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Oct 09, 2023

New public boat launch opens on Barge Canal near Sylvan Beach

DEC opened a new boat launch at Cove Road, about a mile east of Sylvan Beach.

DEC opened a new boat launch at Cove Road, about a mile east of Sylvan Beach. The launch includes ADA enhancements for people with disabilities, connects to Oneida Lake via the Barge Canal, and has a two-lane, concrete launch ramp with floating docks, a canoe/kayak launch, fishing pier, parking area with 24 car and 49 car/trailer parking spaces.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation opened a new boat launch at Cove Road in the town of Verona, about a mile east of Sylvan Beach.

The newly constructed launch, which includes ADA enhancements for people with disabilities, connects to Oneida Lake via the Barge Canal. It has a two-lane, concrete launch ramp with floating docks, a canoe/kayak launch, fishing pier, parking area with 24 car and 49 car/trailer parking spaces, including some accessible parking, and port-a-johns.

The Oneida Lake Association, which consulted with DEC on installation of the launch, recommends approaching it from the north on Cove Road. If you enter from the south side you’ll encounter a dead end with little room to make a turn-around.

DEC opened a new boat launch at Cove Road, about a mile east of Sylvan Beach. The launch connects to Oneida Lake via the Barge Canal and has a two-lane, concrete ramp with floating docks, a canoe/kayak launch, fishing pier, parking area with 24 car and 49 car/trailer parking spaces.Photo by Doug Benedetto

"The Cove Road Boat Launch has been a long time coming and we are excited to see a safe water boat launch site at the east end of Oneida Lake," said Scott Faulkner, secretary of the Federated Sportsman Clubs of Oneida County.

Oneida Lake is New York's most heavily fished inland water, and the largest lake lying wholly within state borders. It's best known for walleye, but it's also is a great place to hook yellow perch, bass, and panfish. Lake sturgeon swim in Oneida Lake's tributaries, but they’re protected and cannot be fished or possessed.

The project was funded with $1.6 million from the $400 million (FY 2023) Environmental Protection Fund and NY Works. The EPF supports environmental programs such as land acquisition, farmland protection, invasive species prevention and eradication, recreation access, water quality improvement, and environmental justice projects.

DEC opened a new boat launch at Cove Road, about a mile east of Sylvan Beach. The launch connects to Oneida Lake via the Barge Canal and has a two-lane, concrete ramp with floating docks, a canoe/kayak launch, fishing pier, parking area with 24 car and 49 car/trailer parking spaces.Photo by Doug Benedetto

For current state fishing regulations, check DEC's 2023 Fishing Regulations Guide.

Just a reminder: clean, drain, and dry your boat and trailer, and disinfect fishing gear before launching to prevent the spread of harmful aquatic invasive species.

DEC recommends that anyone putting a craft in NY's waters should follow these steps to make sure their equipment isn't harboring invasives:

Steve Featherstone covers the outdoors for The Post-Standard, syracuse.com and NYUP.com. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter @featheroutdoors. You can also follow along with all of our outdoors content at newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/ or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/upstatenyoutdoors.

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