Green Lakes State Park

Upstate New York is filled with state parks. I’ve lived within an hour of the Syracuse region for my entire life, but I had never heard of Green Lakes State Park until about 10 years ago when I first started dating Farah. Since then we have spent plenty of time in the park and it has become one of our favorite spots to visit.

The lakes were formed 15,000 years ago at the end of the ice age by waterfalls and are the remains of their plunge pools. The lakes are meromictic, meaning the layers of water don’t mix and the deep bottom of the lakes are devoid of life. Heavily dissolved minerals, specifically calcite, give the lakes their iconic green color.

The park has been a recreation center since the early 19th century but the Civil Conservation Corps (CCC) shaped it into its modern form, constructing buildings and bringing in sand from nearby Oneida lake for the beach at green lakes. These days the lakes are part of the NY State park system and offer camping, hiking, swimming, kayaking and even an 18-hole golf course designed by the legendary Robert Trent Jones.

As we often do, Farah and I found ourselves stopping at the park last Friday as we passed through Syracuse on our way home. We skipped the line at the toll gate, scanned our empire passes at the automated gate and made our way to the East Bathhouse parking lot. We started with a walk of the dual lake loop. This 3 mile walk is fairly easy over gravel/mulch paths and takes around an hour. Along the shoreline there are various lookout spots and benches for relaxing or fishing.

One of the iconic locations is Deadman’s reef, a submerged reef created by the buildup of calcium over the years. The reef is home to a variety of rare mosses and sponges, getting its name from local legends about dangerous undercurrents and swimmer deaths over the years.

Standing on the shoreline it’s easy to see 15 to 20 feet down into the water. Fish and other aquatic life stand out clearly in the bright green water. The further you hike from the main beach area, the more the wildlife stands out. Halfway through our hike around Round Lake we were joined by a Great Blue Heron who landed nearby. Normally these birds avoid people but this one seemed content to let us watch as it waded through shallow water looking for fish.

We continued on our hike and eventually finished back at the boat house. Those looking to explore the waters beyond the swimming area can rent kayaks from the boathouse for a small fee. Outside water craft are not allowed to preserve and protect the lake’s unique environment.

With the short hike over it was time to reward ourselves relaxing on the sandy beach on the North end of Green Lake. The beach can get pretty busy on hot summer weekends but today it was fairly empty. You can wade in or jump via one of the platforms in the deep end. I was content to float while Farah swam laps in the swim lanes. Afterwards we found a pair of empty Adirondack chairs on the beach and dried off in the sun. My only regret was skimping on the sunscreen.

Green Lakes is a unique park that I almost missed. There’s an abundance of state parks across New York that are gems just like it. These days I make it a point to stop at the parks I might have normally driven by, never knowing what I might discover.