Inlet

With kids

The Arrowhead beach-playground-picnic combination is free, which is hard to beat. Tamarack's mini golf and summer movies cover a rainy evening.

As a couple

Rocky Mountain at golden hour, then dinner at The Woods Inn's Overlook dining room (Thu–Mon, book ahead).

Main reasons to visit

• Arrowhead Park — The free town park on Fourth Lake behind Town Hall: lifeguarded beach (10–7 in summer), boardwalk and docks, playground, picnic tables, and the summer concert stage. (Beach staffed roughly Memorial Day–Columbus Day) · Free, including parking
• Rocky Mountain trail — A mile round trip, short and steep, to an open ledge over Fourth Lake — the best effort-to-view ratio on the corridor. Roadside trailhead on NY-28 before the hamlet. · Free

With kids

• Arrowhead Park — The free town park on Fourth Lake behind Town Hall: lifeguarded beach (10–7 in summer), boardwalk and docks, playground, picnic tables, and the summer concert stage. (Beach staffed roughly Memorial Day–Columbus Day) · Free, including parking
• Rocky Mountain trail — A mile round trip, short and steep, to an open ledge over Fourth Lake — the best effort-to-view ratio on the corridor. Roadside trailhead on NY-28 before the hamlet. · Free
• Fern Park — Free four-season recreation area: 20+ miles of hiking and mountain-bike loops in summer; 22 km of free groomed cross-country ski trails (2 km lighted to 10 p.m.), sledding, and an indoor rink in winter. · Free
• Northern Lights Creamery — Seasonal ice cream and homemade gelato in the middle of the hamlet — the standard post-beach, post-hike stop. Noon–10 daily in season. (Summer season) · not fully confirmed — check before going
• Tamarack Cafe & Movie House — Cafe, tiny movie house, and mini golf in one spot. Movies traditionally run July–August — the 2026 schedule isn't posted, so call (315) 357-2001. (Cafe year-round; movies and mini golf in summer) · not fully confirmed — check before going

Outdoors

• Arrowhead Park — The free town park on Fourth Lake behind Town Hall: lifeguarded beach (10–7 in summer), boardwalk and docks, playground, picnic tables, and the summer concert stage. (Beach staffed roughly Memorial Day–Columbus Day) · Free, including parking
• Rocky Mountain trail — A mile round trip, short and steep, to an open ledge over Fourth Lake — the best effort-to-view ratio on the corridor. Roadside trailhead on NY-28 before the hamlet. · Free
• Fern Park — Free four-season recreation area: 20+ miles of hiking and mountain-bike loops in summer; 22 km of free groomed cross-country ski trails (2 km lighted to 10 p.m.), sledding, and an indoor rink in winter. · Free
• Fourth Lake boat launch — Free DEC hard-surface launch on NY-28 for the largest lake in the Fulton Chain; Alger Island's lean-tos sit offshore. (Open-water season) · Free
• Inlet Golf Club — Public 9-hole course with driving range on NY-28; the rebuilt sixth and seventh holes put the full course in play from mid-June 2026. (Roughly June–October) · not fully confirmed — check before going

Food & drink

• Screamen Eagle / Matt's Draft House — The corridor's standard pizza-and-wings stop with a deep craft draft list. Open year-round — a reliable winter refuel too.
• Northern Lights Creamery — Seasonal ice cream and homemade gelato in the middle of the hamlet — the standard post-beach, post-hike stop. Noon–10 daily in season. (Summer season) · not fully confirmed — check before going
• Tamarack Cafe & Movie House — Cafe, tiny movie house, and mini golf in one spot. Movies traditionally run July–August — the 2026 schedule isn't posted, so call (315) 357-2001. (Cafe year-round; movies and mini golf in summer) · not fully confirmed — check before going
• The Woods Inn — Overlook dining room — Dinner with Fourth Lake views in a restored 19th-century lakefront inn, Thu–Mon 5–9. The dressed-up option on this stretch of NY-28; book ahead. · not fully confirmed — check before going

Evenings

• Arrowhead Park — The free town park on Fourth Lake behind Town Hall: lifeguarded beach (10–7 in summer), boardwalk and docks, playground, picnic tables, and the summer concert stage. (Beach staffed roughly Memorial Day–Columbus Day) · Free, including parking
• Screamen Eagle / Matt's Draft House — The corridor's standard pizza-and-wings stop with a deep craft draft list. Open year-round — a reliable winter refuel too.
• Tamarack Cafe & Movie House — Cafe, tiny movie house, and mini golf in one spot. Movies traditionally run July–August — the 2026 schedule isn't posted, so call (315) 357-2001. (Cafe year-round; movies and mini golf in summer) · not fully confirmed — check before going
• The Woods Inn — Overlook dining room — Dinner with Fourth Lake views in a restored 19th-century lakefront inn, Thu–Mon 5–9. The dressed-up option on this stretch of NY-28; book ahead. · not fully confirmed — check before going

Free or low-cost

• Arrowhead Park — The free town park on Fourth Lake behind Town Hall: lifeguarded beach (10–7 in summer), boardwalk and docks, playground, picnic tables, and the summer concert stage. (Beach staffed roughly Memorial Day–Columbus Day) · Free, including parking
• Rocky Mountain trail — A mile round trip, short and steep, to an open ledge over Fourth Lake — the best effort-to-view ratio on the corridor. Roadside trailhead on NY-28 before the hamlet. · Free
• Fern Park — Free four-season recreation area: 20+ miles of hiking and mountain-bike loops in summer; 22 km of free groomed cross-country ski trails (2 km lighted to 10 p.m.), sledding, and an indoor rink in winter. · Free
• Fourth Lake boat launch — Free DEC hard-surface launch on NY-28 for the largest lake in the Fulton Chain; Alger Island's lean-tos sit offshore. (Open-water season) · Free

If it rains

• Screamen Eagle / Matt's Draft House — The corridor's standard pizza-and-wings stop with a deep craft draft list. Open year-round — a reliable winter refuel too.
• Tamarack Cafe & Movie House — Cafe, tiny movie house, and mini golf in one spot. Movies traditionally run July–August — the 2026 schedule isn't posted, so call (315) 357-2001. (Cafe year-round; movies and mini golf in summer) · not fully confirmed — check before going

In winter

• Fern Park — Free four-season recreation area: 20+ miles of hiking and mountain-bike loops in summer; 22 km of free groomed cross-country ski trails (2 km lighted to 10 p.m.), sledding, and an indoor rink in winter. · Free
• Screamen Eagle / Matt's Draft House — The corridor's standard pizza-and-wings stop with a deep craft draft list. Open year-round — a reliable winter refuel too.

• Screamen Eagle / Matt's Draft House — Pizza-and-wings anchor of the Inlet stretch of Route 28 (Pizza, American) · Verified Jul 17, 2026

Getting there

Roughly 1 hour 30 minutes from Utica · 1 hour 40 minutes from Rome · 1 hour 30 minutes from Herkimer (Same road as Old Forge — 10 more miles up NY-28 through Eagle Bay)

Parking

Free public lot at Arrowhead Park/Town Hall — the whole hamlet is walkable from it.

Reservations

Only The Woods Inn really needs a reservation. Everything else is walk-up.

Cost

One of the cheapest outings on this list: the beach, both parks, and the hikes are all free.

Weather

Thin rainy-day cover — Tamarack's movies run July–August only. In a washout, Old Forge's Strand and View are 10 miles back down the road.

Official links

Official site ↗ · Events calendar ↗