natural areas. Boating is limited to hand-powered vessels and motors up to 10 horsepower on the lake, with three launch ramps and seasonal dock rentals, plus kayak and paddle boat rentals at the campground. Anglers fish for bass, bluegill, crappie, and channel catfish, including from an accessible fishing pier on Hanna Drive. A 600-foot public swimming beach sits on the northwest side of the lake with a showerhouse offering restrooms and changing booths. The Guilford Lake State Park Campground offers electric sites with lake views, drinking fountains, and its own separate beach for campers, and pets are permitted on all sites; reservations are required. Waterfowl hunting is permitted within the park, with blinds available first-come, first-served at the park office during the designated season, and additional hunting is allowed in the nearby Zepernick Lake State Wildlife Area east of the park on State Route 172.