Welcome to the Sacandaga Boat Club

In 1895, the first documented feasibility study of creating a Sacandaga Reservoir to control spring flooding was done. Melting snow in the spring would cause the Sacandaga and Hudson Rivers to flood the cities and towns they passed through. Because of the damage that these floods caused, it was determined that something had to be done, and the final idea was to build a dam that would provide a place for the flood waters to be held back in the spring and then let out slowly throughout the year. A general plan was approved to create the Sacandaga Reservoir and to build the Conklingville Dam in the 1920’s. This plan caused 1100 residents and 22 cemeteries to be displaced and relocated.

The Conklingville Dam was constructed during the 1920’s and completed by 1930. On March 27, 1930 the dam gates were shut and the Sacandaga Reservoir was created. The total cost of the construction was $12,000,000.00, of which no federal or state funds were ever used for its design or construction. All necessary costs were paid by businesses that would benefit from the flood control the dam provided.

In 1968, the Sacandaga Reservoir’s name was changed to the Great Sacandaga Lake.

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The Sacandaga Lake has a surface area of 42 square miles, a shoreline of 125 miles, and a water capacity of 37.75 billion cubic feet. It is 29 miles long, with a maximum width of 5 miles. It has an average depth of 40 feet, but is about 65 feet in the narrow channel approaching the dam at Conklingville.