Updated August 2026
Wakesurfing in New York
- 29 rated lakes
- 3 Excellent
New York wake-sport rules
New York has no statewide wakesurfing-specific law. State law limits vessels to 5 mph (no wake) within 100 feet of shore, docks, piers, rafts, floats or anchored boats. Many individual lakes adopt stricter towed-watersports setbacks (e.g., Friends Lake and others require 200 feet from shoreline/docks for wakesurfing/wakeboarding), so wake-surf limits are effectively local.
Rated lakes
| Lake | Suitability | Max depth | Surface area | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chautauqua Lake | Excellent | — | 13,000 ac | — |
| Conesus Lake | Excellent | — | 3,420 ac | — |
| Saratoga Lake | Excellent | — | 3,700 ac | — |
| Greenwood Lake | Good | — | 1,920 ac | — |
| Hemlock Lake · Livingston County | Good | — | 2,054 ac | No |
| Lake Bonaparte · Lewis County | Good | — | 1,286 ac | No |
| Lake Placid · Essex County | Good | — | 2,173 ac | No |
| Otisco Lake · Onondaga County | Good | — | 2,291 ac | No |
| Peck Lake · Fulton County | Good | — | 1,300 ac | No |
| Brantingham Lake · Lewis County | Fair | — | 327 ac | No |
| Burden Lake · Rensselaer County | Fair | — | 369 ac | No |
| Canadice Lake · Ontario County | Fair | — | 657 ac | No |
| Cuba Lake · Allegany County | Fair | — | 465 ac | No |
| Deer River Flow Lake · Franklin County | Fair | — | 403 ac | No |
| Deruyter Reservoir · Madison County | Fair | — | 560 ac | No |
| Findley Lake · Chautauqua County | Fair | — | 330 ac | No |
| Friends Lake · Warren County | Fair | — | 450 ac | No |
| Galway Lake · Saratoga County | Fair | — | 564 ac | No |
| Kinderhook Lake · Columbia County | Fair | — | 350 ac | No |
| Lincoln Pond · Essex County | Fair | — | 475 ac | No |
| Silver Lake · Wyoming County | Fair | — | 761 ac | No |
| Sleepy Hollow Lake · Greene County | Fair | — | 324 ac | No |
| South Lake · Herkimer County | Fair | — | 499 ac | No |
| Tuscarora Lake · Madison County | Fair | — | 362 ac | No |
| Jamesville Reservoir · Onondaga County | Limited | — | 252 ac | No |
| Lake Carmel · Putnam County | Limited | — | 240 ac | No |
| Lake Moraine · Madison County | Limited | — | 260 ac | No |
| Pleasant Lake · Fulton County | Limited | — | 248 ac | No |
| Pleasure Lake · Sullivan County | Limited | — | 218 ac | No |
Also in New York
3 more New York water bodies appear in the wakesurf inventory but are not yet in the LakeQuality lake dataset, so they have no detail page. They are listed here for completeness and are queued for the next data pull.
- Great Sacandaga Lake
- Lake George
- Oyster Bay Harbor
Where to stay near New York lakes
Top-rated places to stay near New York lakes
Prices for Oct 30–Nov 1, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.
Availability and prices from Stay22 partners (Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia). We may earn a commission from bookings, at no extra cost to you.
Planning a trip to New York lakes?
Get lake water-quality updates plus the best cabin & lodging deals near New York lakes — straight to your inbox. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Get New York lake conditions by email
Water-quality readings and seasonal conditions as the data updates. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.