Lake Kanawauke is a primarily man-made lake in Harriman State Park. The name is Onondaga in origin, and means "place of much water". There are three parts to the lake, lower, middle and upper; the total area is . It is located in the Town of

Tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element ...

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

and the Town of

Haverstraw Haverstraw is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of the Town of Clarkstown and the Town of Ramapo; east of Orange County; south of the Town of Stony Point; and west of the Hudson River. The town runs from the w ...

Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

, both residing within the state of New York.

History

The lakes were built by the

Palisades Interstate Park Commission The Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) was formed in 1900 by Governors Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Foster Voorhees of New Jersey in response to the quarrying operations along the Palisades Cliffs of New Jersey. The Palisades, a Na ...

under William A. Welch. Lower Kanawauke was built in 1915 by damming Stony Brook. It was used by the

Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...

for camping; by 1930 there were fourteen camps on the lake. Middle Kanawauke was built in 1916 by damming Stillwater Creek. It was used by the Brooklyn Boy Scouts, who erected six camps and built the White Bar trail system centered on the lake.*Myles, William J., ''Harriman Trails, A Guide and History'', The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, New York, N.Y., 1999. Upper Kanawauke is the only natural lake of the three. In the mid-nineteenth century there was a small settlement on the lake shore. Seven Boy Scout camps were built around the lake starting in 1917, one of which became a

Girl Scout Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...

camp, Camp ''Quid Nunc'' (Latin for "What now"). Currently there is a public picnic area and permit boat launch located west of Kanawauke Circle along Seven Lakes Drive.

References

Kanawauke Protected areas of Orange County, New York Protected areas of Rockland County, New York Harriman State Park (New York) Kanawauke Kanawauke {{OrangeCountyNY-geo-stub