Lake Pleasant 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 ...

located in the

Adirondack Park The Adirondack Park is a part of New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure”, and for watershed protection. The park ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The lake is in the town of Lake Pleasant in Hamilton County. The lake is about long and about wide with its length oriented in an approximate northeast to southwest direction, the widest part at the northeast end. The village of Speculator is at its northern tip, and the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Lake Pleasant, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

, is by the western end.

NY Route 8 New York State Route 8 (NY 8) is a north-south state highway in the central part of New York in the United States. It runs in a southwest-to-northeast direction from the Southern Tier to the northern part of Lake George. The souther ...

traverses the north side of the lake, and South Shore Road goes around the south part. Lake Pleasant is linked to

Sacandaga Lake Sacandaga Lake (sa-kuhn-DAH-ga) is a lake in the Town of Lake Pleasant in Hamilton County, New York approximately west of Speculator. The outlet is a channel that leads to Lake Pleasant, which is the source of the Sacandaga River. The lake c ...

by the Sacandaga Outlet, a small stream that passes under Route 8. The

Sacandaga River The Sacandaga River is a river in the northern part of New York in the United States. Its name comes from the Native American ''Sa-chen-da'-ga'', meaning "overflowed lands". The Sacandaga River is a tributary of the Hudson River, flowing into ...

drains Lake Pleasant and flows out the northern end by Speculator. The lake is ringed with seasonal and year-round houses. A public beach is at the north end in Speculator. Most commercial development is found along Route 8 and adjacent to Speculator, while the area along South Shore Road is primarily residential.

Fishing

Fish species in the lake are smallmouth bass,

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Samu ...

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 ...

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a European species of salmonid fish that has been widely introduced into suitable environments globally. It includes purely freshwater populations, referred to as the riverine ecotype, ''Salmo trutta'' morph ...

rock bass The rock bass (''Ambloplites rupestris''), also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red eyed creature is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish fa ...

chain pickerel The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (family Esocidae) of order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox'' genus of pike. Taxonomy French ...

, sunfish, and black bullhead. There is a state-owned public hand launch on the north shore near the outlet and also a navigable channel from

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pleasant Lakes of New York (state) Lakes of Hamilton County, New York