Boating, Fishing, and Travel Information for Chautauqua Lake-Bemus Point, NY

There are two popular boating “hang outs” near the north-south mid-point of the lake; “Sandy Bottom” (shallow anchorage), and Long Point State Park (deep anchorage). On busy, summer weekends, it is not uncommon to see nearly 100 boats in this area of the lake.
Bemus Point offers several options for public dockage with access to several restaurants and shopping. There is also private dockage for patrons of two waterfront restaurants.
Navigation:
The lake is approximately 17 miles long and 2 miles wide at its greatest width. The surface area is approximately 13,000 acres. The maximum depth is about 78 feet.
While the lake has a similar geologic structure (a very long, narrow valley) to the Finger Lakes to the east, it is not considered one of the Finger Lakes.
There is one bridge that connects the opposite sides of the lake. The Veterans Memorial Bridge (also known as the Chautauqua Lake Bridge) was completed on October 30, 1982 and joins Bemus Point to Stow on I-86 (at the time known as Route 17). Prior to the construction of the bridge the only means for cars to cross the lake was facilitated by a ferry, which still operates during the summer months as tourist attraction.