This is a day-use area — no overnight camping of any kind (tent, RV, or otherwise) is available here.
Overview Situated within the suburban Shenango Valley, Shenango Lake provides an attractive setting where visitors can spend the day picnicking, camping, fishing, boating, or enjoying nature's beauty at one of the lake's many recreation areas. The Mahaney Rec Area Day Use is located off of Kelly Road in Hermitage, PA, adjacent to the Shenango Dam, and provides four covered group picnic shelters (Trails End, Spruce Cove, Skyline and Rolling Meadows Shelters) with electric as well as a disc golf course and access to the lake to go boating and fishing. Recreation Come explore and enjoy the outdoors! The lake provides a variety of recreational opportunities, including, but not limited to, picnicking, camping, fishing, boating, swimming, hiking, viewing wildlife and hunting. Picnickers can rent, for a fee, one of our seven picnic pavilions located within four different recreation areas. Boating is a popular activity where areas are provided on the lake 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. Campers visiting the lake will enjoy spacious facilities at our 330-site campground. Facilities The Mahaney Rec Area Day Use offers four group picnic shelters (Trails End, Spruce Cove, Skyline and Rolling Meadows Shelters) that can each accommodate between 42-56 people, depending upon the use of 6-8 people per table. Electric is available at the shelters with a paid reservation only, grills are available on site, and flush toilets and drinking water are provided at the restrooms adjacent to the shelters (seasonal). A children's playground is located next to the Spruce Cove shelter, and the interpretive Seth Myers hiking trail is located near the Trails End shelter. Swing sets and a large soccer field are located on site near Skyline and Rolling Meadows Shelters. This area boasts an 18-hole disc golf course. The Mahaney Outflow Rec Area is just a short distance away featuring the Shenango Dam and Outflow, a concrete gravity dam as well as great fishing at the outflow and river. Natural Features 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 animals are plentiful, with excellent opportunities to observe osprey and eagles in the area. Nearby Attractions 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. Remnants of the Erie Extension Canal can be found nearby in Sharpsville below the Shenango Dam. The Shenango and Mahaney Recreations Areas feature restoration chestnut tree orchards that are managed through a partnership with the American Chestnut Foundation for research and education, with the goal of developing blight resistant American chestnut trees.