Stillwater Reservoir
Stillwater Reservoir is a man-made lake located by Beaver River, New York within the Western Adirondacks. The lake has a large amount of recreational uses including camping, canoeing, boating, fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, and cross-country skiing. The lake has undeveloped edges with remote camping on both the islands and the shoreline. Camping permits and lake information may be obtained from the hamlet of Stillwater at the Forest Ranger Headquarters. Fish species present in the reservoir are smallmouth bass, splake, rock bass, yellow perch, sunfish and brown trout. There is a state owned hard surface ramp on Stillwater Road, 28 miles east of Lowville, New York. the record low temperature for the state of New York of −52 °F (−47 °C) took place at Stillwater Reservoir, and was later tied by Old Forge on February 17, 1979.
Climate
Stillwater Reservoir recorded the coldest temperature in New York State on February 9, 1934 at -52°F (-47°C). This record was tied when Old Forge recorded the same temperature on February 18, 1979.
| Climate data for Stillwater Reservoir, New York, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1926-2020: 1690ft (515m) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 61 (16) |
61 (16) |
77 (25) |
86 (30) |
90 (32) |
93 (34) |
97 (36) |
93 (34) |
93 (34) |
83 (28) |
73 (23) |
65 (18) |
97 (36) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 48 (9) |
47 (8) |
57 (14) |
72 (22) |
81 (27) |
84 (29) |
84 (29) |
83 (28) |
80 (27) |
73 (23) |
61 (16) |
51 (11) |
86 (30) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 26.1 (−3.3) |
28.4 (−2.0) |
36.5 (2.5) |
49.9 (9.9) |
63.8 (17.7) |
71.4 (21.9) |
75.0 (23.9) |
73.9 (23.3) |
67.1 (19.5) |
54.7 (12.6) |
42.0 (5.6) |
31.6 (−0.2) |
51.7 (11.0) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 14.9 (−9.5) |
16.3 (−8.7) |
24.9 (−3.9) |
38.7 (3.7) |
52.7 (11.5) |
61.0 (16.1) |
65.0 (18.3) |
64.0 (17.8) |
56.9 (13.8) |
45.1 (7.3) |
33.5 (0.8) |
22.2 (−5.4) |
41.3 (5.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 3.8 (−15.7) |
4.2 (−15.4) |
13.2 (−10.4) |
27.5 (−2.5) |
41.6 (5.3) |
50.6 (10.3) |
55.0 (12.8) |
54.0 (12.2) |
46.6 (8.1) |
35.4 (1.9) |
25.0 (−3.9) |
12.8 (−10.7) |
30.8 (−0.7) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | −26 (−32) |
−21 (−29) |
−12 (−24) |
12 (−11) |
28 (−2) |
37 (3) |
46 (8) |
44 (7) |
34 (1) |
23 (−5) |
7 (−14) |
−14 (−26) |
−29 (−34) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −42 (−41) |
−52 (−47) |
−34 (−37) |
−12 (−24) |
17 (−8) |
27 (−3) |
37 (3) |
29 (−2) |
21 (−6) |
6 (−14) |
−20 (−29) |
−46 (−43) |
−52 (−47) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 3.71 (94) |
2.83 (72) |
3.19 (81) |
3.79 (96) |
4.40 (112) |
4.55 (116) |
5.09 (129) |
4.61 (117) |
4.32 (110) |
5.48 (139) |
4.04 (103) |
4.22 (107) |
50.23 (1,276) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 42.2 (107) |
31.5 (80) |
21.8 (55) |
5.8 (15) |
0.2 (0.51) |
trace | trace | trace | trace | 1.4 (3.6) |
13.1 (33) |
33.7 (86) |
149.7 (380.11) |
| Source 1: NOAA | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: XMACIS (snowfall, temp records & monthly max/mins) | |||||||||||||
Islands and locations
- Big Burnt Lake – A lake connected to Stillwater Reservoir located northwest of the hamlet of Beaver River.
- Georges Island – Located off the Tower Trail campsite point.
- Rock Island – Located by the inlet of Twitchell Creek.
- Island #2 – Located by the inlet of Twitchell Creek. Has two primitive campsites on the island.
- Melody Island – Located near Devil's Hole. Has a primitive campsite on the island.
- Round Island – Located off Little Burnt Point.
- Nest Island – Located by Round Island.
- Long Island – Has two primitive campsites on each end of the island.
- Gun Harbor– A bay located north-northeast of the hamlet of Beaver River.
- Island #16 – Located by Little Burnt Point, and has a primitive campsite on the island.
- Twin Pine Island – Located off The Notch Point. Has a primitive campsite on the island.
- Spruce Island – Located off Hat Point. Has a primitive campsite on the island.
- Island #26 – Has a primitive campsite on the island.
- Picnic Point West Island – East of picnic island. Has a primitive campsite on the island.
- Picnic Island – Located off Picnic Point. Has two primitive campsites on the island.
- Bay Island – Located off Bay Island Point.
- Sand Island – Located off Dead Man's Curve.
- Trout Pond – A bay located north of Big Burnt Lake bay. It is where the outlet of Salmon Lake enters the reservoir.
- Island #33 – Located in the Big Burnt Lake section of the reservoir. Has a primitive campsite on the island.
- Needle Island – Located in the Big Burnt Lake section of the reservoir
- Loon Island – Located in the Loon Lake section of the reservoir. Has a primitive campsite on the island.
- Fox Island – Located near the outlet of Halfway Brook. Has a primitive campsite on the island.
- Grassy Island – Located by Grassy Point.
- Big Island – Located by Grassy Point.
- Fly Island – Located by Gun Harbor.
- North Island – Located by Gun Harbor.
- State Island
- South Island – Located south of the Wild Forest.
- Van Sickle Island – Located by the outlet of the reservoir.
- Chicken Island
- Rapshaw Island
- Gull Rock
- Hotel Island
- Gull Island
- Canfield Island
References
- ^ "Stillwater Reservoir". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
- ^ "Stillwater Reservoir". dec.ny.gov. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
- ^ Sportsman's Connection (Firm) (2004-01-01), Western Adirondacks New York fishing map guide: includes lakes & streams for the following counties: Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, St. Lawrence., Sportsman's Connection, ISBN 1885010672, OCLC 61449593, retrieved 2017-05-02
- ^ "Stillwater Reservoir, New York 1991-2020 Monthly Normals". Retrieved October 20, 2023.
- ^ "xmACIS". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved October 20, 2023.