Four-bedroom Tobyhanna homes for days at the state park

Short answer: we have three four-bedroom houses in Tobyhanna, and two of them sit inside Pocono Farms Country Club while the third sits across the street from a community lake. All three take pets, all three have a fire pit and a game room, and all three put you within easy reach of Tobyhanna State Park, where the five-mile Lakeside Trail loops the lake and is walkable and ridable year-round. Which one you want depends on how many people you are, whether you'd rather end the day in a hot tub or on a porch looking at water, and what time of year you're coming.

The park is the reason you're here, so plan the day around the lake loop

Tobyhanna State Park spreads across thousands of acres of Monroe and Wayne county woodland, with the lake at the centre of it and the Lakeside Trail circling the whole thing. Parts of it are paved, which matters more than it sounds: it means a stroller works, a kid on a first bike works, and a family with wildly different walking speeds can still do the same loop. The campground runs from the second Friday in April through the third Sunday in October, so spring and autumn are busy on the water and quiet on the trails.

The Frank Gantz Trail links the park to Gouldsboro State Park next door, which is the move if you want a longer day than the lake loop gives you. The Tobyhanna Range Trail runs between the lot off Campground Road and South Millbrook Road, following Jim Smith Run past wetland. In winter the park stays open for cross-country skiing and ice skating, and the trails that feel crowded in July are empty in January.

One genuine word of caution, and it is the park's own: the land was once part of a military training range, and in the remote, undeveloped corners there are occasional old artillery shells. Stick to marked trails and nobody has anything to think about.

Two houses inside Pocono Farms, one house across from the water

Here is the practical split between the three.

• Lake view Theater Playground Kayak Pet Friendly sleeps 10 and sits steps from a community lake, clubhouse, pool and playground, with the porch looking straight at them. It is the only one of the three with kayaks on the property and the only one with a private movie theatre downstairs.
• Hot tub Gym Pool Lake Golf Karaoke Firepit sleeps 12 inside Pocono Farms Country Club, with a private hot tub, a double deck in the trees, and a game room that runs to ping pong, darts, shuffleboard and a putting mat.
• Hot tub Games Lake Golf Course 20% OFF also sleeps 12 in Pocono Farms, with a hot tub, a fitness room with an exercise bike and yoga mats, and two separate living areas so the group isn't all in one room.

The two Pocono Farms houses come with six community wristbands each, with extra bands available for a small per-person charge and under-sixes free. That buys access to the Glacier Lake beach, the Olympic-size pool, the basketball and pickleball courts, beach volleyball, and trout and bass fishing. The golf course and the fitness centre are separate purchases. The community runs all of it, which means the calendar is theirs, not ours: the kayak and paddleboard rental runs summer hours, the pool opens for the warm season, and the beach yoga on Saturday mornings is seasonal. Check what's running for your dates before you build a day around it.

The lake house works differently. Its community amenities, including kayaks, paddle boats and mini golf, are bought by the day with a wristband, and the kayaks on the property can only go anywhere if you've brought a way to carry them. Privately owned boats launch from F-Beach off Boardwalk Drive. Both communities require an HOA form submitted ahead of check-in, and the lake community asks you to stop at the office with your licence, vehicle registration and pet vaccination records on the way in. It takes ten minutes and it saves a fee.

Ten people, a porch and a theatre: the lake house

If your group lands at ten or fewer, the lake house is the one I'd book for a park trip, and the reason is the geography rather than the fittings. The lake, the clubhouse, the pool and the playground are directly across the street, so an afternoon at home and an afternoon out require no decision and no second car trip. The porch wraps the house with several seating areas and a swing, and it faces all of it.

Inside, the basement is the wet-day insurance policy: a theatre setup with a soundbar, arcade games, a PS5 and karaoke. Four sleeping areas across three bedrooms and a loft get you to ten, there's a crib and a high chair for the smallest guests, and a hammock in the garden for whoever gives up first. There's an EV charger, though it's an Autel unit rather than a universal one, so check your car takes it.

The honest limit: occupancy is capped at ten, and children aged two and up count. If you're eleven, this isn't the house.

Twelve people and a hot tub: the two Pocono Farms houses

Both sleep twelve, both take pets, both park six cars, and both sit in the same wooded country club community. The difference is in the bathrooms and the day's shape.

Hot tub Gym Pool Lake Golf Karaoke Firepit has three full bathrooms plus a half, which is the number that matters when twelve people are peeling off wet boots at the same hour. The primary suite has a soaking tub and a walk-in shower. Two living rooms, each with a fireplace, and the downstairs one is wood-burning, with the upstairs one decorative only. The games live in the garage, which is a newer build with an open ceiling, so it runs cooler than the house in deep winter. Worth knowing before you promise the kids a ping pong tournament in February.

Hot tub Games Lake Golf Course 20% OFF has two full baths and a half, one fewer, and puts the square footage into a game room that guests consistently single out, plus a fitness room with a bike, yoga mats and floor space. Pine Tree Lake is the nearest water of the two, close enough that an evening walk reaches it. If your twelve are mostly adults who'll trade a bathroom for a pool table and a record player, this is the trade to make. If your twelve include four children and two early risers, take the extra bathroom.

Both houses share a Pocono reality we'd rather tell you now than have you discover: water pressure and temperature can wobble when a dozen people shower at once. Space them out, don't run the dishwasher and the washing machine at the same time, and it settles within the hour. And in winter, bring four-wheel drive. Plowing is handled by the township on the township's schedule, and salt and a shovel are at the house for the gap between.

If four bedrooms turns out not to be enough

Groups grow between booking and arriving, so it's worth knowing what sits above the four-bedroom tier in Tobyhanna. Poconos Luxury Resort: Pool, Theater, Games is a six-bedroom estate sleeping 32, with an indoor heated pool, a 22-seat movie theatre on an eighteen-foot screen, two hot tubs, a pickleball court, a volleyball court, a putting green and a private walking trail that loops the property in about ten minutes. For a reunion that wants to hike the lake loop by day and not leave the house at night, it's the one that absorbs everyone.

NEW Indoor lounge pool, hot tub, Glamping, karaoke is also six bedrooms, sleeping 25 on nearly three acres, with a heated indoor plunge pool that runs all year, a karaoke stage, axe throwing and a glamping tent in the woods that's up from the start of April to the start of October and isn't heated. Neither of these is a four-bedroom house, and I'd rather be clear about that than let the bedroom count blur.

Booking it, and the small print that actually bites

Book direct with us and you're dealing with the family that manages these houses, not a call centre. Every home uses keyless entry with the code in your guest portal, so you can arrive late without arranging a handover. The primary renter needs to be 25 or older, and each property has its own rental agreement, ID check and deposit hold.

Three things to sort before you travel:

• The HOA form. Due at least 72 hours before check-in at all three four-bedroom homes. Late, and the community charges an administration fee. Book inside 72 hours and there's a processing fee too.
• Firewood. Not supplied at any of these houses. We can arrange delivery if you ask ahead, and a fire pit without wood is just a metal bowl.
• Pets and guest counts. All three take dogs, but the reservation has to show the right number of guests and pets, and the communities enforce their own counts.

Supplies come as a starter pack: dish pods, detergent, paper towels, bin bags, toilet paper. For a week with twelve people, shop on the way in. Streaming logins aren't provided anywhere, so bring your own.

Tell us your dates and your head count and we'll tell you which of the three is open and which one fits. If you're coming for the lake loop and the trails, that's an easy conversation.