Green Lakes State Park

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Green Lake, seen from its eastern shore.

Green Lakes State Park is a popular New York State Park located in Onondaga County, just east of Syracuse in the Town of Manlius.

The park contains two small lakes: Green Lake and Round Lake, which are both meromictic lakes, which means that there is no autumn and spring mixing of surface and bottom waters. Such lakes have a high potential for evidence of ancient plant and animal life. The lakes, especially Green Lake, have an unusual blue-green color. Round Lake was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1975 by the U.S. Interior Department.^[1]

The park incorporates as much as 800 acres of old-growth forest, including many very large specimens of tuliptrees and hemlocks.^[2] One particularly impressive grove of trees, due west of Round Lake, is now called the Tuliptree Cathedral.

Land for the park was initially acquired by the state in 1928. During the Depression, the New York State Department of Conservation (under the administration of then-governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and later the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed buildings and cabins in the park. During World War II, the cabins were used to house German prisoners of war. The park increased to 1,835 acres with additional acquisitions in 1975, 1995 and 1996.

The park was named as one of the Top 100 Campgrounds in the nation in 2004. It contains an 18-hole golf course designed by Robert Trent Jones in 1935;^[3] the course was among his earliest commissions. There are 137 campsites and eight cabins for those who prefer a less rustic experience. About 10 miles of cross-country ski trails, and selected trails allow mountain bikes.

[edit] References

^ "Round Lake" entry in registry of National Natural Landmarks. National Park Service website. Retrieved December 11, 2006.
^ "Green Lakes State Park: Old Growth Survey", from website of The Earth Renewal and Restoration Alliance (TERRA). Retreived December 10, 2006.
^ Cornish, Geoffery S. and Whitten, Ronald E. (1993). Online excerpt from The Architects of Golf (Harper-Collins) ISBN 0062700820; retrieved December 11, 2006.