About Us
Hello 😉 Let us introduce ourselves to you!
We are the Maurer family! Matt and Lisa, along with their children, Adam, Jacob, Megan, Emily, Sarah, Lucas and Caleb, established The Yak Shak in May, 2012! The idea was mine, Lisa's. I spent much time growing up kayaking. It occurred to me, while kayaking in Key West with Matt and my cousin and his wife, that I could provide a spectacular water experience in our own backyard, the beautiful Quemahoning Dam!
As a surprise to the rest of my family, I ordered my first fleet of boats as soon as I got home and opened for business! Everyone jumped on board and we have been growing, evolving and having lots of fun!
The Quemahoning Dam or as locals refer to it, the “Que”, is a beautiful reservoir with 11 miles of shoreline! There is plenty of space to explore, get in a good workout, fish or just relax! The Yak Shak offers rental options for your experience. Our kayaks are recreational style sit-in or sit-on-top styles. We also have angler style kayaks available. Kayaks are available in single seat as well as double seat or “tandem” versions. All rentals include a life jacket and paddle. The Yak Shak has other things to offer as well. Ice, firewood, live bait/minnows, cold drinks, novelty ice cream, snacks, fishing tackle and various other sundries are available. The Que recently added a bike trail for added adventure. The Yak Shak will have mountain bikes available for rentals in the 2021 season! We are located in the heart of “America’s County,” Somerset County, PA! You will find us a few miles off of the beautiful, historical Old LIncoln Highway, also known as RT 30. We are very close to the Flight 93 Memorial and the Nine Miners Rescue Site and have personal connections to each of these places. We are surrounded by breathtaking landscape, rolling hills, rich forests, natural wildlife, fishing, skiing, biking, hiking, camping, shooting sports, golfing and so much more! We all love this place on the water! We are proud to share what we have and what we have learned with everybody that stops in to visit, boat, bike, fish, camp, or to simply relax and take in the beauty!Â