Mahopac

Mahopac is a hamlet in the greater town of Carmel, NY in Putnam County. It is a well-populated area for a hamlet and is steadily growing. Part of that is due to it having a fair amount of slightly, and I mean slightly more affordable, housing options including single family dwellings, condos, townhouses and apartments and access to a gorgeous lake.

Mahopac has a fair share of notable restaurants in the area including The Terrace Club Restaurant which has two outdoor terraces right on stunning Lake Mahopac and a dining room interior reminiscent of a 1940’s supper club, Dish Bistro & Wine Bar which has received numerous media accolades for its warm atmosphere and outstanding food, the more casual and family friendly Four Brothers Restaurant & Pizza, Holy Smoke Restaurant with its amazing beer & bourbon list and sinfully good fall off the bone ribs, 151 Grill and Bar with its range of fabulous BBQ and classic American comfort foods, Marco’s Restaurant known for its excellent ever-changing menu of steak, seafood and wild game, Frankie’s Waffles & Burgers, Bamboo Village, bliss, Ramiro’s 954, Rick’s Seafood, Sea Chic, Route 6 Bistrant, Amatos, Anthony’s Deli & Catering, Ariano’s Trattoria, Arturo’s Tavern, Bucci Brother’s Deli and McDonalds amongst quite a few others.

Shopping and services in Mahopac include Kmart, Dress Barn, Trimmings Interiors, Rita’s Cleaning, CVS, Mahopac Flower Shop, Aljan Jewelers, Yellow Shed Antiques, Eagle Eye Two Thrift Shop, La Sposa Bridal Shoppe, Hrh Boutique, Mahopac Launderaid, Carol’s Boutique and Victoria Gift Shop, Sacred Heart Gifts & Apparel, Jumpin Jeepers, Hulya’s Tailoring, Brothers Connections and Gifts, Advance Auto Parts, Mandee Shop, Caterina’s Boutique, Game Fix, Card Smart, redbox amongst quite a few others. Parent town of Carmel also has a RiteAid and a Dollar World.

For grocery shopping, you can head on over to the Grand Union, Mrs. Green’s Natural Market, Longshot Foodmart, and Putnam Wine & Liquor. Carmel has a Shoprite and an A&P.

Putnam Valley Arts Council, located in the newly reconstructed Bella Levine Arts Center, is a treasure of a local resource which promotes the visual, performing and literary arts. They host revolving exhibitions, art in public spaces, workshops, a summer arts program, various concerts, theatre performances and other various events.

The area is also home to some lovely parks. Chamber Park is a stunning waterfront park located on the gorgeous 587-acre Lake Mahopac. It has a fountain, a gazebo, benches, a playground and walking paths. You can boat and jet ski on the Lake, as well, and it is a very popular warm weather destination. Putnam County Memorial Veteran Park is a 200-acre park with a lake for swimming and ice skating and some great hiking trails. The 32-acre Sycamore Park has a large beach, four tennis courts, a playing field, a playground, a picnic area, a paddle ball/hand ball court and concessions. Jimmy McDonough Memorial Park has three playing fields, a skate park, concessions and restrooms. There is also a dog park called Sycamore Bark Park. Chuang Yen Monastery is nearby as well and boasts the largest Buddha statue in all of the U.S. and Europe in addition to having lovely grounds for walking and communing with nature.

Putnam National Golf Club in Mahopac is a public 18-hole championship course that is considered an absolute gem and of great value. Carmel is also home to the Centennial Golf Club which is a professional 27-acre golf course. There is also the Carmel Fitness and Racquet Club which houses a pool, tennis courts and racquetball courts.

Mahopac is in close proximity to the Putnam Hospital Center.

Mahopac is quite safe and the crime rate is relatively low.

Mahopac students are a part of the Mahopac Central School District which is pretty good. They also have excellent sports teams.

The median household income is $86,592.

The population of Mahopac is approximately 8,675.

The hamlet of Mahopac has a long history, starting even before the colonization of America by the Dutch when it was inhabited by the Wappinger tribe.

Although it is technically a hamlet within the town of Carmel, Mahopac has steadily grown to an impressive size and now offers a wide variety of options for residents, regarding both where to live and where to shop. The hamlet is, in fact, the most populated part of Carmel. Mahopac covers about 6.5 square miles, of which 1 full square mile is water. The largest of the lakes contained in Mahopac is the town's namesake - Lake Mahopac. The majority of the development in Mahopac is centralized around this lake with smaller communities, each with their own amenities and feel, popping up around the other lakes.

There are several camps and activity centers scattered around Mahopac that encourage a tight sense of community, as well as off supplementary education and do a wonderful job of encouraging the arts. Art shows, displaying work by local artists in several mediums, are a common occurrence. There is also a large and beautiful library near the center of the hamlet. Several excellent restaurants cater to a number of tastes. The one problem, that leads to many others, is that all of this activity and business is clumped together along the length of Route 6. So no matter where you want to go in Mahopac, or even if you're just traveling through it, you have to battle with the constant traffic. There are no other major highways that run through Mahopac, forcing residents to either travel into Lake Carmel to catch I-84 or to head down into Yorktown to use the Taconic or Bear Mountain Parkways. Living in Mahopac, especially close to any of the lakes, can be very expensive compared to other parts of Putnam or even within the town of Carmel.

Even with the difficult commute, the large concentration of businesses in or around Mahopac translates to many employment opportunities - just allow for traffic. Mahopac is a perfect place for active families but may not be worth the price for younger singles who value nightlife.

Mahopac is a six and a half square mile hamlet within the less-developed, slower-paced Town of Carmel in Putnam County. Though surrounded by woods, lakes, and parks, Mahopac has many stores and restaurants, and is located along the busy and often congested Route 6. Of course, I am writing from Garrison, where six cars traveling on a road at the same time is called a “traffic jam,” so those moving from lower Westchester or Manhattan may wonder what all the fuss is about. Locals, however, do consider the traffic a problem and the result of overbuilding, and try to avoid Route 6 during problem hours.

Lake Mahopac covers 587 acres, and motorboats and jetskis are allowed here, which is a rarity. It has two marinas and contains three islands: Canopus, which is undeveloped, Petre, with its single Frank Lloyd Wright-designed residence, and Fairy, which has a handful of homes and is linked to the mainland by a causeway. There are eight other lakes, all lovely and scenic.

There are single family homes (median price $414,000) as well as condos and townhouses, so there is a wider array of housing options than in some of the surrounding towns. Mahopac has an abundance of restaurants, and some larger stores (CVS, Kmart) as well as shops right in town. The Jefferson Valley Mall is only ten minutes away, with a movie theater as well as stores.

Between Carmel and Mahopac (and the smaller Mahopac Falls) there are nine parks, offering winding trails for lakeside rambles, sports facilities, jungle gyms, an extreme skate park, a Bark Park, and the 150-seat Long Pond Showcase Theater. Golfers can use the public Putnam Golf Club or join the private Mahopac Golf Club.

There are six schools in the Mahopac Central School District: the Falls School (kindergarten), Lakeview, Fulmar Road, and Austin Road Schools (first through fifth), Mahopac Middle School (sixth through eighth) and Mahopac High School. All are very well regarded, with nearly all graduates college-bound.

The town’s new 33,000-square foot library is an incredible resource, with conference rooms, a law library, and an active events calendar. The Putnam Arts Council offers programs and exhibits, for and by all ages. History buffs will enjoy the Carmel Society Museum in the Old Town Hall.

There is not much racial diversity, and there’s no Metro-North station, so city commuters must drive the eight minutes to the Croton Falls Station. There's definitely a traffic issue. But residents enjoy the outdoorsy suburbia and good schools of Mahopac, and for small town/small boating enthusiasts, it’s a find.

Mahopac, not surprisingly, means “Great Lake” in Algonquin language, regarding the lake of its namesake, named by the Native Americans who once lived here. Mahopac later became a station for grinding grain and flour through its mills, which were made useful to many Revolutionary War soldiers who were passing through on their way to major battles.

Later, Mahopac was a summer resort for city people wanting to get away to the peace and quiet of country living. It remained so until WWII, when it became more known for a residential area and Jewish summer camp (located on one of the nearby islands on Lake Mahopac). Since then, it has continued to thrive as a lakeside town, as there are many other lakes in addition to Mahopac, with beautiful beaches and lovely wooded areas. Carmel also resides on the West Branch Reservoir, which is beautiful in its own right and can be accessed by car when crossing a bridge (it’s a wonderful scenic route).

Today, people come to Mahopac for the fine restaurants (Thai Golden is a personal favorite---try their fried calamari--yum!) and you can’t go wrong with Four Brothers Pizzeria for the whole family; fair housing prices (median is $414,000); stellar school system (95.58% go on to college), and an expansive, gigantic Buddhist temple (Chaung Yen Monastery) which houses one of the biggest indoor Buddhas in the entire world.

Mahopac School District really cares about where its students are headed. There’s extra effort to prepare for colleges and there’s many different extra-curricular activities. Technology is used extensively in the daily curriculum and is top-notch, state-of-the-art equipment. The Reed Memorial Library in the hamelet’s greater town of Carmel offers easy-access to the Internet, has great lake views (Carmel’s Lake Gilead), and even a law library for professionals to explore.

If you’re looking to travel, take the Beeline buses from Putnam Plaza to Brewster Train station, which is about an hour from NYC.

If you’re looking to shop, you’ll find a KMart, a ShopRite, a RadioShack, and a cozy Starbucks that still has (last time I checked) the old fashioned purple cushy chairs.

Mahopac is a fun place to live if you like being near water and nature, (try Shore Park for great picnicking and playgrounds), and wish to be a part of a friendly, caring community where your entire family will feel at home.

Sometimes I like to think of Mahopac as Carmel's better half. A combination of local and commercial business provides residents with a variety of things to do and of the towns in Putnam County, it's the one that consistently resembles a more urban lifestyle. Don't let the buzzing hamlet fool you though. Lake Mahopac offers beautiful views to the lakeside communities that surround its crisp blue waters. Mahopac Falls is more subdued compared with its hamlet counterpart so there are opportunities to avoid the busyness of the Route 6 corridor. Unlike Lake Carmel, Mahopac allows motorboats and jet skis because of its size. It's almost incomparable to anywhere else in Putnam County during the summer and it's a wonderful daytime destinations for families, groups of teenagers, young professionals and older couples. Any given summer day you can see people out on the water inner tubing, water skiing and swimming.

As a Carmel High School graduate, I was always somewhat envious of the Mahopac School District's facilities with its up-to-date high school and beautifully manicured sports fields. Anyone I ever talked to really appreciated their education through the school system and from the way everything looks just on the outside I can understand why. The Mahopac Public Library is unlike anything else in the area with three floors of books, computers and study areas overlooking Lake Mahopac. It provides a regular calendar with yoga, computer classes and other educational programs.
Mahopac has a great mix of local and commercial enterprise which makes it easy to find most of what you want and need right in town. If I want to switch things up, I often head to Mahopac Route 6 begins with a bunch of local businesses like cafes, flower shops and restaurants. As it draws closer to Westchester County, big box stores like Stop 'N Shop are more common.

One of the downsides to Mahopac is that it's not located near a major strip of highway and with the amount of construction that takes place on the Taconic State Parkway, it makes more sense to drive north first when trying to access Westchester County or New York City. Route 6 also presents its own set of obstacles as a one lane road. Traffic gets pretty dicey especially around the end of the school day and it takes a decent amount of time to maneuver to Carmel or Mohegan Lake.