The year 2004 marked the first summer that Sandy Island Beach was a state park. Here's how it looked during our visit soon after it opened.

Epilogue: Sandy Pond today

In 1999 Sandy Island Beach became the property of Oswego County, which, by all reports, did a marvelous job of cleaning and combing the beach to create a 13-acre county park that opened in 2000 to great reviews. However, it soon became apparent the county did not have the financial resources to maintain the park, much less make the further improvements that were needed, such as construction of a bath house. After the 2003 summer season, it looked as though Sandy Island Beach might be closed.

But on Oct. 30, 2003, the state came to the rescue. In making the announcement, New York Governor George E. Pataki said, "By opening Sandy Island Beach as a state park, we can provide increased public access to a spectacular shoreline property and expanded recreational opportunities. With this acquisition, we can continue to protect New York's magnificent outdoor heritage for generations of visitors to enjoy. We are committed to further enhancing the park and its facilities for patrons of all ages."

Toward that end the state announced plans to build a $500,000 bath house and concession stand. In the meantime, Sandy Island Beach looked pretty much like it did as an Oswego County park, which is to say that anyone who hasn't visited Sandy Pond in 20 years or so might have difficulty recognizing the place.

Shifting sands

I finally returned in 2004 for a brief visit. It wasn't a happy occasion, though I could appreciate the efforts being made to preserve what remains of a once wild and wonderful beach that was severely damaged by people who couldn't leave well enough alone and by high winds and cruel winters.

Gone is the signature sandhill that stood like beacon at the southern end of the pond, luring visitors to the wide open beach that awaited on the lake side of that hill. As inviting as it was, the hill remained relatively untouched until Sandy Island Beach opened in the early 1950s. After that, traffic on the hill increased significantly, killing many of the plants. After the privately owned Sandy Island Beach closed, the area became fair game for people on dune buggies that tore up the last remaining plants. This made the hill vulnerable to lake winds that within a few years shoved tons of sand into the pond. The state took over that piece of property several years ago, dredged the pond, re-built and re-planted the hill, but this man-made hill is a small version of what attracted visitors 30 years ago. When I drove to the beach in 2004, the hill was all but invisible.

Also gone is the valley that ran between the dunes from the top of the sandhill to the beach. That valley has been filled in with sand which is heavy with protective vegetation. This change, undoubtedly necessary to preserve a barrier between the lake and the pond, has greatly reduced the size of the beach. There is a walkway along the eastern edge of the beach where visitors can view the various plants that were placed there by the state and by Sandy Pond Association members determined to conserve the area. However, visitors are not allowed to stroll the dunes.

Rambling rocks

Another problem is one of nature's making: rocks. During the 40 years that I visited Sandy Pond, the three-plus miles of beach from the parking lot north to the channel was relatively rock free. South of the parking lot? That was another matter. In that direction there was no beach, only millions of smooth, round rocks as far as the eye could see. These rocks (photo, below) come in several colors and sizes and are quite beautiful. Walking on them wasn't fun, but we always made it a point to do just that in order to collect a selection of rocks that we'd take home at the end of each vacation. That was then. Now is another matter. According to the Sandy Island Beach State Park pamphlet, it is illegal to collect anything on state lands – including these rocks. That's a shame because a small pailful of those rocks is the ultimate Sandy Pond souvenir.

Starting in the 1980s, the rocks began piling up more and more to the north, on Sandy Island Beach. Several factors contributed, including the usual suspects – high water and high winds. There were so many rocks on the beach in 2002 that the county had to hustle to haul away several tons of them in order to open the park on time.

During our 2004 visit we noticed the rocks have been pushed a considerable distance to the north, infringing upon a long stretch of beach that 20 years ago was rock free, thanks to the efforts of those who collected and moved them each spring. Apparently that was one of the pre-season duties assigned to those who were hired as lifeguards at Sandy Island Beach in the 1950s and later.

What it comes down to is this:

Sandy Island Beach remains important because it is part of the Eastern Lake Ontario Dune and Wetland Area, a 17-mile stretch of shoreline. The area is considered the only significant freshwater dune site in the northeastern United States. At least three rare or endangered plant species are native to the dunes, while the wetlands support 14 more rare plants. The system supports eight rare animals and eleven significant habitat types.

Visitors are still permitted to walk from the beach to the channel – provided they do it along the waterline and not attempt to climb the sandhills where even more cottages have been built. Trespassers will be prosecuted.

Most Sandy Pond summer residents don't have to walk to the channel. They visit by boat and do their swimming at what is widely (and obviously) known as Boaters Beach, though the official name seems to be Sandy Pond Beach. This beach remained relatively unscathed during the rise and fall of Sandy Island Beach in the 1950s and '60s. However, much of the area between the beach and the pond is now owned by the state and is off limits to visitors. For more information, check out nysgdunes.org.

Meanwhile, back on the pond . . .

There seems to be more life on the pond and finally some good marinas. One of the many people responsible is Mike Carns Sr., who started visiting Sandy Pond in 1968 and became a regular in 1971. "We traveled from Binghamton to the Pond every weekend, April til October," Carns says, "and spent every vacation moment there with the kids, dogs, family, friends, etc."

Carns says in 1989 he decided there was a definite need for a decent marina. "I got into boating in 1973 with an 18-foot open bow and I crossed Lake Ontario many times, going to Kingston (Ontario). As the size of the boats got larger, I wanted a marina that could accomodate them. So we built our first marina."

Carns also took over one of the Sandy Pond mainstays – The Wigman Hotel and Restaurant. "In 1994 I bought the Wigwam after a small fire caused it to be closed. We spent eight months tearing it apart and re-building it, everything first class, to the tune of about $800,000. Today it is a very well known restaurant and probably the best one between Syracuse and Watertown. We also have rooms, two-bedroom suites and cottages, plus a floating marina."

Carns later sold the Wigwam to R. J. Ackerman, who was the owner when my wife and I had lunch there in 2004. I contacted Carns afterward and he told me he continues to rent cottages. He also lives next to the Wigwam in a home he built in 2002 when he and his wife moved to Sandy Pond after 57 years in Binghamton.

"The Pond is a changed place, people buying old camps, tearing them down and building new year-round homes in the $200,000-plus range.

"We started the Sandy Pond Channel Maintenance Association and have raised about $60,000 to be used to open and maintain the channel to the lake. It will be kept dredged down a minimum of eight feet so that large boats may come into our harbor, a move many have been waiting for. I could go on and on . . . I think that if you visit again you will be pleasantly surprised."

(Anyone interested in more information can write to the Wigman at P.O. Box 69, Pulaski, NY 13142 or call (315) 387-3001. Keep in mind this story was written in 2004. Much may have changed since then.)

Speed bumps and safety rules

The Wigwam's restaurant was a pleasant surprise. Based on the meal my wife and I had there, the Wigwam seemed much better than any area restaurant we visited in all the years we vacationed at Sandy Pond.

Big Sandy Pond looked as good as ever and there's no doubt several of the cottages and homes have been improved. However, cottages in our old corner of the pond, along that oil-stained dirt road, were a depressing sight, with one bit of comic relief. The road is deeply rutted – imagine a cow path after a torrential rain – and thus a danger to automobiles at any speed. But because people exiting the front doors of some cottages actually step right out onto the road, the owners have taken an extra precaution: they've added speed bumps. Talk about overkill.

As for the beach, I liked it far better when behavior wasn't governed by rules apparently aimed at the irresponsible and the inconsiderate. Given the history of Sandy Island Beach and the nature of state-run parks, I understand why rules were necessary. I also realize there's no way to tell from looking at people which ones are responsible and considerate, which ones aren't. But I wonder if they didn't go a bit overboard.

In any event, horseplay, however it is defined, is forbidden on the beach or in the water, so are innertubes. So are running dives into the surf, which used to be our favorite way of entering Lake Ontario when the surf was rough. You may swim only in supervised areas that are marked by flags and ropes, which during our visit included six areas, as though six pools – three for wading, three for swimming – had been jammed together at the edge of this vast lake.

One of my cousins seemed perplexed that my recent Syracuse visit included a side trip to Sandy Pond. "What do you want to go there for?" she asked.

For the memories, I said. And because I had entertained the hope of returning there for a vacation someday. But that hope was quickly dashed. As neat and orderly as it may be, the new Sandy Island Beach State Park is precisely the kind of place we used to go to old Sandy Pond to avoid.

I've received emails from folks who have homes or cottages on Sandy Pond and they tell me I'm being far too critical. Those with boats frequent the so-called owner's beach down by the channel. Most of the new rules apply there as well, but it is more private and bears a much stronger resemblance to what I recall of Old Sandy Pond.

Yes, yes, I know. Old Sandy Pond is gone forever. I should get over it. Well, maybe some day I will. In the meantime, the memories remain. As wonderful as ever.

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