Cowans Gap State Park, Pennsylvania

Hugged by the adjacent foothills of the Allen’s Valley, Cowan’s Gap State Park is a one-thousand-plus-acre wonderland of postcard-esque horizons. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Hallmark Card that could trump it’s naturally occurring beauty. Inundated by Fulton County’s forty-two-acre lake, Cowans Gap Lake offers seasonal swimming spots that lay alongside the five-hundred-feet of well-manicured sandy beaches-―and boating activities for its amphibious goers. However, make note of the lake’s boating policies before docking; only electric motors are permitted, for one. But don’t forget to give your hiking boots their fair share of attention―because Cowan’s Gap State Park’s got eleven-miles of tread-wearing hiking trails. ANd, once your skins a sun kissed red, take shaded solitude within one of the numerous modern campsites that litter the park’s campgrounds.