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Ashmere Lake, Massachusetts, USA

Ashmere Lake is a small, quiet lake tucked away in western Massachusetts. The 217-acre lake is surrounded by beautiful rural countryside in the towns of Hinsdale and Peru. Ashmere Lake offers easy accessibility to all of the Berkshires’ attractions, making it the perfect home base for a Berkshire vacation. Actually a manmade reservoir, Ashmere Lake was created in 1875 with a dam built by the Crane Paper…
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    • All About Ashmere Lake, MA

    Lake Locations: USA - US New England Region - Massachusetts - Western Massachusetts -

    Ashmere Lake is a small, quiet lake tucked away in western Massachusetts. The 217-acre lake is surrounded by beautiful rural countryside in the towns of Hinsdale and Peru. Ashmere Lake offers easy accessibility to all of the Berkshires’ attractions, making it the perfect home base for a Berkshire vacation.

    Actually a manmade reservoir, Ashmere Lake was created in 1875 with a dam built by the Crane Paper Company. The earthen embankment dam is at the south end of the lake and extends 1,525 feet long by 32 feet high. In 1979 the dam and lake became the property of the state of Massachusetts, which still controls the lake today. The lake has a maximum depth of 23 feet and an average depth of eight feet and is divided into two basins by route 143. A commercial boat ramp on the southeastern side of the road provides lake access for a fee. Water skiing is permitted on Ashmere Lake. The culvert between the two basins is too narrow for most boat traffic, except canoes, kayaks, and car top boats.

    Because of its shallow depth, Ashmere Lake is a warm water fishery. Anglers can expect to find chain pickerel, yellow perch, black crappie, pumpkinseed, brown bullhead, white suckers and golden shiners. There are also some white perch and northern pike present in the lake. Anglers looking for the lake’s abundant smallmouth bass population should try the deeper south basin. The shallow, weedy northern basin is a great place to try for one of Ashmere Lake’s largemouth bass. In the past, water levels on the lake were drawn down in the winter to help limit aquatic vegetation, causing occasional fish kills. Ashmere Lake, however, still has large populations of fish and is considered a good bass lake.

    Ashmere Lake is in Berkshire County, part of the area affectionately known as the Berkshires. The Mohican Indians were the Berkshires’ original inhabitants with the first English settlers arriving in the early 1700’s. By the 1800’s wealthy city dwellers were building summer cottages and spending the season enjoying the clean air, rolling hills and beautiful water of the region. Today, the Berkshires may be best known for Tanglewood, which since 1937 has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony. There are many cultural opportunities in the Berkshires including concerts, galleries and museums. The region also offers a wide range of outdoor recreation including golf courses and trails for hiking and biking. The Appalachian Trail crosses the county, and in the winter there is skiing nearby.

    With the solitude and charm of a rural setting, Ashmere Lake has everything a visitor could want from a country vacation. Adding to its charm, the lake is close to any amenity a guest might need. Settled in 1763 and incorporated in 1804, Hinsdale has shops, restaurants and a variety of accommodations. Lakefront vacation rentals dot the shoreline of Ashmere Lake, and there is real estate available for sale on the lake and in Hinsdale and Peru. The benefits of a small town getaway combined with easy accessibility make Ashmere Lake a fantastic Berkshires destination.

    Things to Do at Ashmere Lake

    These are some activities in the Ashmere Lake, MA area visitors can enjoy:

    • Vacation Rentals
    • Fishing
    • Boating
    • Canoeing
    • Kayaking
    • Water Skiing
    • Golf
    • Hiking
    • Biking
    • Museum

    What Kind of Fish Are in Ashmere Lake?

    Ashmere Lake has been known to have the following fish species:

    • Bass
    • Black Bass
    • Black Crappie
    • Brown Bullhead
    • Carp
    • Chain Pickerel
    • Crappie
    • Largemouth Bass
    • Northern Pike
    • Perch
    • Pickerel
    • Pike
    • Pumpkinseed
    • Smallmouth Bass
    • Sucker
    • Sunfish
    • White Perch
    • Yellow Perch
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    Find Places to Stay at Ashmere Lake

    If you’re considering a Ashmere Lake lake house rental or hotel, we’ve made it super easy to find the best rates and compare vacation accommodations at a glance. Save time using this interactive map below.

    Note: These are affiliate links and we may earn a small commission if you click and make a purchase. Read our full disclosure policy here.

    More Sites to Book a Ashmere Lake Vacation

    Our interactive Ashmere Lake lodging map above is an easy tool for comparing VRBO rental homes and nearby hotels with Booking.com, but there could be times when you need to expand your search for different types of accommodations. Here are some other lake lodging partners we recommend:

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    Ashmere Lake Statistics & Helpful Links

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    Lake Type: Artificial Reservoir, Dammed

    Water Level Control: State of Massachusetts

    Surface Area: 217 acres

    Normal Elevation (Full Pond): 1,585 feet

    Average Depth: 8 feet

    Maximum Depth: 23 feet

    Water Volume: 2,076 acre-feet

    Completion Year: 1875

    Drainage Area: 5 sq. miles

    Ashmere Lake Map
    Local Weather Forecast
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