Increase Size! Located 25 miles south of Rochester in Livingston County, Hemlock is one of several Finger Lakes that make up the Finger Lakes region. Importantly Hemlock is one of two Finger Lakes whose shorelines are completely undeveloped, and at a half-mile wide and seven miles long it's absolutely beautiful that way.
It wasn't always like this, there were once cabins and hotels dotted along the shoreline but around the turn of the century the City of Rochester bought the entire area and removed all artificial structures in order to make the Lake into the primary source of water for the City. In the 2000's management of the lake area was transferred to New York State and was incorporated into the Hemlock-Canadice State Forest.
Today there is still no local development allowed and water access is greatly limited to hiking trails only. Boating is allowed, but only by permit and engine horsepower is limited to 10hp and boat length a maximum of 16’. Add to this that there are only two gravel boat launches and you have a beautiful untouched, unspoiled landscape. Stats Elevation: 905 feet Area: 1,800 acres Length: 7 miles Width: 0.5 miles Depth: 91 feet Fishing Stocked with lake trout, brown trout, rainbow trout and landlocked salmon.
Past stocks: rainbow trout, brown trout, smelt, walleye, and lake whitefish. More info online NYSDEC web page Hemlock-Canadice State Forest Hemlock Lake, photos and description on the commercial website nyfalls.com Google sat map MSN sat photo Stats info from DEC website and other online sources See also Lake Ontario as a another source of water for the Greater Rochester Area.