Labor Day on Hemlock: A Different Kind of Finger Lake

Daniel drifting in the calm.

This is the first year (ever) that Cornell has canceled school on Labor Day! We (Ben, Daniel, Amy, Rob, Anna, Julia, and I) decided to celebrate by tackling a far away Finger Lake: Hemlock Lake! It was a 2 hour drive across 5 other lakes to get there, but it was well worth it. We launched from the North Hemlock Boat Launch. The boat launch was about a mile down the lake. The DEC doesn't let people paddle north of there since that's where the water treatment plant pulls its water from.

Hemlock is characterized by the absence of lake houses along the shores,...

which makes for a very unique Finger Lakes paddling experience. According to the DEC website, Hemlock and Canadice (a smaller neighboring lake) used to have cottages, but in 1896 Rochester began buying up properties around the lake to protect the integrity of Rochester's water supply. In the early 1900s the city planted 3.7 million trees in previous agricultural areas. By 1947 all the properties around the lake, and many on the tributaries feeding the lake, had been purchased and their cottages removed. In June 2010 the majority of the property was sold to the state, and is now run by the DEC as the Hemlock-Canadice State Forest.

Rob: "I caught a fish THIS big!" From left to right: Amy, Daniel, Rob, Anna, Ben.

Rob, Anna, and a jet-lagged Julia headed back about halfway down the lake. The remaining four of us arrived at the south end of the lake approximately 2.5 hours after we launched. The inlet at the south end of the lake is a wetlands area that has a long, winding channel. We didn't explore too much since we were ravenous, so we headed to the south Hemlock boat launch where we could stretch our legs and get a bite to eat.

On the way back the wind was with us, and the waves pushed us along. The return trip took a little under two hours. On the drive back to Ithaca we stopped for a delicious ice cream at Cayuga Creamery. Yum!
 3 Finger Lakes to go (out of 11): Canadice, Honeoye, and Otisco!

Unloading boats at the launch site.

Date: September 6th, 2010 (Labor Day!) 
Distance: 13 miles