Silver Lake Park

The park today

Silver Lake is a small sand beach and designated swimming area on the Croton River itself: the river runs off the New Croton Dam, through Silver Lake and out to the Hudson, and the constant flow keeps the water notably cool and clean. Lifeguards staff the marked swimming area during operating hours in season, and a pavilion area nearby serves picnickers. The parking lot is at the foot of Truesdale Drive, and paddlers also use it as a put-in for the lower river.

Entry is limited to Village of Croton-on-Hudson residents and Croton-Harmon school district residents with a current Croton Recreation Photo ID, paying a daily fee or holding a seasonal swim permit; guests must be accompanied by a resident. Outside the swim season the beach is unstaffed and swimming is not permitted. The village closes Silver Lake (along with Mayo's Landing downstream) when dam releases or storm flows make the current dangerous, including scheduled high-flow periods such as dam inspections.

History

Swimming at this bend of the Croton River predates the park. In the 1930s bathers favored "Diana's Pool," a deeper stretch on the far side of today's rock jetty; a 1935 newspaper counted more than 200 bathers preferring "the shaded river valley and smaller pools" to the county's beaches. The riverfront belonged to playwright Margaret Mayo and the Harmon Realty Company, who by 1934 had banned parking along Truesdale Drive over bather misconduct. In fall 1936 Miss Mayo proposed that the village take over access and liability, and the village purchased the property. In May 1938 the Village Board hired a lifeguard, installed sanitary facilities and parking, and the beach formally opened on July 1, 1938 — residents only, at $1 per family per season, with guests at ten cents.

The postwar beach added slides, picnic tables, horseshoe courts, swim meets, diving boards and a three-lifeguard staff. In August 1956 New York City released a large volume of water from the base of the New Croton Dam without warning, and the river at Silver Lake rose five feet in five minutes — a near-catastrophe that still frames how the village treats the river's dam-driven currents. After a 1960–61 debate over replacing the river beach with a pool, the village instead built a $35,000 dam at Silver Lake, completed in November 1961, to hold the swimming area; erosion forced a roughly $200,000 reconstruction of that dam in 2010–2011.

Silver Lake remains the only place in Croton-on-Hudson where swimming is permitted, and only when lifeguards are on duty. In recent years the village has repeatedly closed the beach when conditions demanded it — a 2019 closure after fecal coliform counts exceeded swimming standards, and closures in July 2023 when heavy rain and reservoir flow made the current dangerous.

Season, hours and fees (2026)

The 2026 season opens for preview days June 13–14 and June 19–21, then runs daily from June 26 through the end of the season (village materials list August 31–September 1), 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM, weather and staffing permitting.

Daily fees (village residents): adult (21+) $9, after 5 PM $6; child (4+) $5, after 5 PM $3. Daily fees (school-district residents and guests): adult $14, after 5 PM $10; child $10, after 5 PM $5.

2026 seasonal swim permits (village / school-district): family $275 / $410; adult $115 / $220; child $80 / $165; senior 62+ $50 / $100. Permits are issued as stickers on a current Croton Recreation Photo ID through the Recreation Department.

River closures

Because the swimming area is on a dam-controlled river, the village closes Silver Lake when flows rise: after heavy rain, during releases from the Croton Reservoir, and during announced high-flow events such as New Croton Dam inspections. The beach has also closed for water quality, as in 2019 when samples near Mayo's Landing exceeded fecal coliform limits for swimming.

Visiting

Hours

Swim season only, 11 AM–7 PM daily. 2026: preview days June 13–14 and 19–21, then daily from June 26 (weather, staffing and river conditions permitting). Closed off-season.

Fees

Residents daily: adult $9, child (4+) $5 (less after 5 PM). School-district residents/guests daily: adult $14, child $10. 2026 season permits from $50 (village senior) to $410 (school-district family). Croton Recreation Photo ID required; guests must be accompanied by a resident.

Parking

Parking lot at the end of Truesdale Drive (198 Truesdale Drive).

Getting there

Via Truesdale Drive to its riverside end at the Silver Lake lot, on the village side of the Croton River.

Rules

Open to Croton village and school-district residents only, with a current Croton Recreation Photo ID; guests must be accompanied by a resident. Swimming is allowed only in the designated area when lifeguards are on duty — this is the only legal swimming spot in the village. Alcohol is prohibited (Village Code ch. 72). The park closes during high river flow.

Accessibility

Links

• Silver Lake — Village of Croton-on-Hudson
• 2026 Silver Lake Park / Swimming (season details and fees)
• Silver Lake, Croton's Hidden Gem — Croton Friends of History