Honeoye Overlook Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(micro)
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This is the best public overlook of Honeoye Lake from the north. If you are in the area, stop and take a look!
Cache with room for log book only. Please put the cache back just as you found it.
Here is some history and facts about the Honeoye Lake area:
The Hamlet of Honeoye is part of the Town of Richmond.
Honeoye - pronounced "honey-oy" is from the Seneca name meaning "lying finger". The Seneca Indians had a village at the north end of the lake, until it was destroyed by General John Sullivan's troops in 1779 during the Sullivan/Clinton Campaign. The troops built a garrison known as Fort Cummings at the site of the Indian village.
It is the tenth of eleven of the Finger Lakes in size and is the shallowest, reaching 30 feet at it's deepest point. It is 4.5 miles in length.
Gidegon Pitts, son of Captain Peter Pitts (the first settler in Richmond) built a home here that is believed to be part of the Underground Railroad. Helen Pitts, Gidegon's daughter was an abolitionist and the second wife of Frederick Douglass.
There are 2 boat launches, one at the north end at Sandy Bottom Park, which is open to the public from Wednesday after Labor Day to June 14 - it is closed in the summer so it can be used by the Richmond Fire Department for lake rescues. The second launch is the Honeoye Lake State Boat Launch, located on East Lake Road, 4 miles south of Route 20A. It is open from May - November and is operated by NYS Office of Parks & Recreation, a fee is required. You can find fishermen on the lake in the winter and summer.
In 1926, the City of Rochester announced plans to acquire land around Honeoye Lake and to the north to build a large dam at Factory Hollow, south of Route 5 & 20 near Lima. The 16 mile area would be flooded to create a water supply for Rochester. There was quite an uproar and finally, in 1935, the City of Rochester reversed it's decision and would acquire water from Lake Ontario instead.
As part of river otter restoration efforts in New York State, 7 river otters were released at Honeoye Lake in November 2000. The release was primarily funded by the Finger Lakes Community College Environmental Conservation Department. Since that time, students have been monitoring the comeback of the otters to the lake.
In 2016 Nathan Walsh, a member of Troop 58 Boy Scout Troop, completed his Eagle Scout project by doing updates at this overlook, the State Route 20A Rest Area. The old fence was replaced, picnic tables were repaired and repainted, 4 new trees were planted and a 10' by 12' perennial garden was planted. Enjoy these great updates!
Additional Hints
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