Conesus Lake is located in
Livingston County, New York
Livingston County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,834. Its county seat is Geneseo. The county is named after Robert R. Livingston, who helped draft the Declaration of Independence a ...
. Conesus Lake is one of
New York's twelve
Finger Lakes. It is located off
Interstate 390 about south of
Interstate 90.
Description
Conesus Lake is long, with a maximum depth of . It flows south to north, from its inlet in the
Town of Conesus to its outlet,
Conesus Creek, in Lakeville, a hamlet in the
Town of Livonia in
Livingston County. Conesus Creek in turn flows into the
Genesee River
The Genesee River ( ) is a tributary of Lake Ontario flowing northward through the Twin Tiers of Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York in the United States. The river contains several waterfalls in New York at Letchworth State Park and Roch ...
near
Avon.
The first steamboat on Conesus Lake was named the "Jessie" launched July 1, 1874, after the Civil War.
In August 2006, the
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation confirmed that the lake was the first outside the contiguous
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
waterways to be stricken with a new strain of
viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS), an infectious fish disease responsible for mass die-offs of many species, but not linked to any human health concerns.
The disease is spread between waterways through live or frozen
bait fish, roe, contaminated fishing equipment or live water wells in boats.
Recreation
On July 3 of each year, the residents of the lake participate in a tradition called the "Ring of Fire", sponsored by the Conesus Lake Association. Participants light
road flares around the lake and shoot off
fireworks
Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...
. The festivities typically start at dusk, with approximately 10,000 flares lit at 10:00 PM.
When frozen over in the winter, Conesus Lake is used for snowmobiling and ice fishing.
Fishing
Fish species present in the lake include
walleye
The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...
,
northern pike
The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...
,
yellow perch,
smallmouth bass,
largemouth bass, and
tiger muskie. To access there is state owned hard surface ramp off East Lake Road, a state owned hand launch access on Pebble Beach Road in the hamlet of Lakeville, a state owned hand launch access on
US-20A in the hamlet of Lakeville, or at a car top launch access on the south shore off
NY-256.
References
External links
*
Conesus Lake Association
{{Authority control
Conesus
Lakes of Livingston County, New York
Tourist attractions in Livingston County, New York
Lakes of New York (state)