Lake Buel Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Lake Buel Boat Launch

Pixley Rd, Route 183, Monterey, MA

About Lake Buel Boat Launch

The Lake Buel boat launch on Route 51 provides public access to Lake Buel, a 196-acre lake with excellent fishing, paddling, and water sports opportunities. The 3.5-mile perimeter offers plenty of space to travel around the lake, while the center of the water provides nice views of the surrounding communities and forests. Anglers report success with reeling in bass, panfish, bluegill, pumpkinseed, crappie, perch, pickerel, and more. Trout is stocked each year, as is pike on occasion. Because there is no shore access to the lake, fishing is best done from a boat.

Other recreational activities in the pond include motorboating and jet skiing during the warmer months. In the winter, this lake is one of the most popular ice fishing spots in the Berkshires. Wildlife viewing from the water is common as conservation and reintroduction programs have made the lake conducive to thriving wildlife populations. Birding enthusiasts can appreciate the lake's collection of species that call the lake home, including herons, bald eagles, Baltimore orioles, finch, osprey, and many more. Around the lake, mammals like black bears, whitetail deer, foxes, coyotes, and beavers roam the forests and can appear by the water.

Surrounded by two of the most popular vacation towns in Western Massachusetts, Lake Buel is lined with lake homes and summer camps. While this means the lake is usually beaming with activity, it also means that the boat launch is the only public access point to the lake, so there are no public beaches. The lake itself, however, is owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for year-round recreational activity. The boat launch can be identified from the road with a sign reading "Lake Buel boat ramp." Informational signs at the launching site inform visitors of the lake's rules and safety requirements.