This is a day-use area — no overnight camping of any kind (tent, RV, or otherwise) is available here.
Take Exit 4B off of I-80 and follow Route 18 north for about 8 miles until you cross the lake's causeway. The park is on the left, but this is a divided highway. Continue north for about 1/4 mile, exit to the right at Birchwood Drive, make the turn-around, and go south on Route 18. Before you cross the causeway again, make a right onto West Lake Road and travel approximately 1/4 mile to the park entrance on the left. There is an entrance booth where you will be directed towards the shelter. If no one is manning the booth, take a left after the booth. There are several large parking lots ahead. Make a right at the next stop sign, then a left at the last parking lot, then another right. This will bring you to a looped parking lot where the picnic shelter and parking is located.
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 Shenango Recreation Area Day Use is located within the Shenango Rec Area, adjacent to the campground and provides one covered group picnic shelter (Lakeside Shelter) with electric as well as a basketball hoop and volleyball court nearby. 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 Shenango Rec Area Day Use offers one group picnic shelter (Lakeside Shelter) that can accommodate between 42-56 people, depending upon the use of 6-8 people per table. Electric is available at the shelter with a paid reservation only, grills are available 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, and basketball hoop, as well as plenty of open fields, are located on site. Overnight camping is available at the adjacent Shenango Recreation Area Campground. **Any person requesting the Lakeside Pavilion for a Sunday: there is a church group that meets there from 10 a.m.-11 a.m., so access to the shelter is only available after the church service. 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.