BARNESVILLE - While most people preferred to stay indoors Saturday as high temperatures barely reached above 20 degrees, conditions were perfect for ice skating and fishing on the frozen lake at Tuscarora State Park.
"This is great, it's gorgeous," said Priscilla Olmes, Orwigsburg, who was ice skating with her family on the lake Saturday afternoon.
Olmes said it was their first time skating on the lake at Tuscarora and only the second chance they had to skate this year.
"This ice is great, it's really smooth," her husband, Phil Olmes, said.
"It's perfect," Priscilla said.
"It's a great day, too, there's no wind," Phil Olmes said.
"It's gorgeous," Priscilla said.
The couple said they already took one lap around the lake, or about 1.38 miles, before the sun went down Saturday evening and they were planning on staying for a while.
There were also many people ice fishing on the lake Saturday.
Camped inside a warm tent with a propane heater, it was the first time veteran ice fishers Cody Broaddus, Annville, Christian Koestner, Palmyra, and Jon Rublee, Palmyra, were at a frozen Tuscarora.
"A lot of places we usually go only had about 1 or 2 inches of ice," Koestner said. "We wanted to see what it looked like here."
Broaddus said the ice was at least 8 inches thick Saturday afternoon.
"This is a lot better feeling," Rublee said, noting that they usually hear the ice cracking when they fish.
The fisherman said they arrived at the lake about 1 p.m. Saturday and were planning on staying through the night if the fish were biting.
"It gets you out of the house for a while," Rublee said.
"And away from the TV," Koestner said, "And the kids usually don't say, 'Hey, let's go ice fishing.' "
"It's also not too expensive either," Rublee said.
The group said they enjoy fishing all year.
"Anyone that goes ice fishing is a hardcore fisherman," Koestner said. "If you don't like fishing that much, this is the last thing you do."
Everyone was enjoying the frozen lake Saturday, not just the ice skaters and fishers.
"We're having fun today," said Ken Kling, New Philadelphia, as he was walking on the lake with his three children.
"I wanted to let the kids walk around on the lake because it's something they don't get to do often."
Kling said he fishes at the lake all the time with his children, who were enjoying running and falling on the snow-covered ice Saturday.
"We come out every year for the ice and usually go ice fishing," Kling said. "They're out on the middle of the lake and they can't always do that. You also don't get to walk to the other side of the lake too often."
According to the National Weather Service at State College, high temperatures for Saturday were forecasted in the low 20s with a low about 10 degrees at night.
"(Today) it looks like a far amount of sunshine with highs in the upper 20s and a chance of light snow," Craig Evanego, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at State College, said Saturday.
Evanego said there is also a chance of snow Monday that will develop into a wintery mix and low temperatures in the lower 20s.
"Eventually, hopefully, we get temperatures above freezing Monday," Evanego said, noting a high forecast in the low 30s.
Evanego said temperatures are expected to reach the upper 40s Tuesday and low 50s Wednesday before falling back into the 20s for the weekend.