Gouldsboro State Park spreads across roughly 2,800 acres of the Pocono plateau in Monroe and Wayne counties, and the reason to drive in on a hot afternoon is the 250-acre lake at its center. Gouldsboro Lake sits close to 1,900 feet above sea level, which keeps it noticeably cooler than valley water in July. The sand beach occupies a short strip on the western shore, a few hundred feet east of Parking Lot 1, with the boat launch another quarter mile down the bank.

The beach is open and legal to swim, but read the terms carefully. It runs from the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend to mid-September, 8:00 a.m. to sunset, and there are no lifeguards. Pennsylvania DCNR posts it plainly: swim at your own risk. That has been the arrangement here for years, and it is not the same thing as the beach being closed. What does close it, occasionally and without much warning, is a failed water sample. DCNR runs bacteria tests through the season and shuts the swimming area until counts come back acceptable, which happened here in July 2025. Check the park alerts page the morning you go.

The water is tea-colored. Gouldsboro Lake drains a landscape of bogs and swamps, including Black Bear Swamp and Bender Swamp to the west, and the tannins those wetlands release stain the lake a dark amber. It is clean water rather than dirty water, but it means you cannot see your feet once you are past knee depth. Treat the bottom as unknown and walk out instead of running in.

There is no entrance fee. Pennsylvania charges no day use at any of its state parks, so the beach, the parking, the picnic tables and the restrooms cost nothing. The beach has an accessible ramp, the restrooms are rustic, and the beach and swimming area are smoke free, with designated smoking spots set back from the sand.

Paddlers do well here. Only electric motors and unpowered boats are allowed on the lake, at slow no-wake speed, which keeps the surface quiet for kayaks and canoes. A concession rents rowboats, kayaks, canoes, paddleboats and electric motorboats daily from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, weather permitting, and 50 overnight mooring spaces are available with a state park permit issued out of the Tobyhanna State Park office.

About seven miles of trail leave from the day use area. The Frank Gantz Trail runs 3.2 rough miles through the swamps into Tobyhanna State Park, which adjoins Gouldsboro and shares its staff. Prospect Rock Trail covers 2.9 rocky miles, and Old Route 611 Trail follows 1.25 easy miles of former roadbed that takes bikes and skis well. Winter brings ice fishing, snowshoeing and skating, though park staff do not monitor ice thickness. Anglers work the lake year round for bass, pickerel, walleye, perch and crappie from the shore or the accessible pier near Lot 4.