Where are the dolphins?
...no dolphins, but clear, tropical looking water and willows mimicking the mangroves that edge warmer waters to the south. Marburg is an artificial lake (as are most in PA), its shores lined with rocks not rounded and worn by eons of water and wind. Ospreys nest here, young fish can be seen in the shallows with a dive mask or viewing tray (like, a dishpan with a bit of plexi glued into the bottom, or a plastic aquarium), mysterious grass beds hide larger fish, sailboats ply the waters along with powered fishing boats. Take a little trip "down to the sea" without ever leaving the landlubber world of southcentral PA...
Paddling Lake Marburg
Codorus State Park is 3,329 acres of woods, fields and a 1,275 acre lake. When I began paddling over a decade ago, it didn't seem like much of a wildlife zone. Now, willows create a sort of northern version of a mangrove swamp, edging out into the shallows, providing cover for smallfry, coots, and muskrat. There are wooded islands, beaches of rock or gravel, and clear water; I could see the anchor line of a sailboat vanishing into the depths fifty or sixty feet below. It's a fine paddle: you can poke around the edges of the shorelines, and islands, bob by your boat (in a PFD of course), haul up on the beaches, or hit the open waters and dance on the waves with the sailboats. An osprey nest is a fairly new feature, and while they are common in the Chesapeake Bay, they are threatened in PA. A buoy line protects them from visitors getting too close to disturb them. You can still get good shots with a zoom lens.
The history of Codorus State Park is a co-operative effort between private enterprise and state and local government. The borough of Spring
Grove and the P.H. Glatfelter Company worked together to dam Codorus Creek to provide drinking water for Spring Grove and to meet the industrial needs of the paper plant owned by the P.H. Glatfelter Company. It also created one of the finest lakes and state parks in the area. Fishermen will find largemouth bass, yellow perch, crappie, muskellunge (muskie), catfish, northern pike, and various "panfish" or members of the bluegill/sunfish family. Cold water fishing is available in the east branch of Codorus Creek where anglers
will find rainbow trout and brown trout that have been stocked by the PA Fish and Boat Commission.
The history of Codorus State Park is a co-operative effort between private enterprise and state and local government. The borough of Spring
Grove and the P.H. Glatfelter Company worked together to dam Codorus Creek to provide drinking water for Spring Grove and to meet the industrial needs of the paper plant owned by the P.H. Glatfelter Company. It also created one of the finest lakes and state parks in the area. Fishermen will find largemouth bass, yellow perch, crappie, muskellunge (muskie), catfish, northern pike, and various "panfish" or members of the bluegill/sunfish family. Cold water fishing is available in the east branch of Codorus Creek where anglers
will find rainbow trout and brown trout that have been stocked by the PA Fish and Boat Commission.
