New England Paddler
Scargo Lake
Scargo Lake
Last Updated: 3/2023
Scargo Lake - Boat Ramp
Position: 41°44.64'N 70°11.09'W
Boat Launch:
Boat Launch:
There are three town landings, all of which are suitable for launching light draft boats and canoes. Two are accessible via dirt roads immediately off Route 6A on the western side, and the remaining one on the northern cove can be reached from an unnamed road off the intersection of Route 6A and Sesuit Neck Road. A 7.5 horsepower limit on outboard motors is enforced by the town.
Access is between two houses. The area is paved with room for 4 to 6 vehicles. The boat ramp is suitable for small trailers and car top boats.
Nearest Launch Address:
Town Landing, Dennis, MA 02638
Scargo Lake - Conservation Land
Position: 41°44.72'N 70°10.77'W
Boat Launch:
Boat Launch:
Park roadside and carry your car top boat down to the water.
Nearest Launch Address: (2 address for this road)
45 Dr Lord's Road S, Dennis, MA 02638 or
45 Studio Way, Dennis, MA 02638
Description
Scargo Lake, also known as Scargo Pond, is a natural kettlehole pond. The bottom is composed of sand and rubble. Aquatic vegetation is scarce. The shoreline are moderately developed with beaches and permanent residences. The pond has an outlet to Sesuit Creek and Cape Cod Bay during high water periods. The terminal moraine of the glaciers retreat lies to the south, forming Scargo Hill, and resulted in numerous boulders on the southeast shoreline.
Princess Beach
Princess Beach is a small beach with a great view of the lush surroundings. A roped-off swim area and lifeguards create a safe environment for young children to play, and a playground gives them more options for fun.
Scargo Lake - Princess Beach
Position: 41°44.53'N 70°10.82'W
Boat Launch:
Boat Launch:
Access is on a wooded parcel of conservation land. The beach requires a town sticker in the summer. Parking is for the beach. Launch only car top boats.
Nearest Launch Address:
200 Scargo Hill Road, Dennis, MA 02638
Legends about the formation of Scargo Lake
There are many Native American Legends about the formation of Scargo Lake, and all are some variant of a tale of Princess Scargo. One story is that a man from another tribe brought the princess four fish, and he promised to return before the fish returned. The princess was said to have had a small pond dug to keep the fish in, but woke one morning to find that the pond had dried up, and all but one fish had died. Her tears kept the last fish alive until her father dug a lake for it. The boundary of this lake was determined by where four arrows of a tribesman landed. Once the lake was complete, the fish survived, and the man from the other tribe fulfilled his promise to return to the princess.
More commonly heard is the story of a princess who was given three fish in a pumpkin by a young brave going off to war. He was gone so long that the fish began to outgrow the pumpkin. She then had the women of the village dig out the pond with clam shells so the fish could survive. The dirt the women dug out became Scargo Hill. Today it is the highest hill in the mid-Cape area.
Another legend is very similar, but she dug a hole in the ground (considered by many to be fish-shaped). The dirt from the hole was said to become the 160-foot Scargo Hill, and that the hole filled up with water from the heavy autumn rains, which also drowned the princess. She was seen as a sacrifice, and the reason the lake is well stocked with fish.[4] Another says that an Indian named Maushop dug out the pond, and then lit his pipe. The smoke from the pipe attracted dark clouds from which rain fell and filled the pond.
STATISTICS
Skill Level: Flat water
Estimated Time: 1 hour
Perimeter: 1.3 miles
USGS Maps: Dennis, MA
USGS Maps: Dennis, MA
Physical Features
- Area: 54 acres
- Max depth: 48 feet
- Average Depth: 25 feet
- Transparency: 16 feet (Good)
- Terrain Type: Beach, Private Homes around the entire pond.
- Altitude: 5 feet
Fish Population
- Last survey: July 25, 1994
- 9 species: banded killifish, white perch, smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed, alewife, brook trout, and American eel. It is annually stocked in the spring and fall with brook, brown and rainbow trout.
Management History:
A 1911 survey of Scargo Lake reported the fish population as yellow perch, white perch, and chain pickerel as well as having been stocked with smallmouth bass. Scargo Lake has been stocked with brook, brown and/or rainbow trout since at least 1934. The pond was also stocked with Chinook salmon, white perch and yellow perch in the 1930s. The 1948 biological survey of Cape Cod ponds reported white perch, yellow perch, rainbow trout, brown trout, chain pickerel, pumpkinseeds and banded killifish. This pond was reclaimed for trout management in 1956. American eels dominated the fishery at that time. The lake was reclaimed again in 1961. White perch, eels and killifish made up the majority of species recovered. Adult smallmouth bass broodstock were stocked in 1980.
A 1911 survey of Scargo Lake reported the fish population as yellow perch, white perch, and chain pickerel as well as having been stocked with smallmouth bass. Scargo Lake has been stocked with brook, brown and/or rainbow trout since at least 1934. The pond was also stocked with Chinook salmon, white perch and yellow perch in the 1930s. The 1948 biological survey of Cape Cod ponds reported white perch, yellow perch, rainbow trout, brown trout, chain pickerel, pumpkinseeds and banded killifish. This pond was reclaimed for trout management in 1956. American eels dominated the fishery at that time. The lake was reclaimed again in 1961. White perch, eels and killifish made up the majority of species recovered. Adult smallmouth bass broodstock were stocked in 1980.
Fishing
Scargo Lake is managed primarily as a trout pond and is stocked in the spring and fall with brook, brown and rainbow trout. It regularly produces some nice holdover trout. Trolling or casting colorful streamers near the surface in early spring or late fall offers an excellent chance to bag a holdover. Recently stocked trout can be taken on all the usual cast spinners and small spoons, as well as for worms or doughbaits. A wide shelf of shallow water offers easy wading and access to deeper water for the angler equipped with chest waders. This shelf makes Scargo Lake a popular pond for fly fishing.
