Blue Mountain Lake is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

Hamilton County, New York Hamilton County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,107, making it the least populous county in New York. With an area nearly the size of Delaware, it is the least densely populated county ea ...

, in the central

Adirondacks The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular d ...

. Blue Mountain Lake is the eastern end of the

Eckford chain The Eckford Chain of lakes is composed of Blue Mountain Lake, Eagle Lake, and Utowana Lake in the Adirondack Mountains in New York. The chain was named for Henry Eckford, a noted engineer and ship builder who made a survey of the lakes in 1811 ...

of lakes. It is located west of Blue Mountain. The hamlet of

Blue Mountain Lake Blue Mountain Lake may refer to: * Blue Mountain Lake (Arkansas), a reservoir in Arkansas * Blue Mountain Lake (New York lake), a lake in Hamilton County in the central Adirondacks, New York * Blue Mountain Lake (hamlet), New York, a hamlet in the T ...

lies on its southeastern shore and the

Adirondack Museum Adirondack Experience (formerly Adirondack Museum), located on NY-30 in the hamlet of Blue Mountain Lake in Hamilton County, New York, is a museum dedicated to preserving the history of the Adirondacks. The museum is located on the site of an h ...

looks down from high above its eastern shore. It has been a popular vacation destination since the mid-19th century.

Fishing

Fish species in the lake include

lake trout The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can also ...

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

, smallmouth bass,

landlocked salmon The Atlantic salmon (''Salmo salar'') is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Salmonidae. It is the third largest of the Salmonidae, behind Siberian taimen and Pacific Chinook salmon, growing up to a meter in length. Atlantic salmon ar ...

and

smelt Smelt may refer to: * Smelting, chemical process * The common name of various fish: ** Smelt (fish), a family of small fish, Osmeridae ** Australian smelt in the family Retropinnidae and species ''Retropinna semoni'' ** Big-scale sand smelt ''At ...

. There is only fee access at two private marina launches in the village of

. There are also boat rentals available.

History

The Blue Mountain Lake House was built in 1874 by John G. Holland. Soon after, an earlier resident, Miles Tyler Merwin, enlarged his log cabin on a spur of Blue Mountain overlooking the lake into the Blue Mountain house; the Log Hotel is now on the grounds of the Adirondack Museum. In 1881, Frederick C. Durant, cousin of

William West Durant William West Durant (1850–1934) was a designer and developer of camps in the Adirondack Great Camp style, including Camp Uncas, Camp Pine Knot and Great Camp Sagamore which are National Historic Landmarks. He was the son of Thomas C. ...

, built the Prospect House, the most luxurious hotel then existing in the Adirondacks; it was the first hotel in the world to have electric light in every room.Donaldson, Alfred L. ''History of the Adirondacks'', New York: The Century Co., 1921, p. 103 Prospect House, Blue Mountain Lake - 1889 - Stoddard.jpg, Prospect House, 1889
(

Seneca Ray Stoddard Seneca Ray Stoddard (1844–1917) was an American landscape photographer known for his photographs of New York's Adirondack Mountains. He was also a naturalist, a writer, a poet, an artist, and a cartographer. His writings and photographs helped ...

) ADK Museum - Log Hotel.jpg, The Log Hotel on Blue Mountain Lake, at the Adirondack Museum Small steamboat TOWAHLOONDAH - 1889 - Stoddard.jpg, Small steamboat Towahloondah - 1889 - Seneca Ray Stoddard Nearing the lower end of Blue Mountain Lake cph.3b18371.jpg, Boat carrying tourists, 1911 Blue Mountain Lake from the Adirondack Museum.jpg, Blue Mountain Lake from the Adirondack Museum

References

External links

Adirondack Museum
Adirondacks Lakes of New York (state) Lakes of Hamilton County, New York Tourist attractions in Hamilton County, New York {{HamiltonCountyNY-geo-stub