Ganoga Lake sits on the plateau above the Ricketts Glen falls and was once the centrepiece of a 19th-century resort. Colonel Robert Ricketts, who owned much of the surrounding mountain, ran a grand hotel here in the 1880s that hosted vacationers fleeing the heat of Philadelphia and New York. The hotel burned down in 1903 and was never rebuilt.
The lake itself is a quiet glacial pool, popular with kayakers and small-boat fishermen. The Clemuel Ricketts Mansion at its eastern end is preserved by the state but rarely open. The shoreline trail is an easy walk; a longer hike from here connects to the top of the Ganoga Falls.