Situated within a mature woodland along the shore of Lake Wallenpaupack is a hidden jewel — The Lacawac Sanctuary. Tours of the sanctuary are available every weekend.

Lacawac Sanctuary is a small portion of the land assemblage which Col. Louis A. Watres completed in 1912 in order to build Lake Wallenpaupack. His vision of “The Big Lake,” was carried to completion by PPL in 1926. The land assemblage included more than the 5,700 acres needed to flood the Wallenpaupack Creek basin, and included the pristine glacial Lake Lacawac and the Adirondack style estate built in 1903 for Scranton manufacturing and coal magnate William Connell.

The Watres family retained the 341 acre portion not needed for flooding and after 40 years of private use, Col. Watreses’ heirs began to ponder the fate of the property as the region began to be developed.

In 1952, the Colonel’s grandson, L. Arthur Watres, invited Dr. Ruth Patrick, a well respected aquatic scientist from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia to visit Lake Lacawac. Realizing that the watershed of the 52 acre lake was controlled by the Watres family, Dr. Patrick noted the importance of such a lake to science and urged that the property be given formal legal protection in perpetuity. The Watres family formed a non-profit corporation in 1966 to manage the land and historic buildings.

Lacawac Today

Since its founding in 1966, Lacawac has grown from 341 acres to over 520 acres with additional gifts of land from the Watres family and state funding that helped secure five different tracts totaling 60 acres, including two tracts with shoreline on Lake Wallenpaupack. The pristine lake has been designated a National Natural Landmark by the US Department of the Interior and the buildings are listed on the register of historic places.

The public supported, non-profit Sanctuary is a unique facility where science is translated to the public through the efforts of scientists and educators. This has developed into an annual NatureFest slated for June 28 from 11 am to 3 pm this year.

 Research Lake Lacawac has become the “control” in a vast scientific experiment. Decades of research have helped scientists to understand the dynamics of life in a pristine glacial lake.  Scientists and students from across the eastern USA have conducted over seventy-five National Science Foundation research projects based at the Sanctuary. Recent studies have looked into how lakes are being influenced by climate change from the Poconos to Montana, Alaska, Argentina and New Zealand.

Tours Visitors to Lacawac may hike three miles of trails, attend an evening forum, take a nature walk with a naturalist or attend a cultural event. But to fully appreciate Lacawac and all that it has to offer, one should also take a guided tour. There is no charge to participate.

The full tour of the historic buildings and natural glacial lake takes about one and one half hours and includes a short walk to Lake Lacawac. Tours will be offered on weekends beginning May 17 at 2 pm through August. Additional tours will be offered through June and July on Saturday at 11 am and July and August on Wednesday afternoon at 2 pm.

The Sanctuary is open to the public year round and offers and extensive schedule of environmental and cultural events. Information may be found by visiting www.lacawac.org or phoning 570-689-9494.