May 11 - Sodus Point, NY

“A sailor’s joys are as simple as a child’s” —Bernard Moitessier

We took a little road trip on Saturday...we ended up in Sodus Point. The village is on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, straight north of Cayuga Lake. It's a point of land on the northwest edge of Sodus Bay. The name "Sodus" is derived from a native word meaning "Silvery Water." Sodus Bay is six-mile-long and three-mile-wide and is the largest natural harbor on Lake Ontario.

The lakeside community is a popular summer hang out, surrounded on three sides by water. The area has lots of boating options, fruit farms to visit and vineyards for tastings. Today was sunny but very cool, so walking out to the lighthouse and looking at the beach wasn't as nice as it would be in another month. We'll definitely have to come back when it warms up.

Sodus Point Map

The Sodus Bay Lighthouse sits atop a 20 ft bluff, where it has stood for the last 140 years. The beautifully landscaped property offers spectacular vistas of the lake as well as historical markers describing the existing lighthouse and one marking the ground where its predecessor stood. The lighthouse itself is now a museum, exhibiting the maritime history and tourism legacy of the Great Sodus Bay.

This marker shows where the original lighthouse stood.

The pier at Sandy Beach is capped with a light, this is merely a modern beacon (not a house) constructed in 1938 and used for navigating the entrance to the bay. 

Sandy Beach...not too inviting today.

Sodus Bay looking east

The main street in Sodus Point has a lot of restaurants and a few cute shops.

History Lesson:

Sodus Point was first occupied in 1794 by Captain Charles Williamson, an agent for Colonial land investors, Pulteney Estates, with the intention of creating a port settlement. Roads were built from southern settlements in Palmyra and Phelps and the Village of Sodus Point was founded shortly after. “The Point” became the site of a battle in the War of 1812, when British forces besieged and burned the village to the ground on June 19, 1813. The village was quickly rebuilt and continued to prosper as the war ended and the shipping industry began to blossom.

Looking for destinations to entice passengers in the late 1800s rail companies sought out small lakeside villages to build resorts in. The Rochester Railway Company formed a Sodus Bay division and began extending its trolley line out to Sodus along Ridge Rd in 1901. The clear and calm water of the bay with rolling hills and orchard-covered plains, combined with the clean vast expanse of the Lake and an abundance of fish, made this a prime location for budget vacationers. With an influx of weekend passengers from the booming city of Rochester, several resorts, campgrounds and an amusement park sprung up in the point.