Skip to content
Bowman Lake State Park, Oxford, NY

Photo: javajoe6, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

Sports & Outdoors

Bowman Lake State Park

A forested New York state park with a lakefront, campsites, rustic cabins, and winter trails for snowmobiles and skiers.

745 Bliven Sherman Road, Oxford, NY 13830 · Oxford, NY

About Bowman Lake State Park

Bowman Lake State Park lies in Chenango County in central New York, in the Town of McDonough near East McDonough. The official park page describes it as a remote, wooded retreat with winding park roads through evergreen and hardwood forest. Visitors can reach shady campsites, a sandy lakeshore with nearby picnic areas, and a nature center. The lake is stocked with trout, and birders can look for a long list of bird species. Rustic cabins without electricity or water, except one cabin, offer a middle ground between tent camping and a cabin stay. In winter, snowmobilers and cross-country skiers use a network of designated trails, and the park also has a nine-hole disc golf course. Acreage figures differ between the park page and Wikipedia.

  • #state park
  • #camping
  • #lake
  • #trout fishing
  • #birdwatching

Printable maps

What's around here?

The closest stops to Bowman Lake State Park, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Museums

    Picker Art Gallery

    No admission fee

    Colgate University's on-campus art museum in Hamilton, New York, holding roughly 11,000 objects.

    Transit: reachable by public transit

    22 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors

    Highland Forest

    Check prices

    A large county-run forest in Onondaga County with extensive trails for riding, skiing, biking, and hiking.

    25 mi awayMore like this

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Chittenango Falls State Park

    Under $25

    Look down on a 167-foot waterfall, then follow the gorge trail to the footbridge at its base and climb back up the other side.

    33 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Oneida Community Mansion House

    Under $25

    Tour the 93,000-square-foot brick home of the Oneida Community, a 19th-century utopian group, and hear how it turned into a silverware company.

    38 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Museums

    Onondaga Historical Association

    Under $25

    Private nonprofit history center covering Onondaga County and Central New York, with museums, a research center, and a gift gallery.

    43 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sports & Outdoors
    Outdoor Adventure

    Verona Beach State Park

    Under $25

    Swim off a long sandy beach on the eastern shore of Oneida Lake, camp near the water and walk wooded trails that stay open all year.

    46 mi awayMore like this

Near Bowman Lake State Park

More of the same kind

Keep exploring