Hamlin Beach State Park

The atmosphere here reminds me of summers many years ago that I spent at Charlotte beach when kids used to swim in the lake. Though those times have long gone from Charlotte, Hamlin still attracts a large number of families for summer recreation.
During our most recent trip, we walked the length of the trail. It was a lovely walk with scenic views of Lake Ontario along the way. As a result, there’s only one main trail.
Entrance to Hamlin park is $ 7.00 per vehicle. Parking is plentiful and easily accessible from any of the various zones. There is a nice information center at the park with maps available and campground info. The campgrounds are separated from the main park and appear to require special entrance requirements from general park admission.
Hamlin is organized into zones or a straight horizontal line following the lake. There are many pavilions, picnic tables and restrooms within each area. During peak months, only specific zones allow swimming and are outfitted with lifeguards, so check before going. There is also a snack bar available with ice cream and treats. Be sure to pack your own food and dine at one of the tables when visiting.
Excellent visit! Bring the family along during the summer months.

How can you not give this place five stars? Amazing campground beautiful and large beach with a large amount of recreation area with tables all around top-​notch will come here again!

Had I not ventured into the bathroom by the swimming beach to change, I would have given this place 5 stars.
The snack bar serves surprisingly tasty food at reasonable prices. They just slap pre-​formed burgers on the grill, yet they taste really good, so unlike the awful burgers we had at the overpriced Silo in Lewiston the other week.
There’s some great playground equipment in the grassy area before the sandy beach, including several tall slides and swings. The beach is open and spacious, with several lifeguards on duty. We didn’t have to avoid too many piles of goose poo, nor did we notice any garbage. We didn’t see any garbage cans either, which was weird and a little annoying.
The sand at the top of the beach is a little coarse, but it’s fine and silky at the water’s edge. The sand in the water is full of rocks, and not nice, smooth stones like Olcott Beach. Then again, the water doesn’t have a big algae problem right now either.
Those bathrooms, though…
Apparently all the park fee goes to is upkeep of the beach itself because the lady’s room is foul. I’ve been in the most rustic of outhouses, and they were still nicer than this. I don’t think it gets cleaned. Ever. Cobwebs all over the doorway. Toilet paper and worse on the floor and some of the seats. No shortage of fresh toilet paper, though, so obviously someone who works there has been inside.
Come for a day trip and avoid the bathrooms. I wouldn’t want to camp here unless there’s cleaner facilities elsewhere.

I like to go here due to the nice lakeside scenery in some spots. I am rating this high compared to the other public beaches in the area, keeping in mind that this is a great lakes beach, NOT an ocean side beach like so many other options in the Atlantic and Pacific ocean.
Whether or not you like Hamlin, will be based on what you are looking for. If you are looking for anything besides a quiet beach experience, give Ontario Beach Park or Durand or some other options a try instead. This place does not have much if anything for amenities and is better suited for camping or a get away from the city day trip. I personally like this place best in early spring and late fall when there is less people around and things are quieter (they also don’t always charge in fall/​winter months). If you find a day in that time of year where you make your way out there and there is few to no people around, you will get a very relaxing time to unwind. The times where I have experienced this is the difference between a five and a four.

If you visit this park the night before your exam, it becomes «Cramming Beach State Park.» And if you’re a TV actress, then maybe it’s «Lily Tomlin Beach State Park.» And if you are sick of my reviews, it’s only because I visit «Rambling Beach State Park» a lot.
Hamlin Entertainment used to be all about Steven Spielberg. Then this state park came along, and everything changed forever.
This is a really lovely state park. I’m giving it a 3 instead of a 5 for five reasons.
(1) They charge $ 7 to get in, which I think is too much because this is in the middle of nowhere, and not a very popular tourist destination compared to many similar places. It’s not the kind of place you’d expect to pay $ 7 to get in when there are free beaches in both directions as close as 10 mins away. Charge a couple of dollars if you have to, but 7 is a little annoying.
(2) The guy taking my money gave me a really funny look and clearly wasn’t enjoying being there.
(3) There are a lotttttt of bugs here in the evenings when the sun is going down. Is watching the sunset worth a lot of mosquito bites and hundreds of gnats swarming you? It’s your call.
(4) It’s not very clean, compared to other state parks. Including the water which looks a little chemical-​y.
(5) For a place that is charging you to get in, it’s woefully neglected and looks honestly run down and not a place you’d want to bring a date or kids unless you’re ignoring the land and focusing on the sea.
Despite this negative commentary, it’s still one of the most beautiful parks in the state n terms of the vista alone, with amazing views across Lake Ontario, and on a very clear day you can see Toronto’s skyline to the North West, and Canada across the lake. Just about. If you have excellent eyesight.
I’ve been here 3 or 4 times now. Most recently was just last week, although these days we usually park nearby and walk to the park to avoid the charge. It’s a nice walk so we don’t mind. It just seems unneccessary.
And if you just want to wander around here, then skip it and go to Ambling Beach State Park instead.

This is a beautiful state park along Lake Ontario, near Rochester. It has a small but pretty beach area, nice camping, and well-​maintained facilities that appeared to have been built in 2009. It’s very easy to make reservations online and they allow 1-​night bookings, which some state parks nearby don’t. I camped here for one weekday night during May and it was great. Not crowded, easy to check in and out, and extremely pretty. They have some events like movie nights for if that interests you. Definitely recommend it if you have a reason to camp in the area!

My family and I frequent Hamlin beach because it’s hands down the nicest beach along Lake Ontario in Monroe or Orleans County. It’s cleaner and less crowded than Durand for sure! However it’s still not THAT clean. There is often garbage that has washed up on the beach, I even saw a tampon applicator once on the beach which is pretty disgusting. I wish it was a bit cleaner especially because the parking prices are pretty high. You would think they’d clean the majority garbage off the sand and maintain the parkway better with the money they charge just to park! There is something quite amazing about sitting on the clean parts of the beach listening to the sound of the waves and smelling the lakey scent on the air. There are a lot of trees around too which makes it quite a beautiful site!

Just when my California-​bred self was beginning to drown in all the cornfields, this place was a breath of midly fresh, briney air – despite being a lake, we found a strip of beach (Area 3, I think it was), that still reminded me strongly of Monterey or Shellstone beach in Santa Cruz (out of sight of the boardwalk). The parking lot is really overgrown – you’d think the $ 6 entry fee would go towards repaving it. But past that, there are surprisingly well-​kept buildings and bathrooms, good for birthday parties, and incredibly green park suddenly giving way to a shell-​littered beach, not as rocky as some North Ca beaches I’ve been to, just perfect for laying down a blanket and splashing in the surf.
Still a lake, so the water is dirty, so I wouldn’t suggest swimming, but it seems like a nice quiet spot for a daytrip – which was just what the doctor ordered in our/​my case.

I came here not too long ago after one of Adam’s coworkers suggested it. We figured it is always new to try somewhere else and it would be better than going to Charlotte.
We made the trek there, it was a little too long for my liking but that is okay. There is a fee to get in something like $ 7 or $ 8 so not bad and that is the average NYS park fee to get in.
The beach itself is somewhat small but pretty nice. There are lifeguards if that is important to you and there are areas buoyed showing you where you can swim and where you can’t. I didn’t go into the bathrooms so I am not sure how nice they are but it is nice that they actually have them. There is a lot of green space and there are grills for you to cook.
Overall, it is an okay place to go. Kind of far but better than some of the closer areas. If Adam and I come again, we will be bringing food to cook and making it an entire day event.

All we wanted was a beach, open water, a place to lay down a blanket, and a pleasant vista. We weren’t looking for waves, or the salt-​air smell, or seashells. We weren’t expecting soft-​combed sand and were OK with wearing shoes to protect our feet while splashing around in the water close to shore.
We drove forever to find this place — seemingly the only public land anywhere close to Rochester bordering lake Ontario — and found a wasteland.
Neglected. Barren, concrete-​covered, spiky dead-​grass overrun land. Beaches completely covered with bird guano. Water so slimy and toxic looking that none of us dared stick in a toe.
We wandered around for a little while trying to figure out how to salvage the trip. We failed. We left. We won’t be back.