Lake Oscawana

Lake Oscawana is located at the heart of Putnam Valley, New York, United States.

The 386 acre lake has a depth that ranges from 25 ft to 30 ft at its deepest. The lake is fed by a stream from its north end and it drains out into Oscawana Creek at the middle of its southeastern shore. It is located between two hill ranges. Oscawana Creek merges into Peekskill Hollow Creek near the intersection of Peekskill Hollow Road and Oscawana Lake Road in Putnam Valley the hamlet of Lake Peekskill.

The lake has a number of houses around its edges, and a peculiar rock formation (Goose rocks) in the center of the lake, accessible most safely by kayak or canoe. Lake Oscawana provides summer recreation, and some local residents use the lake for boating, swimming, and fishing from the lake's several private beaches.

It features a variety of wildlife including fish, Canada geese, water snakes, turtles, and an occasional stork. In the summer it is cleaned regularly by an aquatic weed harvester; however, as of 2020 the harvester was in disrepair, causing significant growth of invasive weeds. Since then, the lake community has addressed mounting issues of cyanobacteria blooms and filamentous algae using grass carp and aquatic herbicides. In the winter, the lake freezes over and allows for ice skating and ice fishing. There are reports of people falling through the ice in warmer winters.

History
Lake Oscawana was said to be named by members of the Wappinger Indian Confederation, and varying spellings of the lake's name were written on tracts of land sold to the Van Cortlandt family in the 1680s. The lake has had a thriving summer resort community surrounding it since the 1850s, around which time the area was accessible by an hour-and-a-half drive from the Peekskill train station.

Celebrity residences
Babe Ruth is known to have spent some time on the lake at the home of his business manager, Christy Walsh. At the time, the lake housed many hotels and resorts. Another former resident was Roy Scheider. Scheider's house, which is still owned by his former wife, was filmed in the Adirondack Lake house scene in The Sopranos episode, "Soprano Home Movies".