AURELIUS — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently announced the completion of $450,000 in upgrades to the Mud Lock boat launch located at the north end of Cayuga Lake in the town of Aurelius in Cayuga County. Funding for the project came from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s Adventure NY initiative to […]
AURELIUS — The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently announced the completion of $450,000 in upgrades to the Mud Lock boat launch located at the north end of Cayuga Lake in the town of Aurelius in Cayuga County.
Funding for the project came from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s Adventure NY initiative to “connect more New Yorkers with nature,” according to a DEC news release.
The site upgrades will reduce congestion and improve the safety of boaters using the site to launch and retrieve boats, the department contends. Enhancements include:
• Construction of a new concrete launch ramp and floating boarding docks to allow launching under lower lake levels;
• Redesign and paving of the launch access and boat preparation area to seek to make launching safer and more efficient; and
• Paving and striping of the parking lot to accommodate 21 vehicles with trailers and seven single vehicles, including accessible parking.
“The north end of Cayuga Lake offers a diverse array of scenery, wildlife, and fish for outdoor enthusiasts to explore, observe, and pursue,” DEC Region 7 Director Matthew Marko said in the release. “The recent improvements to Mud Lock will provide a safer and more convenient launching experience for all visitors.”
Cayuga Lake is the second largest of the 11 Finger Lakes and offers an abundance of largemouth bass, chain pickerel, northern pike, crappie, yellow perch, sunfish, gar, and bowfin, per the DEC.
The launch will remain open late into the season for use by waterfowl hunters. The DEC operates the launch in conjunction with the Town of Aurelius and New York State Canal Corporation. It is located off Route 90 on River Road — three miles north of the village of Cayuga, and near the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge.
The Adventure NY initiative is supporting 75 projects over three years with “many more to come, ranging from improvements to youth camps and environmental education centers to new boat launches, duck blinds, and hiking trails,” the DEC said.