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Yankee Lake is a Private Lake. Lake access is strictly limited to those with deeded Lake rights. Lake use is restricted and patrolled by the community.Join Us!Get Started
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What would happen if homeowners around Yankee Lake stopped paying their dues? The dam would not be able to be maintained, and the State would force us to drain the lake.
Quiet, pristine Yankee Lake is a 410 acre man-made body of water located in New York State's Sullivan County (41°35'0 "N and 74°32'41"W), four miles west of Wurtsboro, on the top of the West Shawangunk Ridge in the scenic Catskill Mountains.
Rising 1430 feet above sea level, Yankee Lake is two-and-a-half miles long and varies from one to two miles wide. There are almost nine miles of shoreline. The lake is fed by small streams from the north and west, as well as springs under the lake. Although generally shallow (average of about eight feet), in the areas of the original pond and springs, the lake is thirty to forty feet deep.
According to legend, around 1800 a Yankee named Ellsworth used a canoe or dugout for hunting and fishing and kept it concealed near the shore of a large pond. Dutch hunters found the boat and named the body of water, "The Yankee's Pond." In over two centuries, Yankee Lake has always been known as an "outstanding fishin' hole." And indeed, today it still lives up to that reputation.
For more about the history of Yankee Lake, pleas