Hempstead Lake State Park


Hempstead Lake State Park is a state park located in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The park is located in West Hempstead and is one of three state parks within the Town of Hempstead. There is a quick-access entrance at exit 18 from the Southern State Parkway. The park contains the largest freshwater lake in Nassau County.
The park offers picnic tables with pavilions, tennis courts, a playground, playing fields, recreation programs, hiking, biking, a bridle path, fishing, ice fishing, ice skating, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, and a boat launch. The park contains three ponds for fishing that are stocked with several varieties of fish. Wooded picnic areas provide shade.

History

The central feature of this park is Hempstead Lake, first proposed in 1870 to supply water to Brooklyn, New York. The Mill River, also known as Hempstead Creek was dammed to form the 167-acre reservoir. Following the annexation of Brooklyn by New York City in 1898, the reservoir's use as a source of water declined.
In 1925, the route of Southern State Parkway was laid through the reservoir's grounds, and the property was designated as a state park. The highway originally looped around Hempstead Lake's southern shore between exits 18 and 19. In 1947, an earthen dam was laid across the northern third of Lake Hempstead, straightening the route of the parkway across the lake. A decade later, Peninsula Boulevard was extended along the eastern side of the park partially reusing the parkway's old route.
The reconfiguration of Southern State Parkway created two lakes from the reservoir's northern third: Northeast Pond and Northwest Pond. Excess water exiting Hempstead Lake continues into McDonald Pond and South Pond before leaving the park.