PARKS: The story of Pennsylvania’s state parks has a little bit of everything, like a glacial lake bed, flood control dams and a place where the carp are so numerous, the ducks walk on their backs.

The Pennsylvania Parks and Forests Foundation says within the state parks and forests are 180 boat ramps, 56 swimming beaches, 50 fishing piers, and 10 marinas, as well as 18 swimming pools, five wading pools and five water playgrounds.

Moraine State Park in Butler County was the site of a glacial lake that existed more than 10,000 years ago. Today, a smaller man-made lake, Lake Arthur, lies within the bed of the glacial lake.

Bald Eagle, Sinnemahoning, Little Pine and Kettle Creek state parks are built around flood control dams built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to reduce floods along the West Branch of the Susquehanna River. The lakes formed by the dams provide public recreational opportunities for boating, fishing and swimming.

There are more than 7,100 miles of streams within Pennsylvania’s state parks and forests; 724 miles are designated as Class A wild trout streams and 316 miles are classified as wilderness trout streams on state forest land.

Lehigh Gorge State Park in Carbon County and Ohiopyle State Park in Fayette County offer some great whitewater rafting experiences.

Pymatuning State Park in Crawford County contains more than 20,000 acres and has 70 miles of lake shoreline. It is also home to thousands of famous carp and the saying “where the ducks walk on the fish.”

Pennsylvania’s state parks and forests operate much like a city, with 126 drinking water treatment plants and 70 wastewater treatment plants across the system to provide clean drinking water and keep streams clean.