Babcock Lake

Babcock Lake is a popular spot in Salemtowne and it's an integral part of the Buckalew Trail. It is used for fishing, feeding duck and geese, feeding a large turtle, watching small turtles sunning on logs, watching the terns and herons that rest on fallen trees on the shoreline, watching spectacular sunrises over the lake and Babcock House in the distance, and just for a pleasant walk in nature.

The lake is manmade and has been a fixture below the Babcock House back lawn for nearly a hundred years. The earthen dam that forms the lake is on the north end of the lake. The lake rests in the valley between the three ridge lines that surround Salemtowne. Rainwater from these ridges flows into either the lake or into the streams that feed the lake. The lake is also fed by University Creek which runs under University Boulevard, down the hill under the Babcock Bridge, and into the lake, and by many small spring-fed streams. The south end of the lake where University Creek enters the lake is slowly being filled with sand that is washed down the hill by University Creek and the area is in danger of becoming a protected wetland so Salemtowne is planning to have the area dredged. 

POINTS OF INTEREST

• • • On the south end of the lake is a small island where geese nest. 

    • The remains of an old pier can be seen at the shoreline of the back lawn of the Babcock House. 

    • At some time in the past, a large aerator in the lake sprayed water into the air but is now inoperable.

    • The large, metal, overflow pipe that extends from the water at the north end of the lake near the dam carries water under the dam and out the discharge pipe at the Dragon Pool.

    • Between the Community Gardens gravel drive and the Fishing Pier on the Buckalew Trail, there is an area near a low point of the shoreline that has large rocks piled down the banks on each side of the trail. During times of extreme rainfall, the lake overflows into this area, runs through a culvert under the trail, and drains down into the Campus Stream.

A Fishing Pier, a Trail Information Kiosk, benches, and a Lakeside Gazebo are located along the northwestern shore of the lake.

Fishing Pier

Trail Information Kiosk

Goose Island

Lakeside Gazebo