Canopus Lake Beach (the park often shortens it to Canopus Beach) is the lifeguarded swimming beach on Canopus Lake, inside Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park in northern Putnam County. The park is run by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The lake is a long, narrow reservoir about a mile and a half from end to end and only a few hundred feet across at its widest, sitting at roughly 900 feet in the wooded Hudson Highlands. It exists because the Civilian Conservation Corps dammed Canopus Creek in the 1930s. The beach is a broad strip of sand on the east shore, toward the south end of the lake, a short walk from its parking lot.

The entrance is on NY 301 just west of the Taconic State Parkway, about four miles west of the hamlet of Kent Cliffs and eight miles from Carmel. The park's mailing address is 1498 Route 301, Carmel. There is no public transit, so nearly everyone drives. This is one of the few places in the Hudson Valley where you can swim in a lake at a staffed beach, and on hot weekends the lot fills early in the day. Get there in the morning if you want a spot.

Swimming is allowed only inside the roped areas watched by lifeguards. For the 2026 season the park listed the beach as open weekends and holidays from May 23 to June 15, then daily from June 23 through Labor Day, with the facility open 9:00 am to 6:00 pm and swimming from 10:00 am to 5:45 pm. The shore and the shallows in front of it are sand. Because the lake sits up in the hills, the water can feel cool in early June and is at its most comfortable from mid July into August. Pets are not allowed on the guarded beach (service animals excepted).

The beach is not free in season. New York State Parks charges $10 per car, or $35 per bus, on weekends and holidays from late May and then every day from June 21 through Labor Day. Groups arriving by bus have to book a slot with the park office ahead of time, and buses are not admitted on weekends. Outside those dates there is no gate fee, but there are also no lifeguards and swimming is not permitted. The park's own pages have a few date mismatches between sections, so call the office at (845) 225-7207 if your trip falls near the start or end of the season.

Outside the summer season swimming at Canopus Beach is closed, and it reopens with lifeguards in late May. The park campground is closed for all of 2026 while a new bathhouse is built, so plan on a day trip. There is no swimming anywhere else on the lake.

A concession at the beach rents rowboats and kayaks from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, with the last boat going out at 4:00 pm. Rentals take a $25 cash deposit: one hour costs $10, two hours $20 and three hours $25. The Appalachian Trail follows the west side of the lake, and a spur trail connects it with the beach, so swimmers often pair a swim with a walk to the viewpoint above the north end of the lake. Picnic areas sit near the beach, and Pelton Pond lies just east across the parkway.