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 Forest Preserve (New York), New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York (state), New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasur ...
in
New York 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 territori ...
. 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 traverses the north side of the lake, and South Shore Road goes around the south part.
Lake Pleasant is linked to
Sacandaga Lake 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 Sam ...
,
rainbow trout,
brown trout,
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
Fren ...
,
sunfish, and
black bullhead
The black bullhead or black bullhead catfish (''Ameiurus melas'') is a species of bullhead catfish. Like other bullhead catfish, it has the ability to thrive in waters that are low in oxygen, brackish, turbid and/or very warm. It also has barbels ...
. There is a state-owned public hand launch on the north shore near the outlet and also a navigable channel from
Sacandaga Lake.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pleasant
Lakes of New York (state)
Lakes of Hamilton County, New York