Mantle Lake Park has a network of 2.2 miles of paved, gravel, and woods trails. The trails are used for hiking, jogging, and biking. Additionally, the park also features a sizable playground, several tennis courts, a kitchen pavilion for large-size group activities, multiple sheltered picnic areas with fire pits, a hand water pump, and restrooms. Within the park lays the man-made Mantle Lake, which has been stocked with brook trout. Fishing in Mantle Lake is restricted to children under the age of 16 and those with complimentary fishing licenses. To use the large kitchen pavilion, a reservation should be made with the Recreation and Parks Department.
After the “Big Fire” of 1883 destroyed most of Main Street, the Town of Presque Isle realized that buckets of water were insufficient to fight fires and pursued a program of fire prevention. A plan was developed to build a reservoir. In 1887, a New York contractor was hired to construct the reservoir. A man-made lake was dug and filled with water from the Kennedy Brook—one mile southeast from the center of town with an elevation of 80 feet—to provide pressure. The lake, named Mantle Lake after the contractor, created a system of pipes that led from the lake to Main Street also providing running water to a few homes and a primitive sewer system.
The Mantle Lake Park was established in 1952 by the City. In June 1953, the Lions Club built the first picnic pavilion. Eight more picnic pavilions were added in 1957. The tennis courts were completed and open to the public in 1962. Nowadays, hundreds of visitors of all ages utilize the park each year.
In summer 2006, a restoration project was conducted to drain the lake and to remove nearly 21,000 cubic yards of sediments that has accumulated over the past 100 years. The restoration project was made possible largely due to a community effort.
Read about Accessibility Ambassador Enock Glidden's visit to Mantle Lake Park in his wheelchair in MTF Stories!
Visit the City of Presque Isle's Recreation and Parks Department online, or contact:
To access Mantle Lake Park, take Maple Street off of US-1 (Main Street). Go to the end of Maple, turn right onto Dudley Street. Turn left onto Pine Street. Mantle Lake Park entrance is at the end of Pine Street. The official trailhead is located on the east side of the parking lot, adjacent to the tennis court.
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