Honeoye Inlet Wildlife Management Area

Open for Recreation: Year-round
Fee: Free
Contact Information:
- DEC Region 8 Avon Office (M-F, 8:30AM - 4:45PM), (585) 226-5380; region8@dec.ny.gov
- Search, rescue, wildfire, and enforcement matters: 911- or - 1-833-NYS-RANGERS (1-833-697-7264)
  A local Forest Ranger is a valuable source of information for the state land you would like to visit.
Location: Towns of Canadice, Naples, Richmond and South Bristol, Ontario County; Town of Springwater, Livingston County
Wildlife Management Unit: 8N
Map: Honeoye Inlet WMA Map (PDF) || Google Earth || DECinfo Locator

The primary purposes of Honeoye Inlet Wildlife Management Area (WMA) are for wildlife management, wildlife habitat management, and wildlife-dependent recreation. This WMA is a 2,637-acre parcel located in southern Ontario County, occupying the valley at the south end of Honeoye Lake. Habitat types include an extensive silver maple-ash swamp on the valley floor, steep wooded hillsides, and open grasslands on the valley floor to the south. A dug channel, serving as the main inlet to Honeoye Lake, runs the length of the wooded swamp from south to north, and is a popular destination for a variety of recreational activities.

Featured Activities

Hiking

General information on hiking includes how-to and safety tips and links to rules and regulations.

Please stay on the designated trails to protect the diversity and richness of the plant communities found within this area.

Hunting & Trapping

Wildlife Management Unit: 8N

General information on hunting and general information on trapping include how-to and safety tips with links to seasons, rules, and regulations.

Most game species and major furbearers are present on the Honeoye Inlet WMA. Please be sure to abide by all game laws (view hunting seasons and trapping seasons).

Fishing

General information on fishing includes how-to and safety tips and links to seasons, rules, and regulations.

The Inlet is accessible via the south end of Honeoye Lake, and makes a wonderful day trip, but paddlers should be prepared to carry around beaver dams which may exist. The Honeoye Lake Boat Launch State Park (leaves DEC website) at the end of the lake on the east side is close to the mouth of the inlet and is a convenient place to park a vehicle.

Special regulations apply to Honeoye Lake. The dug channel (Honeoye Inlet) offers limited fishing opportunities, including wild brook, brown, and rainbow trout. The lagoon at the mouth of Honeoye Inlet would hold most fish species present in the lake including bass, panfish, and walleye.

Wildlife

General information on animals includes links to information about birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and insects that inhabit or migrate through the state

The area offers a variety of game and non-game wildlife, including:

white-tailed deer
wild turkey
grey squirrel
waterfowl
furbearers
grassland birds
raptors
amphibians

River otter, now common residents in the channel and swamp, are the product of a successful reintroduction project in the 1990s and early 2000s. A glimpse of a river otter or otter family is a real possibility in the Inlet. Use both the Wildlife Management Area Vertebrate Checklist (PDF) and Wildlife Management Area Bird Checklist (PDF) as wildlife viewing guides.

Directions

To find the Honeoye Inlet WMA, take County Road 37 north from Naples for approximately 6 miles. From the north, take County Road 37 south from Honeoye for approximately 7 miles. There are five maintained parking lots on the Honeoye Inlet WMA.

All Google links leave DEC website.

Northern County Road 36 Parking Lot: 6 vehicles (42.6891°N, 77.500041°W) - Get Google Map Driving Directions
Middle County Road 36 Parking Lot: 12 vehicles (42.670924°N, 77.491734°W) - Get Google Map Driving Directions
Southern County Road 36 Parking Lot: 8 vehicles (42.667198°N, 77.489391°W) - Get Google Map Driving Directions
Northern East Lake Road Parking Lot: 4 vehicles (42.719303°N, 77.500619°W) - Get Google Map Driving Directions
Southern East Lake Road Parking Lot: 6 vehicles (42.678932°N, 77.487996°W) - Get Google Map Driving Directions
East Lake Road: park in the Honeoye Lake Boat Launch State Park parking lot (42.725738°N, 77.507129°W) - Get Google Map Driving Directions
To the Inlet from the south: park on East Lake Road and walk west along the edge of the woods to the Inlet. Follow the Inlet north a few hundred yards until it becomes navigable water (42.687934°N, 77.48696°W) - Get Google Map Driving Directions

All coordinates provided are in decimal degrees using NAD83/WGS84 datum.

Rules, Regulations and Outdoor Safety

Practice Leave No Trace Principles (leaves DEC website) when recreating on state land to enjoy the outdoors responsibly; minimize impact on the natural resources and avoid conflicts with other users.

All users of Honeoye Inlet Wildlife Management Area must follow all Wildlife Management Area Regulations and should follow all Outdoor Safety Practices for the safety of the user and protection of the resource.

Activity Rules & Regulations

Wildlife Management Area Regulations (PDF) - updated in 2022
Hunting Regulations
Trapping Regulations
Fishing Regulations

Outdoor Safety Tips

NOTE: Ticks are active whenever temperatures are above freezing, but especially so in the late spring and early fall. Deer ticks can transmit Lyme and several other diseases. More information on deer ticks and Lyme disease can be obtained from the NYS Department of Health (leaves DEC website).

How We Manage Honeoye Inlet Wildlife Management Area

Like most of the state's Wildlife Management Areas, Honeoye Inlet WMA is managed by DEC's Division of Fish and Wildlife for wildlife conservation and wildlife-associated recreation (hunting, trapping, wildlife viewing, and photography). Funding to maintain and manage this site is provided by the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration or "Pittman-Robertson" Act, which is acquired through excise taxes on sporting arms, ammunition, and archery equipment.

Honeoye Inlet WMA is managed for a wide diversity of wildlife species and for all wildlife-related recreation enjoyed by the public. View the Habitat Management Plan for Honeoye Inlet Wildlife Management Area (PDF), approved in October 2019, which identifies the WMA-specific target species and habitat goals for the WMA.

DEC manages these lands in accordance with the management activities described in the Northern Finger Lakes Unit Management Plan. In addition to management objectives, the UMP contains detailed information on natural features, recreational infrastructure, geology, natural and human history, habitats, wildlife, fisheries, and much more. If you have questions and/or comments about this UMP, please email us at r8.ump@dec.ny.gov.

Nearby State Lands, Facilities, Amenities & Other Information

Web links below can provide information about other recreation, attractions, and amenities in this area.

Ontario County Finger Lakes Visitors Connection (leaves DEC website)

The nearest villages are Honeoye and Naples. The nearest city is Canandaigua, NY. Gas, groceries, and dining may be found in these areas. Lodging may be found in Canandaigua. Several private campgrounds may be found within 15 miles.

State Lands and Facilities

Numerous guide books and maps are available with information on the lands, waters, trails, and other recreational facilities in this area. These can be purchased at most outdoor equipment retailers, bookstores, and on-line booksellers.

Additional information, outdoor equipment, trip suggestions, and guided or self-guided tours may be obtained from outdoor guide and outfitting businesses. Check area chambers of commerce, telephone directories, or search the internet for listings.

Consider hiring an outdoor guide if you have little experience or woodland skills. See the NYS Outdoor Guides Association (leaves DEC website) for information on outdoor guides.

Department of Environmental Conservation