Cedar Lake Sturbridge

03/21/2026

Good morning, Cedar Lake residents!

The Town of Sturbridge Conservation Department is working on developing educational seminars and outreach materials focused on lake health, stewardship, and best management practices. They want to ensure these efforts are meaningful and meet the needs of our lake communities. The best way to do that is to hear directly from you!

As such, they're asking all lake residents to complete a short survey (it should only take a few minutes) by March 31. You can find the survey here: https://s.surveyplanet.com/rxyr7cno

Thank you in advance for your participation!

The Town of Sturbridge Conservation Department is committed to protecting and enhancing the health of our lakes, wetlands, and surrounding natural resources. As part of this effort, we are developing educational seminars and materials tailored specifically to the needs of our lake communities. We ar...

12/29/2025

Winter is officially here, and that means many of you will be skating, ice fishing, or playing hockey on the lake.

Whether you’ve been here for 5 months or 50 years, we wanted to share some reminders on how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe this season.

- No ice is 100% safe, so please be extra cautious when venturing out onto a frozen lake.

- Ice that has formed, thawed, and then formed again is more fragile than fresh ice.

- Snow acts as an insulator—it may seem that snow-covered ice is colder, but snow can actually slow ice formation and hide weak spots.

- If you can see water, even around the edges of the lake, stay off.

With that, make sure you’re always alert and paying attention to the ice conditions. You can never be too careful.

Have fun and stay safe out there!

09/20/2025

As some of you may have already heard, we have good news: Our application for drawdown was approved by the town this week! With that, we wanted to clarify some information that's going around.

Drawdown will not happen October 1. After the approval at the town meeting, we have to wait two weeks before we can submit for a permit. This means we're still waiting for the official green light from the state. We still expect drawdown to happen November 1.

To reiterate, we're not drawing down on October 1, so you still have a little time to enjoy some crispy boat weather. 🍂🍁

We will update you as soon as we know more.

Send a message to learn more

08/16/2025

Thank you to everyone who came out for our annual CLA meeting this morning! For those who were not there, we wanted to share an election update.

First, we would like to send a huge thank you to Brian Freeland for his work as president for the last several years. Brian has done so much for this lake and the community, and we would not be where we are without him. There are so many moving parts behind the scenes, and Brian has handled it all without missing a beat. Brian has decided to retire from his CLA position, but he will be helping to advise as we hand over the reins. Thank you for everything, Brian!

Melissa Renaud will also be moving on from her secretary role and we would like to extend a huge thank you for all the work she did as well. Thank you, Melissa!

With that, Joseph Murphy will be taking over as president, Mike Janci will remain vice president, and Lindsay Boyers will remain communications officer. We would also like to welcome some fresh faces: Sean Doyle will be taking on the role of treasurer and Jill Lemansky will be our new secretary.

Suzanne Brozek, Josh Cottone, and Bichop Nawrot will remain on the trustee board, and Mike Janci and Frances O'Connell will continue on as SLAC Representatives.

We're looking forward to the 25/26 season, but this year's fun isn't over yet. We'll see you out there from 3-6pm today for the J.B. Poker Run. May the best hand win!

Send a message to learn more

08/15/2025

Reminder: We have our annual CLA meeting this Saturday, August 16 at 10 am at the town beach pavilion.

We’ll have exciting membership updates, as well as information on permitting and lake testing results.

In addition, there are 3 trustee positions that are up for re-election. Our current trustees have expressed interest in keeping their seats. If anyone else would like to add their name to the ballot, please let us know now (or you can announce your interest in person at the meeting) and we will open voting to the CLA members in attendance.

Board positions are also open for yearly election. We have a minimum of two seats that need to be filled and would love you to join and help with our 2026 efforts. If you’re interested in running for a board seat, please let us know.

You don’t have to be present at the meeting to run, but you do have to be present (and a current CLA member) to vote.
See you there!

Send a message to learn more

08/03/2025

🚨🚨🚨 REMINDER: The lake is being treated for Cyanobacteria tomorrow. Please refrain from boating, swimming, fishing, kayaking, and any other lake activities.

I know it’s going to be a beautiful day, but this is vital for effectiveness—and it’s only 24 hours. You can resume normal activities on Tuesday, August 5.

Let’s get 100% adherence. We can do it!

07/31/2025

As you may know, we had Solitude come out this week to test the lake for invasive species. We’re still waiting on a formal report (which we will have next week), but the good news is the testing showed no invasive w**d situations.

However, they did register cyanobacteria levels of around 30,000 cells/mL. This level is still well below the 70,000 cells/mL threshold that would require us to shut down the lake, but both TRC and Solitude recommend treatment as levels will continue to rise in the warm water.

Solitude is able to mobilize quickly and will be treating along the shoreline, about half the area of the lake, on Monday morning. As such, there will be no boating or swimming on the lake on Monday, August 4. You can resume normal activities on Tuesday, August 5. We are notifying Conservation, the Board of Health, and the Recreation Department today, and will be posting signs around the lake. Please also help spread the word by informing your neighbors that everyone should stay off the lake on Monday.

In the meantime, please avoid swimming in any area(s) where there’s green scum and don’t allow your pets to drink the water in these areas either.

If you have any questions about this, or anything else lake-related, please reach out at anytime!

07/29/2025

Beach & Beats may be over, but we are keeping the good times rolling!

Next up: Our annual meeting at 10am on August 16, followed by the fan-favorite J.B. Poker Run from 3-6pm.

More details to follow, but for now, we're on the hunt for five host houses for the poker run. Who's in?!

07/21/2025

We have some good news!

For the last three weeks, the membership committee has been hitting the pavement, stopping at lakefront houses and cottages, chatting with homeowners, and leaving flyers with information on the CLA.

As a result of their efforts, we have officially reached our goal of 75% membership!

We would like to welcome 23 new members: 3 on Beach Ave; 1 on Birch Street; 1 on Burgess School Road; 2 on Caron Road; 1 on Cedar Lake Drive; 1 on Cedar Pond Road; 5 on Long Street; 3 on Old Hamilton Road; 4 on Shore Road; and 1 on Adams Road.

A huge thank you to our volunteers who have dedicated their time to make this happen!

If you or someone you know is not a member, now’s a great time to join. You can check out the CLA website for more details. And we hope to see you at the Beach & Beats concert on July 26th!

Welcome to Cedar Lake Association About Cedar Lake Cedar Pond is located toward the north-central section of Sturbridge. There are several ways to access the lake. The Sturbridge Host Hotel on Route 20 is sited on the lake. The lake's area is about 183 acres, and its maximum depth is approximately 1...

07/17/2025

Here are the details for Jim’s services.

James “Jim” T. Hennessey, 71, passed away unexpectedly on July 13, 2025. He was the beloved husband of Lauren (Miknaitis) Hennessey, with whom he...

07/16/2025

Our Beach & Beats concert is just 10 days away! HUGE thank you to our sponsors so far. We couldn't make this happen without you!

If you're looking to support local businesses that support our community, here's a great place to start:

Aurora Exterior Painting
Southbridge Credit Union
Advanced Energy Concepts
Concierge Physical Therapy
Lalajava Coffeehouse
SJ Interior Design Studio - Sara Iborra Scott, ASID
Scavone Plumbing & Heating LLC
Cornerstone Bank
Commonwealth Construction & Properties Inc.

If you want to become a sponsor or donate a raffle prize, please reach out and we can send details!