Delta Lake State Park

08/31/2026

A Fish Rescue at Delta Lake! 🐟

The low water levels at Delta Lake have certainly created some challenges this summer, but they’ve also given our staff an opportunity to lend a helping hand to some of our aquatic residents!

As the water recedes, small areas of water can become separated from the main lake, leaving fish stranded in shallow pools and isolated sections of the shoreline. These photos are from our main pond up by the office. Our maintenance staff jumped into action, and of course our office staff went to lend a hand as well!

Using dip nets and seines, we carefully captured fish from these isolated areas and transferred them back into the deeper waters of the main lake. Seining is a great way to safely collect fish from shallow water, while nets allow our staff to reach fish hiding in smaller pools and areas that are difficult to access.

It might look like a fun day of fishing, but there’s an important conservation effort happening behind the scenes. By moving these fish back into connected water, we are helping give them a better chance of surviving as water levels continue to drop.

A huge THANK YOU to all our staff for getting their hands (and probably their boots!) dirty and helping out our fishy friends!

This is just another example of the unexpected ways our park staff work to care for the natural resources and wildlife at Delta Lake State Park. 🌿

08/29/2026

UPDATE:

The algae bloom came back, we are CLOSED for swim again.

as of 8/29/26 12:15

Send a message to learn more

08/29/2026

UPDATE as of 12:15pm 8/29/26: THE BEACH IS CLOSED AGAIN :(

Our life guards are always watching the quality of the water at out beach and it looks like the (HAB) harmful algal bloom had come back already.

SWIM IS OPEN!! 8/29/26

We are so happy to announce… swimming is open!!! The algae bloom has cleared up and we got a good water test back! Hopefully we can stay open for the rest of the year.

We hope to see you soon!

08/23/2026

🚤 Boat Launch Update at Delta Lake State Park

Due to the low water levels at Delta Reservoir, we will be making some changes to our boat launch.

📅 Monday, August 24: Our floating docks will be removed from the water.

The metal docks will remain in place for now. As water levels continue to drop, our staff will continue pushing the metal docks farther out into the lake to keep the launch usable for as long as conditions safely allow.

Once we are no longer able to safely extend the metal docks any farther, the boat launch will be closed for the remainder of the 2026 season.

We know this isn’t the news our boating community wants to hear, especially this late in the summer. Unfortunately, lake levels are outside of our control, and our priority is keeping our visitors, their boats, and our facilities safe.

We will continue to monitor conditions and keep you updated as the season progresses.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

08/22/2026

A quick update from Delta Lake State Park🌲

We know many of you are disappointed that the beach is currently closed due to a harmful algal bloom (HAB). We are disappointed too! The safety of our visitors always comes first, and the beach will remain closed while conditions are unsafe.

We’ve also received questions about why the vehicle use fee is still being collected while the beach is closed.

The vehicle use fee provides access to the park and its many amenities, not just the beach. Even when swimming is unavailable, your fee helps support the continued operation, maintenance, and upkeep of the park, including our picnic areas, playgrounds, trails, pavilions, boat launch, fishing, restrooms, grounds, and other facilities. 🚣‍♀️🎣

We understand that a beach closure can change your plans, and we truly appreciate your patience and understanding while we work through this uncontrollable situation.

In the meantime, there is still plenty to explore here at the park. Take a walk, enjoy a picnic,cast a line, watch the wildlife, or simply spend some time enjoying the park. 🦆🦌🦉

We’ll continue to share updates as conditions change. Please do not enter the water while the beach is closed. The water closed 8/21/2026 until further notice. There is a beach quality map on the link below:

https://parks.ny.gov/activities/swimming/water-quality-beach-results

Thank you for helping us keep Delta Lake State Park beautiful, safe, and accessible for everyone 🌲💚

08/21/2026

The beach is all clear and reopened for daily use 8/29/26

❗️ATTENTION❗️

The beach is CLOSED until further notice due to a harmful algal bloom (HAB). We will post updates and if/when the beach reopens.

8/21/2026

08/11/2026

🌿 A little park cleanup goes a long way! 🌿

Our office staff, Makayla, Taylor, and Delanie at Delta Lake State Park traded in the desks for garbage bags and gloves today!

Keeping our park beautiful is a team effort, and sometimes that means getting outside and picking up the litter that gets left behind. From the smallest piece of trash to a whole bagful, every bit we remove helps keep our park clean, safe, and enjoyable for our visitors, and especially the wildlife that calls our park home🐦🦆🐢🌳

We may spend plenty of time working behind the scenes, but we’re always happy to get our hands dirty for our NY State Parks & Historic Sites! 💚

Remember: Always try to carry in and carry out ♻️



Photo credits: Makayla - office and program manager

08/08/2026

The beach IS still open for swimming!

Everyday from 11am - 7pm, with concessions open the same hours. The low water levels have not closed our beach, just made it a much longer walk to the swimming area.

Make sure you bring some shoes for the hot sand, and a towel! We look forward to seeing you here at Delta Lake State Park!!

Send a message to learn more

08/05/2026

Its Wildlife Wednesday!

If you’ve visited Delta Lake recently, you’ve probably noticed the water level is lower than usual. While that might not be the best news for swimmers and boaters, it’s a buffet for some of our incredible native birds.

As the shoreline recedes, fish become concentrated in the remaining shallow water, making it much easier for wading birds to find their next meal.

Great Egrets are tall, bright white birds you may spot quietly stalking the shoreline. They move with incredible patience, waiting for the perfect moment before striking with their long, sharp bill to catch fish, frogs, or even crayfish.

Great Blue Herons, New York’s largest heron, use a similar strategy. Standing almost motionless, they carefully watch the water before launching a rapid spear-like strike to catch unsuspecting fish.

So while we may miss seeing the lake at its fullest, these changing water levels provide an excellent opportunity to observe some of nature’s most fascinating fishing experts in action.

The next time you’re at Delta Lake, take a stroll along the shoreline and keep an eye out, you might just witness one of these amazing birds enjoying a successful catch!