Hemlock Lake

Hemlock Lake details:

• Length: 7 miles
• Maximum width: 0.5 miles
• Maximum depth: 91 feet
• Average depth: 45 feet
• Major cities and towns: none

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Hemlock Lake and Rochester, NY

Have you ever heard of New York City? Surely.

North of New York City is a large state park called the Adirondack State Park. The Adirondack State Park was formed to protect the waters that feed New York City and its residents.

Much the same, Hemlock Lake, along with it's neighbor, Canadice Lake, were originally purchased by the city of Rochester to protect the waters that provide life to its residents. Hemlock at one time had many lake homes along the shore, but in the late 1800's, Rochester began buying them up and slowly demolishing them. This process caused the lakefront to reforest over time.

Later, when Rochester was going through some financial tough times, the city began to toy with the idea of selling the properties on the two lakes. The state of New York had the where-withall at that time to purchase most of the land and designate it as a state forest, preserving the forests and the water quality.

Do want to know something? I was totally an adult when I learned this fact! I've traveled to the Adirondacks many times to experience the serene forests, lakes, streams, and mountains, only to find out there's a lake nearby that could have given me all the above. Well, minus the mountains, but our glacier-sculpted hills rival the beauty of mountains, in my humble opinion.

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Can I take a boat on Hemlock Lake? 

The answer to this is yes, BUT...

You can take a boat on Hemlock Lake, given it's 10 horse power or less, and maxes out at 17-feet-long (motorized craft). 

Why? As a protected lake designed to supply fresh drinking water to the residents of the city of Rochester the less gas-powered boats you have running along your lake, the less pollutants you have in the water.

As a result, Hemlock Lake is really a paradise for hiking, paddling, and fishing quiet waters without disruption from large craft. 

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How did Hemlock Lake get its name?

"How did Hemlock Lake get its name?" you wonder?

As the only lake that appears to have broken tradition, Hemlock's name is distinctly English, as opposed to the names of all the other Finger Lakes.

Or is it...

If you don't know what a hemlock is, it's an evergreen tree. It has a classic Christmas-tree shape, though it doesn't really have needles but very short, very thin leaves. Hemlocks do produce small cones to house their seeds. 

Hemlocks are also shade-tolerant and thrive in acidic soils. Surrounding Hemlock Lake of the Finger Lakes, hemlock trees are abundant - and were prior to European colonization.

As such, the Seneca Indians that inhabited the region around Hemlock Lake called it "Onehda Tecarneodi," or Hemlock Lake.

So, technically, Hemlock Lake still holds the distinction of being named by the local Native Americans just like all the other lakes, it just happened to get translated into English.

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Things to do while visiting Hemlock Lake

So, you wanna visit Hemlock Lake?

Hemlock Lake is known for its old growth forests, wild nature, and solitude. I don't blame you for wanting to come here. Even though I live locally, I'm planning my next trip too!

To  find out more about the following activities on Hemlock Lake, just click on the link. I suggest you try them all - because you just never know what good stuff you might miss out on if you don't!

Boating

Camping

Hiking

Paddling

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