Inlet is the low-key end of the Fulton Chain corridor: a one-street hamlet at the head of Fourth Lake with a free town beach at Arrowhead Park, free trails at Fern Park, and a couple of good places to eat. It rewards people who find Old Forge a little busy in July.
Roughly 1 hour 30 minutes from Utica · 1 hour 40 minutes from Rome · 1 hour 30 minutes from Herkimer
Trip type
Half-day trip or Day trip · Half a day on its own; a natural second half of an Old Forge day
Best season
Summer · Fall · Winter
Best for
couples, families
Arrowhead Park: free lifeguarded beach, docks, and Saturday-evening concerts on the lakefront
Rocky Mountain: a one-mile round trip to an open ledge over Fourth Lake
Fern Park: free trails in summer, free groomed cross-country skiing in winter
Screamen Eagle pizza and a creamery cone on the way out
Who it suits
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).
What to do
Grouped by usefulness, not A–Z
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.
Suggested itineraries
Times assume a Utica start
Old Forge + Inlet in one day
The two hamlets sit 10 miles apart on NY-28, and locals treat them as one corridor. The trick is not overloading it — one anchor activity per town.
9:30 a.m. — Bald Mountain fire tower: The trailhead is mid-corridor, 4.5 miles past Old Forge — hike it on the way in.
11:30 a.m. — Continue to Inlet: Fifteen minutes up NY-28 through Eagle Bay.
Noon — Screamen Eagle pizza: Then Arrowhead Park: beach, docks, and Fourth Lake.
3 p.m. — Northern Lights Creamery cone: Then drift back toward Old Forge.
4 p.m. — Old Forge village hour: Hardware store, Goodsell Museum (free), or an early dinner before the drive home.
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.
