Let’s go to the beach in the middle of the state park

For Fourth of July 2017, we decided to try something different - a lake beach in the middle of the park instead of an ocean beach by the shore.

Lake Welch Beach, inside Harriman State Park, is a man-made lake with half-mile-long sandy beach in the wooded hills of the Ramapo Mountains.  Entrance fee is $10/car (cash only) during the swimming season from 8am to 4pm weekdays and 7am to 5pm weekends/holiday. 

We left Manhattan at 8:30am, picked up some food and snack along the way, arrived at the beach parking lot around 10am and it was already packed.  We found a nice spot in front of the foodcourt; pulled out the blankets, umbrellas, some snacks and we were ready to roll!  

We knew it would be crowded, but the level of density that day was worse than usual as the beaches were shut down in NJ due to a budget impasse.  Given the beach's close proximity to NJ, it literally felt like a combination of carnival, block party, and South Beach. 

When it came time to go into the water...it did feel weird at first.  Given we were at a lake, the water was murky and warm.  But you do not need to worry about jellyfish or seaweed.  It was quite cool to look up and see trees and mountains around you.. ⛰ 

We had an inflatable boat with us, but were told that we needed a permit to land the boat.  After hours of relaxing and sunbathing, we say goodbye to the lake beach that provided as with such an unique experience!