Exploring Raystown Lake: Cruising on the Proud Mary Showboat

Part one of our series on this trip to Raystown Lake can be found here. 

One of the best things to do in the summer is to spend an afternoon at the Marina at Lake Raystown Resort. On this trip, we first headed to the Marina Cafe for a delicious lunch. They make all sorts of high quality sandwiches, from crab cake and salmon sandwiches, high end burgers, club sandwiches and more. The sandwiches are hearty and excellent. They have both indoor and outdoor seating, but we opted to sit outside on their patio to see views of the lake and marina. We hung out for a little bit prior to our afternoon sightseeing cruise on the Proud Mary Showboat. 

The view of Raystown Lake and Marina at the Lake Raystown Resort's Marina Cafe

The Patio area at the Marina Cafe is such a beautiful place to kick back and relax.

Now we head out for a ride on the Proud Mary Showboat. The boat runs daily on Afternoon Sightseeing Cruises that are as low as $9.95 a person. They also run special dinner and party events on certain days that cost a little more, but are still pretty affordable. In autumn they run Fall Foliage Cruises on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays that showcase the beautiful landscapes of the lake. 

Brit and Dave's family enjoying the cruise.

The tour runs from the marina, which is around mile marker 20 on the lake, and runs south on the lake through between mile markers 26 and 27. Throughout the course you will be sure to see beautiful forest, scenic coves, neat rock outcroppings, and more.

You also get to see some of the other water activities that occur on the lake, including kayaking, houseboating, speedboating, jet skiing, tubing, pontooning, and more. 

Raystown Lake is such an awesome summer playground.

Looking out across the bow of the Proud Mary Showboat

Rock outcroppings abound along the shores of the lake. The Juniata River Valley is abrupt and filled with these erosional remnants that you can only get views of while you are cruising along the lake.

You will also be sure to see lots of birds and waterfowl throughout the lake.

A Blue Heron on the shore of the lake

Cruising on the lake on the Proud Mary is so much fun

Putt's Camp is a Boy Scout camp which provides primitive camping and a home to annual events for the Boy Scouts. It is in a beautiful area of the lake.

The boat's interior is home to a snack bar, buffet area for special cruises, and more. 

Headed back to the marina. The cruise lasts around an hour and a half.

The upper deck of the Proud Mary.

Heading back into the marina at the Lake Raystown Resort.

We highly recommend taking a tour of Raystown Lake on the Proud Mary Showboat.

The gift shop at the Marina sells feed for the carp that congregate around the docks. We had a blast feeding the fish.

Overall, we highly recommend taking some time and relaxing at the Lake Raystown Resort. The Marina area is home to the launching point for the Proud Mary Showboat, along with a place for docking your own boats, renting, and also having a delicious meal at the Marina Cafe. The afternoon we spent relaxing at the resort was great and we highly recommend that you check it out as well. For other information about our trip to Raystown, check out the previous installment in our series. Our next installment will take us on some hikes through the Raystown Lake Region.