⏲︎ This article is more than a year old.

Going upstate to leaf peep? Totally unnecessary when you live in Lebanon County.

LebTown has been all over to capture our local fall foliage in its full pigmental glory. Mount Gretna, Coleman Memorial Park, Union Canal Tunnel Park, Governor Dick, Quittie Creek, and Swatara State Park received the treatment previously and the photos are just as striking today as when we first published them.

This fall as colors peaked we visited Marquette Lake at Fort Indiantown Gap to document this World War II-era manmade reservoir in northern Lebanon County as it bore a gorgeous palette of autumnal reds, greens, and oranges.

All photos by Will Trostel.

Access to Marquette Lake is via Lake Road, which can be reached by turning west onto Clement Ave from Asher Miner Road on the base of Fort Indiantown Gap.

The reservoir was originally constructed as a training site for water landing drills. It was renamed in March 1963 after Sgt. Charles Marquette, a Civil War Medal of Honor winner.

Fall foliage blanketed the small roads and paths around the lake, layering the ground with a rich display of seasonal color.
The dam breast at Marquette Lake. The lake was built as an amphibious training ground prior to the construction of the much larger Memorial Lake, which is south of Marquette Lake.
Facilities are provided at the park such as picnic pavilions and horseshoe pits. Benches on the lake front are also provided.
Looking southeast across the lake.

In addition to being stocked with trout annually in the spring by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, the area is also known to be home to bald eagles – a fitting resident given the lake’s location on the grounds of the country’s largest National Guard training center.

View facing south with the spillway visible.
A tranquil scene at Marquette Lake as the rich fall palette reflects off the lake to provide a stunning effect.

The lake has a roughly triangular shape, with a dam on the southern side. Traffic restrictions at the Gap may change in the future as construction of checkpoint gates and a perimeter fence progresses but as of today the lake continues to be fully open to the public.

We hope you enjoyed this relaxing stroll through Marquette Lake with us. Enjoy this last moment of stillness.
Lebanon County wearing its fall finest.

We’ll be back Monday with another fall foliage photo story, this one featuring Second Mountain Hawk Watch. Do you have a beautiful photo of fall foliage in Lebanon County? Send it to us at editor@lebtown.com and we’ll use the best ones in a followup post next week!

Questions about this story? Suggestions for a future LebTown article? Reach our newsroom using this contact form and we’ll do our best to get back to you.

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