Best Lakes for Boating Near Syracuse
New York
30 boating lakes within driving distance of Syracuse, New York, ranked by water quality and boating-specific filters. Filtered for at least 100 acres and public access. The largest lakes with boat-worthy water are listed first.
Syracuse sits in a lake-rich part of the upper Midwest: 30 measured lakes within reach. Onondaga Lake carries the lowest nutrient and algae readings of the cluster.
The boating-specific ranking layered on top of the readings is what produces the list below: a lake with clean readings that does not also support the boating use case is less useful than a decent one that does.
| # | Lake | County | Distance | Clarity | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Onondaga Lake | Onondaga | 4.1 mi | - | - |
| 2 | Jamesville Reservoir | Onondaga | 6.5 mi | 5.3 ft | - |
| 3 | Mud Pond | Onondaga | 7.7 mi | - | - |
| 4 | Otisco Lake | Onondaga | 14.3 mi | 5.2 ft | - |
| 5 | Oneida Lake | Oswego | 16.9 mi | - | - |
| 6 | Cross Lake | Cayuga | 17.4 mi | - | - |
| 7 | Otter Lake | Cayuga | 20.4 mi | - | - |
| 8 | Deruyter Reservoir | Madison | 20.6 mi | 17.6 ft | - |
| 9 | Parker Pond | Cayuga | 22.2 mi | - | - |
| 10 | Lake Neatahwanta | Oswego | 23.2 mi | - | - |
| 11 | Tuscarora Lake | Madison | 23.4 mi | 20.5 ft | - |
| 12 | Upper Little York Lake | Cortland | 23.8 mi | 11 ft | - |
| 13 | Hatch Lake | Madison | 27.9 mi | 13.4 ft | - |
| 14 | Bradley Brook Reservoir | Madison | 28.7 mi | 20.7 ft | - |
| 15 | Mud Pond | Oswego | 30.5 mi | - | - |
| 16 | Black Lake | Seneca | 30.6 mi | - | - |
| 17 | Woodman Pond | Madison | 32.2 mi | - | - |
| 18 | The Pond | Cayuga | 34.3 mi | - | - |
| 19 | Lake Moraine | Madison | 34.5 mi | 20.3 ft | - |
| 20 | Port Bay | Wayne | 38 mi | - | - |
| 21 | Delta Reservoir | Oneida | 39.2 mi | - | - |
| 22 | South Pond | Oswego | 39.8 mi | - | - |
| 23 | Dryden Lake | Tompkins | 41 mi | - | - |
| 24 | East Bay | Wayne | 41.1 mi | - | - |
| 25 | Genegantslet Lake | Chenango | 41.3 mi | 12 ft | - |
| 26 | North Pond | Oswego | 42.1 mi | - | - |
| 27 | South Colwell Pond | Jefferson | 45 mi | - | - |
| 28 | Cincinnatus Lake | Chenango | 45.3 mi | - | - |
| 29 | Lake Ludlow | Chenango | 46 mi | - | - |
| 30 | Long Pond | Chenango | 46.1 mi | - | - |
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.