The area is popular with water skiiers and fishermen. Rainbow and brown trout, walleye, sauger, ling, catfish, bass, perch and crappie abound. Facilities at the state park including camp sites, restrooms, drinking water, picnic areas, boat ramps, marinas, and grocery stores.

The first white men passed through this area in 1825. The CB&O Railroad wen through the canyon in 1911 and the state highway went through in 1925. Boysen became a state park in 1956.