Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation West Lake/Abbey Lake Flood Control Site

West Street, Sandisfield, MA

About West Lake/Abbey Lake Flood Control Site

The West Lake/Abbey Lake Flood Control Site is located on West Street in Sandisfield. Though these are two adjacent water bodies in the Sandisfield State Forest, only West Lake can be accessed from the road. Also equipped with a boat launch, West Lake is suitable for small motorboats and kayaks or canoes. Heading from West Lake is a 0.8-mile portage trail to Abbey Lake, where explorers or ambitious paddlers can travel to observe or paddle another water body.

West Lake is a 60-acre pond with a maximum depth of 13 feet and an average of 8 feet. The perimeter is 1.6 miles, providing paddlers an opportunity for a shorter journey along the forested shoreline. Additionally, visitors can walk around the old dam or picnic in a large field (previously a farmstead) that includes an apple orchard.

As previously mentioned, Abbey Lake can be reached by a trail through the Sandisfield State Forest. The lake is slightly smaller than West Lake, at only 37 acres with a shoreline of 1.3 miles. Anglers can fish either lake from shore or watercraft, with reported species including bass, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and shiner. The brown bullhead inventory includes bullheads larger than those found in many other Western Massachusetts water bodies.

These lakes were built by the Massachusetts Water Resources Commission and Berkshire Conservation District as part of the Clam River Watershed Project for multiple purposes, including recreation and flood prevention, in 1965.