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November 17, 2003 |
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Waneta Lake
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The leaves are down, the air is cold, snowflakes are already starting to swirl, and most outdoors-people’s minds are turning toward hunting and skiing - but we were still mentally stuck on the fading autumn. As winter approaches we have been nagged by feelings of regret that we did not get out camping enough this year, that we didn’t spend enough time fishing while we had the chance, and most of all - that the canoe sat idle behind the house almost all year. And so it was that we grabbed at the opportunity to do some late season paddling on Waneta Lake when we were treated to a nice, calm sunny November day two weeks ago.
Waneta Lake is a small, 29-acre lake, lying along Johnson Hill Road (also called Sullivan County Rt. 151), just north of Livingston Manor in the Town of Rockland. It is quite a pretty little lake, and is part of a close chain with the Edgewood Lakes. The West shore of Waneta Lake is bordered by the road, the rest is surrounded by State Forest Preserve, with only a couple of private homes in sight from the lake. The Forest Preserve parcel bordering the lake is only 225 acres, and is quite disjointed from the rest of the Willowemoc Wild Forest, of which it is a part. The entrance to the Beaverkill State Campground is less than two miles away in the scenic Beaverkill Valley.
We had driven by Waneta Lake many times, but had never paddled it before. We were curious how deep it was, and it proved to be quite shallow, with aquatic vegetation visible a few feet below the surface across the whole lake. Neighboring Edgewood Lake is also quite shallow, which is plainly visible now that the lake is totally empty of water and is just a big basin of mud. In August of this year, Edgewood Lake was accidentally drained when construction workers were trying to repair its dam, resulting in a large fish kill (mostly bass, perch, pickerel, and sunfish - the lake is presumably too warm and shallow to hold trout).
Given the small size of the lake, it didn’t take long to cruise the perimeter - we were only out about an hour. It was a sunny afternoon, but the crisp air made hats and gloves a must. While there, we took the opportunity to get out of the canoe and walk the eastern, forested shoreline where there is a yellow-blazed State hiking trail and four or five designated camping areas. This area is a perfect example of a beautiful piece of Catskill Forest Preserve that is largely unknown and largely unused by the public. The parking area along the road sees a fair number of fishermen, and maybe some canoeists and a few hunters, but few people seem to make it to the far side of the lake. The trail had all but disappeared beneath the fallen leaves, overgrown branches, and missing trail markers. We could only follow it with some difficulty by looking from tree to tree for what markers were there. This place could certainly benefit from the attention of a few trail maintenance volunteers.
As we followed the trail back toward the dam at the outlet of the lake, the markers mostly disappeared, but there was a visible path through the weeds by the lake. This came out at the dam, and we wondered how we were supposed to cross over the outlet stream below the dam. As we approached it became clear. The dam was built with hikers in mind. Unlike the dam at Alder Lake, where there is a wide walkway with railings going over the top of the dam, this dam had a series of small, square concrete "stepping stones" going across the foot of the dam, allowing hikers to step over the outflow. It was very neat and something we’d never seen before.
So the next time you are looking for a new place to get away from it all, and perhaps pitch a tent near a pretty lake while not having to hike in more than a half mile, give Waneta Lake a try.
- Chris and Aaron
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