Nanticoke Lake
Multiple Use Area
Quick Bits
Main Activities - Hike, Kayak, Fish
Distance - 0.5 miles
Quiet - very quiet
Surface - the path to the lake is a wide tractor path. After that it is not maintained. Watch for tripping hazards.
Elevation - fairly flat
Pets - dogs permitted, leashes not required.
Address - Squedunk Road, Lisle, NY
Click for map from NY DEC website.
In a Nutshell
What the area lacks in amenities it makes up for in quiet charm. This DEC area highlights a 46-acre man-made lake which makes it a destination for fishing. While no maintained trails, you can still hike around the lake when it is not too wet.
Location and Parking
The 15-car parking lot is off of Squedunk Road in the Town of Lisle. "Squedunk Road" is fun to say. Some GPS may have the pin at the actual lake, but the gate for the road is locked. So plan to park in the lot right off of Squedunk Road.
More details
The Nanticoke Lake was created in the 1970s by a dam on a tributary of the Nanticoke Creek. The 46-acre lake allows non-motorized and electric motor boats. It has a hand launch and the walk from the parking area to the lake is about 600 yards. So unless you have a light boat, you may want a trolley or something with wheels. The "path" from the parking area to the lake is a wind tractor road. The area is at about 1400' elevation and relatively flat with a some mild hills.
Other than the road to the lake, a path across the dam, and some unkept logging roads, there are no maintained trails. However, the undergrowth is not that thick so you can hike relatively easy around the lake. The shoreline of the lake is 1.4 miles. There are areas of the shore that are swampy, so plan for closer to 2 miles to circumnavigate the lake. While there are no trails, you can generally see parts of the lake most of the time. If you do lose sight of it, it is easy to just head downhill and you'll likely find it again.
One thing to watch while hiking around the lake are tripping hazards. In particular, it appears there were beaver in the area at one time. They left many pointy stumps to trip or fall on. I have mostly hiked here during drier parts of the year, so I'm not sure how wet and muddy it can get, but I'm pretty sure it can get muddy. You'll also traverse a couple feeder creeks and other runoffs into the lake. The ground is very spongy in places from built up pine needles or leaves.
The forest around the lake is interesting. You'll pass through different sections. Some with hardwoods, Maple, Oak, Beech; and other areas of Hemlock with some White Pine here and there. There is a good mixture of generations of the trees as well.
When originally built, the plan was to create a source of brook trout. However, the brook trout had little success due to low disolved oxygen levels in summer months. Other fish have been introduced over time. The lake is currently stocked with rainbow trout according to the DEC website. The lake is also home at various times to ducks, herons, and loons. The forests surrounding the lake have been managed at various times and for various purposes.