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    Onondaga Lake Park

    4.4 (50 reviews)

    Onondaga Lake Park Photos

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    view of the city
    Jessica G.

    There are some great trails here to get a good walk in, especially with your dog. Mostly all the trails are paved and you can ride a bike, push a stroller, or even a wheelchair. There is a playground for the children and recently added pickle ball courts. There is a visitor center and salt museum as well. My biggest gripe is all the trash around the park. There are trash cans but people litter and leave their dog doo on the trails. Other than that there are beautiful views into the City of Syracuse.

    Yuk L.

    Beautiful lake with many great views. A lovely trail that is good for pedestrians, runners, bikers and other forms of wheeled-travel. Now is the season of the Lights on the Lake and I look forward to walking through this soon.

    Julia R.

    I have never been here during the day but driven through it multiple times for the Lights on the Lake event. Looks like they have a nice playground for kids near the parking lot which is a bonus. Lights on the Lake happens every holiday season. It's a drive through holiday light experience with hinders of holiday lights. You prepurchase your tickets online. They do this to guarantee all cars get through the park by 10 PM. You tune your car radio into holiday music & you get to drive thru slowly. My kids love it & we usually stop & do dinner first at a local spot which makes a great evening.

    Jason P.

    Lovely park offering some great views of the lake. Large parking lot with tons of spaces. There may be an entrance fee during the peak season ($8 or so) but there was no fee when I visited there in late September. I noticed some people fishing there, but I am not sure of the permit requirements. There is a large ane well-kept children play area there as well. The park also features a skate park, shuffleboard court, bocce ball court and volleyball court. If you walk further north along the lakeside, there is a marina there. Lots of trails and paths for walking, jogging, running or biking. You can also rent bikes, skates and quad-bikes there as well. I would love to return when the leaves change colors later on in the fall...

    Ohno ndaga
    Fox E.

    Yoko Ono Ndaga Lake Park was a favourite haunt of John Lennon. McCartney reportedly didn't like it here because it wasn't bland enough for him. Definitely one of the prettiest places I've seen in the Syracuse area. Unlike Green Lakes State Park you don't have a pay a fortune to see it, either. This is a stunning park next to a picturesque lake that is one of the most spectacular places in the region to hang out. Just don't tell anyone that the lake is one of the most polluted in the country. Nobody needs to know that. And ignore the factories around the shore. Or better yet just give them the finger. The finger lakes, that is. Speaking of fingering lakes.

    Onondaga Lake Park with kayaking salt museum and beautiful views
    Alex L.

    Onondaga Lake Park; gorgeous views, running trails -- a Salt Museum and a tram that runs here, also home to the Lights on the Lake during the holiday season. Lights on the Lake deserves to be in another review (hint: it would be two stars), so I won't talk about it here, but as a park -- this place is great. With the mountainous looking terrain in the back, you can almost imagine you're in San Francisco (okay...almost, maybe I'm stretching it). There's a shoreline trail where you can run and walk your dog with mile markers up to 3miles. Great place to go running along the water. Running parallel to it, there's another trail where you can bike and roller blade (but dogs are forbidden). Although it's beautiful to come here for a romantic walk or picnic or to meditate by yourself, it's a bit bittersweet if you know the history of this place. It used to be one of the most popular tourist destinations in the US, but as Onondaga Lake is like the second most polluted lake in the US -- you can no longer safely swim here and a lot of that tourism vanished. It's too bad, they've made a lot of effort to clean up the lake, but it still has a long way to go. Extra star will be awarded for when the lake is safely swimmable again. Hopefully in my lifetime.

    Kwi L.

    Great free park where you can walk, run, rollerblade, bike, or walk your dog. They recently renovated the parking lot near the salt museum so it is cleaned up but unfortunately the design of the placement of the curbs and not widening the roads have lead to many a park goer hitting the curbs. So beware that the width of the roads along the curves are tight!!!!!! Overall this is a great well maintained park that extends to the other side. There is a great play ground, baseball field, and skate boarding area. There are also picnic area for people who want to barbecue. They even have bike rentals! With plenty of parking it's a great place to get your work out on or just enjoy nature with no fears of cars whizzing by. If you come in the evening you will witness some great sunsets. Only issue is sometimes when the wind blows once in a while you can get a whiff of the lake.

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Lovely place for a walk. Perfect for dogs. They even have plastic bags to clean up after the pooch!

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    4 years ago

    Interesting place but needs some help to revitalize a once very important geographical place.

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    5 years ago

    Nice park, too bad the water isn't clean enough to swim in, they really need Pickleball courts which would draw a lot of players

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Onondaga Lake Park

    Is it possible to rent a pavilion?

    Yes. You can reserve online at the Onondaga county parks website.

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    Review Highlights - Onondaga Lake Park

    There is also the Salt Museum which goes over the history of the Lake and the region.

    Mentioned in 9 reviews

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    Pratts Falls Park - Stairs up from the falls

    Pratts Falls Park

    4.7(18 reviews)
    15.8 mi

    I visited a couple of weeks ago, back when we had warm-but-not-yet-sweltering weather. This park is…read morea bit of a distance from Syracuse, but worth the drive. It's not too far off from Heritage Hill Brewery, so you can do a two-for and visit both-- however the park is lovely and worth a visit on its own. There's an overlook near the entrance where you can get a glimpse of the waterfall. However, the falls are also within walking distance of the start of the trail. The hill is on a slant and there are steep stairs, so the view may not be accessible for those who have difficulty walking. However, it was so calming just to sit and watch and listening to the waterfall. The day I went, there were others out but the paths didn't feel claustrophobic. I took some time and walked through the woods. The trail I took was relatively short, I think about a half mile total. I appreciated that there was a marker at the start that let you know how long it was. I am by no means a regular hiker (hoping to change that one day!) but this trail wasn't exhausting and was quite serene. This is a great park with a great waterfall and is definitely worth checking out!

    Beatutiful park! The falls are gorgeous! The trail to the falls has several steps, so do noy be…read moresurprised by that. It is a short walk to the lower obvservation deck. It takes some leg power to get back to the top, but it is totally worth the effort! Other trails are flatter, and despite not getting a view of the falls, they are still lovely.

    Photos
    Pratts Falls Park - Clean and large restrooms

    Clean and large restrooms

    Pratts Falls Park - Top of the falls

    Top of the falls

    Pratts Falls Park - Trails, dog friendly on leash

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    Trails, dog friendly on leash

    Onondaga Lake Park - parks - Updated May 2026

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