Visitors at Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Cumberland County, will have the choice of two beaches this season – one that allows smoking or another where smoking is prohibited.

Beach season opens May 25 as part of the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

“With its two lakes -- Fuller Lake and Laurel Lake -- within two miles of each other, Pine Grove Furnace State Park has a unique opportunity to provide healthy beach experiences to both smokers and non-smokers alike,” DCNR Secretary Richard Allan said. “The park is an ideal choice to participate in the Bureau of State Park’s new pilot Clean Air Beach Program.”

The program seeks improved air quality for park visitors at Fuller Beach and its immediate area. Signs will be posted about the effort, which also targets cigarette litter in that area.

Starting Saturday, visitors will not be allowed to smoke on Fuller Lake’s beach, nor in its swimming area. The restriction at the 1.7-acre lake includes cigarettes, pipes and cigars. For visitors who smoke but wish to use Fuller Lake’s beach, two designated areas adjacent to the beach will allow smoking.

Unrestricted smoking still will be permitted at the beach area of the nearby 25-acre Laurel Lake.

Steeped in natural and historical features on its 696 acres, Pine Grove Furnace State Park is on South Mountain in southern Cumberland County. Surrounded by Michaux State Forest, the park includes several historic sites and a section of the Appalachian Trail.

For more information on its Clean Air Beach Program, contact Pine Grove Furnace State Park at 717-486-7171. Call weekdays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

5/27/2013