Fawn Lake Forest Has Two Lakes, and They Don't Play by the Same Rules

Buyers touring Fawn Lake Forest usually ask one question about the water: does this house have lake access. That's the wrong question. The gated community outside Hawley, Pennsylvania is built around two lakes, and those two lakes run on almost opposite rules. One bans motors outright. The other allows powerboats, jet skis, and water skiing. Which lake a given address sits closer to, not whether the listing says "lake access," is what actually decides the kind of weekend you get.

That distinction rarely shows up in a listing description. It should.

One Association, Two Very Different Waters

The Fawn Lake Forest Association manages roughly 1,907 acres, maintains 36 miles of paved road, and includes both lakes under a single set of dues: Fawn Lake, at about 150 acres, and Westcolang Lake, at roughly 190 to 250 acres depending on the source consulted. Members fund one shared budget covering the clubhouse, the indoor and outdoor pools, tennis and basketball courts, and 24-hour public safety patrols, regardless of which shoreline they end up living near. But the two bodies of water could not behave more differently on a Saturday afternoon.

What "No Motors" Actually Buys You on Fawn Lake

On Fawn Lake itself, motorboats and jet skis are not allowed. The only power permitted on the water is a small electric trolling motor; everything else is a rowboat, canoe, kayak, paddleboard, or paddleboat. No state boating permit is needed simply to use the lake, since access runs through association membership rather than a public launch. That's the quiet water buyers picture when they imagine a Pocono lake cottage: no wake, no engine noise, a morning paddle that stays a morning-paddle kind of quiet through the rest of the day.

What "Full Power" Means on Westcolang

Cross to Westcolang Lake and the rules invert. Powerboats up to 18 feet are allowed, along with jet skis, water skiing, wakeboarding, and tubing. Unlike Fawn Lake, using Westcolang requires boats to carry a valid Pennsylvania registration through the state's Fish and Boat Commission, the same paperwork any boater on a public lake would need. Westcolang is also shared water. It borders the neighboring Masthope Mountain community, so the boats crossing it on a July afternoon aren't only Fawn Lake Forest residents. Two separate homeowners associations feed traffic onto the same water.

That single fact, that the powerboat lake is split between two communities while the no-motor lake belongs to Fawn Lake Forest alone, is worth sitting with before you fall for a listing photo of calm water. The quiet lake is quiet because the rules keep it that way for one association's worth of households. The busy lake is busy because it's doing double duty for two.

The Dock Permit That Surfaces After the Offer

Both lakes require a permit to build a private dock, and in both cases that permit involves an environmental impact study, not just a request submitted to the HOA office. A buyer picturing a dock going in the first summer should budget time as much as money for that approval to clear. It's the kind of detail that never makes it into a listing's bullet points and almost always comes up in the first real conversation with whoever has to file the paperwork.

A Number That Should Make You Pause Before Buying Land

As of May 2026, the median sale price across all home types in Fawn Lake Forest was $284,830, up 18.4 percent year over year, according to Redfin data. That jump alone tells you the community has tightened. But look at land. Buildable lots inside the association were listing this summer at a median price of $339,000, meaning raw, unbuilt parcels were pricing above the community's overall home sale median.

That's backward from what most buyers expect. Vacant land is supposed to be the cheaper door into a community, the option for someone willing to trade a finished house for time and a builder's contract. In Fawn Lake Forest right now, the math runs the other way. Before assuming a lot is your budget-friendly path in, ask a local agent why. It could reflect a run of especially desirable lakefront parcels hitting the market at once, a shrinking pool of buildable sites, or simply a handful of premium listings skewing a small sample. With only a couple dozen lots active at any given time, a few high-priced parcels move that median more than they would in a larger market.

Matching the Address to the Life You Actually Want

Fawn Lake Forest sits next to Ski Big Bear, The Summit Restaurant, Woodloch Pines Resort and Spa, Woodloch Springs Country Club, and Three Hammers Winery, with historic Hawley and Lake Wallenpaupack about 20 minutes away and Montage Mountain, Elk Mountain, and Bethel Woods Center for the Performing Arts within roughly an hour. All of that sits outside the gate. Inside it, the honest question isn't "does this community have a lake." It's which lake a specific address actually sits near, and whether that matches the mornings and afternoons you're picturing.

A buyer who wants a paddleboard before coffee and total quiet after dinner should ask their agent to confirm proximity to Fawn Lake specifically, not just confirm community membership. A buyer who wants to pull a tube behind a boat with the kids on a Saturday should be asking the same question about Westcolang. The same POA dues fund both experiences. They don't deliver both to every house.

FAQ

Do all homes in Fawn Lake Forest have access to both lakes? Membership in the association grants access to both Fawn Lake and Westcolang Lake, but proximity varies by address. How far you're willing to travel within the community to reach your preferred lake is worth confirming before you write an offer.

Can I register a powerboat to use on Fawn Lake? No. Fawn Lake's rules exclude motorboats and jet skis regardless of registration. Only electric trolling motors and manual craft are permitted there. Powerboats belong on Westcolang.

Is a dock automatically included with a lakefront lot? No. Building a private dock on either lake requires a permit, and that process includes an environmental impact study. A lakefront lot without an existing dock shouldn't be assumed to come with a quick or guaranteed path to one.

If you're weighing a lot or a listing inside Fawn Lake Forest against what your weekends should actually look like, Linda Hanf has walked this association's fine print before and can help you match an address to the lake you actually want. Schedule a free consultation to talk through what a specific parcel or listing really buys you.