The campsites at Stoevers Dam Park close for the year on Oct. 31. Within six days the lake changes too. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's cold-weather life jacket rule starts Nov. 1, and the Commission plans to stock rainbow trout on Nov. 5. Meanwhile, Lebanon City Council has been working through rules that would limit e-bikes on the 1.5-mile loop around the water. If you only think of Stoevers as a summer park, you'll miss the busiest stretch of its calendar.
The next ten weeks at Stoevers, in order
- Oct. 15–25: Lebanon Community Theatre stages She Kills Monsters at its Stoever's Dam venue.
- Oct. 31: Camping season ends. It opened April 1.
- Nov. 1: The state's cold-weather life jacket requirement for kayaks and paddleboards starts and runs through April 30.
- Nov. 5: The Fish and Boat Commission's planned rainbow trout stocking.
- Dec. 10–20: Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play returns the theater to the park.
The campground closes on Halloween, and the 153 acres stay open
The City of Lebanon lists 14 campsites at Stoevers: seven RV and camper sites with electricity and seven tent-only sites, all on an April 1 to Oct. 31 season. Those sites are the only part of the park the city's listing ties to a closing date. The rest of the 153 acres, including the Nature Barn, the pavilions, the hiking and the fishing, comes with no season attached on that page.
The 23.5-acre lake was never meant to be a park. LebTown reported in September that the dam was built in the 1820s to supply water to the Union Canal. When the canal failed, the land passed to the Eastern Real Estate Co. and later to Bethlehem Steel, and the city dedicated it as Stoever's Dam Park in 1973. The water still sets the park's calendar more than the campground does, which is why the season keeps going after Halloween.
Nov. 1 changes what paddlers wear, and the state's rules are why paddling stayed
In July, City Council considered an ordinance that would have banned or severely limited paddleboards on Stoevers Dam. Council put it off after Councilman Sean Maguire argued that a ban would conflict with Fish and Boat Commission rules. At the Aug. 24 meeting, Mayor Sherry Capello agreed. As LebTown reported, she said "Paddle boards are considered boats by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission," and that the city "cannot pass local ordinances that contradict, override, or conflict with state fishing and boating laws." The proposal was withdrawn.
The state rules that kept paddleboards on the lake also decide what paddlers wear once it gets cold. Under the Commission's cold-weather life jacket rule, everyone aboard a kayak or paddleboard has to wear a life jacket from Nov. 1 through April 30. For the rest of the year, the Commission's unpowered boat regulations require each paddler to have a wearable, USCG-approved life jacket on board. Only children 12 and younger have to wear one while underway. The same page lists a sound-producing device and, for paddling between sunset and sunrise, a handheld light.
Launch permits are less clear-cut. The Commission requires unpowered boats launched at Commission lakes and access areas, state parks and state forests to show a boat registration or a Commission or State Parks launch permit. Neither the Commission page nor the city's park listing says whether the city-owned launch at Stoevers falls into one of those categories. Paddlers who want a definite answer can ask the Commission.
Nov. 5 adds trout to a lake already full of small bass
The trout stocking is the clearest sign that the lake's season keeps going after the campground closes, and the lake it goes into is unusual. When Commission biologists last surveyed Stoever's Dam in 2024, they collected 295 bass per hour of sampling. By the Commission's figures, most lakes in southeastern and south-central Pennsylvania produce 50 to 60 per hour. That's roughly five times the regional rate, the result of the Commission stocking largemouth bass in 1974 and 1975 to start a fishery.
The fish are plentiful but mostly small. Now-retired fisheries biologist Bryan Chikotas, who led the survey, told LebTown the lake is so fertile, shallow and full of plants that many species appear stunted. "There are not a lot of bass over say 12 inches," he said. Most fell between 8 and 12 inches, although biologists also measured a few bass between 18 and 20 inches. Bluegills and pumpkinseeds are abundant, but few reach the 6 to 8 inches the Commission counts as a "quality" fish.
The Commission is trying to change that with channel catfish, stocked as yearlings every year since 2023. Chikotas said the catfish could become their own fishery as they grow, and that as predators they might eat enough small bass and panfish to leave fewer but bigger fish.
The Nov. 5 rainbow trout are meant to give anglers something to catch in fall and winter, and another stocking will follow in February if past practice holds. The Nov. 5 date was a planned stocking as of LebTown's Sept. 22 report. The lake also has an accessible fishing pier, which LebTown's photographer showed with a typical Stoevers largemouth caught nearby.
"We kind of look at it as an urban pond, given its location, and it certainly gets a lot of use." Bryan Chikotas, retired Fish and Boat Commission fisheries biologist, to LebTown
The loop around the lake is getting rules for wheels
The 1.5-mile loop that circles the lake and crosses the dam at its southern end is where anglers, walkers and paddlers all pass through. LebTown has described it as a multi-use trail for walkers, runners and cyclists. The same Aug. 24 meeting that settled the paddleboard question also took up the trail.
Council passed two ordinances on first reading that night. One would bar two-wheeled vehicles from sidewalks in the central business district. The other would limit them in city parks to "roads and parking areas open to the public." The Lebanon Daily News reported that the parks measure, as introduced, would cover pedalcycles and e-bikes with electric assist and keep them off trails and grounds such as baseball fields.
Stoevers came up by name. According to LebTown, Capello told council:
"And also in the parks, especially at Stoevers Dam Park, there are many locations on the trails where it's narrow."
She said the city had been "receiving a lot of complaints from people almost getting run over, getting hit, dogs almost getting hit." Police Chief Eric Sims told council the restrictions were not meant to be punitive.
Both measures were on the Sept. 28, 2026 council agenda for "final reading, as amended." Bill No. 4 would define a pedalcycle and a pedalcycle with electric assist. Bill No. 5 would amend the park rules in Section 943.01 "for the purpose of addressing the use of vehicles in city-owned parks." As of Oct. 12, we have not been able to confirm whether either bill passed, what the amendments changed, or when any new rule would take effect. The city's posted minutes only go through the Aug. 24 meeting. Treat the trail rules as pending until the city publishes the final text.
The theater brackets the cold months
Lebanon Community Theatre's two late-season productions come before and after the cold-water stretch on the lake. The city lists the theater as one of the park's facilities. She Kills Monsters runs Oct. 15–25, ending the week before the campsites close. Miracle on 34th Street: A Live Musical Radio Play runs Dec. 10–20, when the November trout have had a month in the lake and paddlers have been wearing life jackets for six weeks. The theater's 2026 season page has both runs.
Living within walking distance of a park like Stoevers can show up in what a home is worth, and you won't find that on a pricing chart. If you're near the dam and wondering what that means for your house, the Michael Orta Team can walk you through it. Get your free home valuation and we'll show you how homes near Lebanon's parks have been selling.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
