This was a great video-I’m 47 years old but remember swimming at this fantastic six penny lake as a kid in the late 70’s early 80’s-it had a nice sandy beach and I remember those steps and the wall that went around the lake-we would hike from our cabins which are now storage buildings across from the park office to Six Penny lake each day at camp and then the bus would pick us up from the parking lot by the lake to drive us back to camp after our swim...I do recall this lake being open to the public as well-when they shut down this lake is about the time the pool opened at French creek state park....thanks for the video and the memories!
If you haven’t been lately they really put some work around the area, cleaning up all the old junk, scrub brush and cleared a ton of overgrowth down in what was the lake by the long wall. Damn area is cleaned up. Thanks for sharing your memories of this place 👍👍
If you haven’t been in a while, they did some clearing and grubbing in the old lake, around the wall and the damn is cleaned up. All the scrap metal is gone. Amazing what a couple of years and some dedicated folks can do! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I have lots of childhood memories of Six Penny Lake. My parents used to take our family here back in the early 1970's to picnic, swim and hang out on the beach on very hot summer days. I remember that the water was not up to the wall but rather at least 20-25 feet down from the wall and there was sand stretching from one end to the other. On the end of the lake upstream from the dam was a lot of aquatic plants. Nearest the dam, there was flat stone under the water lining the dam. I remember seeing lots of black tadpoles sunning themselves on those rocks. The steps leading up to the bathhouse and concession stand in my memories were much larger than what I see, reflecting on how young I was at the time. Even the wall was much taller than I can see today. Most memorable was how cold the skin numbingly cold water was and with the abundance of shade trees in the picnic grove, Six Penny Lake was the perfect place to relax and cool of on a 95 degree summer day. I remember the smell of cookouts all through the area and how open it was under the trees. I spent so much time early in my childhood here that I even recall having a dream that took place here. It was a weird dream where I was up on the road that leads down to the bridge over Six Penny and I walked through the trees and fell down to the creek below. In my dream I was laying on my back in the water thinking I'm ok and this is nice and refreshing. This place has lots of good memories yet I've never visited the location since it closed. But thanks to your video, I have and I will in the early spring next year when the weeds are all dead and I can see the remnants of everything. Thanks again.
Thank you for the memories. As a family,we would go there all summer for picnics and then go to the lake for swimming. This was back in the 50's and 60's. Often wondered why it was closed and what it looked like today. Live about 15 miles from it. Went down numerous times trying to find the road to take you into the area but saw it was blocked. Just found out about this video from people who also visited the area back then. As you were walking the trail was trying to remember how we would walk it and see where the picnic area, bathhouses, concession stands, sandy beach,etc used to be. Again,thanks for the memories!! Take care
I’m hoping to explore the remains of Six Penny in the next week or so. In August 1953 my dad’s 16 year old brother drowned in this lake-tragically and unexplained. I was born in September 1953, and I have struggled, but ultimately succeeded, to empathize with that loss throughout my life. Currently I live in Virginia, but have an interest in Pennsylvania’s woods and French Creek State Park. Thanks for exploring!
I was very young at the time, my mom would not let me go in because there was a drop off part way into the lake. It is WHY they had a paid lifeguard on duty. My dad went in and said it was VERY COLD as it was Spring Fed. (the story at the time was 6 springs fed the lake which is why it was known as Six-Penny
It is a darn shame, that all the work that went into making this a recreation area has been just allowed to be grown over and abandoned ..... QUESTION IS WHY.❓❓❓❓
This was a great video-I’m 47 years old but remember swimming at this fantastic six penny lake as a kid in the late 70’s early 80’s-it had a nice sandy beach and I remember those steps and the wall that went around the lake-we would hike from our cabins which are now storage buildings across from the park office to Six Penny lake each day at camp and then the bus would pick us up from the parking lot by the lake to drive us back to camp after our swim...I do recall this lake being open to the public as well-when they shut down this lake is about the time the pool opened at French creek state park....thanks for the video and the memories!
I remember too... I wish someone would have pics from when I was in operation..
If you haven’t been lately they really put some work around the area, cleaning up all the old junk, scrub brush and cleared a ton of overgrowth down in what was the lake by the long wall. Damn area is cleaned up. Thanks for sharing your memories of this place 👍👍
Interesting place the water park must have been a great place to visit. thanks for sharing.👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
If you haven’t been in a while, they did some clearing and grubbing in the old lake, around the wall and the damn is cleaned up. All the scrap metal is gone. Amazing what a couple of years and some dedicated folks can do! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the update.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I have lots of childhood memories of Six Penny Lake. My parents used to take our family here back in the early 1970's to picnic, swim and hang out on the beach on very hot summer days. I remember that the water was not up to the wall but rather at least 20-25 feet down from the wall and there was sand stretching from one end to the other. On the end of the lake upstream from the dam was a lot of aquatic plants. Nearest the dam, there was flat stone under the water lining the dam. I remember seeing lots of black tadpoles sunning themselves on those rocks. The steps leading up to the bathhouse and concession stand in my memories were much larger than what I see, reflecting on how young I was at the time. Even the wall was much taller than I can see today. Most memorable was how cold the skin numbingly cold water was and with the abundance of shade trees in the picnic grove, Six Penny Lake was the perfect place to relax and cool of on a 95 degree summer day. I remember the smell of cookouts all through the area and how open it was under the trees. I spent so much time early in my childhood here that I even recall having a dream that took place here. It was a weird dream where I was up on the road that leads down to the bridge over Six Penny and I walked through the trees and fell down to the creek below. In my dream I was laying on my back in the water thinking I'm ok and this is nice and refreshing. This place has lots of good memories yet I've never visited the location since it closed. But thanks to your video, I have and I will in the early spring next year when the weeds are all dead and I can see the remnants of everything. Thanks again.
Thanks for sharing your memories.
Thank you for the memories. As a family,we would go there all summer for picnics and then go to the lake for swimming. This was back in the 50's and 60's. Often wondered why it was closed and what it looked like today. Live about 15 miles from it. Went down numerous times trying to find the road to take you into the area but saw it was blocked. Just found out about this video from people who also visited the area back then. As you were walking the trail was trying to remember how we would walk it and see where the picnic area, bathhouses, concession stands, sandy beach,etc used to be. Again,thanks for the memories!! Take care
Thank you for sharing your memories.
Great video! Love trying to decode the past. That dam is beautiful! That bathhouse looked like it could have been pretty large. Thumbs up!
I’m hoping to explore the remains of Six Penny in the next week or so. In August 1953 my dad’s 16 year old brother drowned in this lake-tragically and unexplained. I was born in September 1953, and I have struggled, but ultimately succeeded, to empathize with that loss throughout my life. Currently I live in Virginia, but have an interest in Pennsylvania’s woods and French Creek State Park. Thanks for exploring!
So sorry to hear of the death of your uncle. I had no idea that anybody died there.
So historically interesting. Must have been a wonderful place in it's day. I can just imagine going down the stairs into the lake 💦
Really fascinating! The neat freak in me would love to make the trails easier to hike on and clean things up so that you wouldn't trip on them!
I was very young at the time, my mom would not let me go in because there was a drop off part way into the lake. It is WHY they had a paid lifeguard on duty. My dad went in and said it was VERY COLD as it was Spring Fed. (the story at the time was 6 springs fed the lake which is why it was known as Six-Penny
Geese dropping were in HOPEWELL not in 6-penny
My neighbor Carl was a lifeguard there for years.
I went there all the time early 60s to 72
It is a darn shame, that all the work that went into making this a recreation area has been just allowed to be grown over and abandoned ..... QUESTION IS WHY.❓❓❓❓
WHY do you keep saying 30's....❓.
I am 71 and it was functional while I was in school.in 60's since I graduated in 1967.
I heard the steps were haunted!!!!
I did feel like I was pushed by some unseen force while on the steps, very unnerving.