About the Town of Sand Lake

Nestled in the southwestern corner of Rensselaer County, New York, Sand Lake is a proud community in New York's Capital District Region, a 15 minute drive from downtown Albany.  With a population of just over 10,000, the Town of Sand Lake enjoys a comfortable, community feel among the residents of the three hamlets of Averill Park, Sand Lake and West Sand Lake. Route 43 is the current and historical backbone of the municipality.

The Town of Sand Lake was formed in 1812. A part of Rensselaer County in eastern NY, the town is close to Troy and Albany, yet not far from the Berkshires in Massachusetts. The western part of town is undulating while the eastern part is mountainous. Earliest settlers were the Dutch then the Germans arrived in the 1750s. The town is blessed with many lakes and has a rural character. Early industry centered there and along Wynant's "Kill" or creek. Later the town drew many summer residents and tourists. Today the town is best known for its many wonderful and diverse restaurants.

The Hamlets

Though all the hamlets within a few miles of each other, West Sand Lake is the largest and most densely developed. It is at the crossroads of two state highways. The west edge of the hamlet is the oldest, with homes dating back to the early 1800s. Currently, it houses the town’s main retail area, including a grocery, pharmacy, banks, post office and several other shops and service businesses. The hamlet also contains the elementary school, a fire house with a small museum and two churches. Within and adjacent to the hamlet are long-established residential neighborhoods.

Averill Park is the next largest hamlet, located to the east of West Sand Lake. This area is characterized by small shops, a restaurant, and a pharmacy within an historic structure of the mid 1800s on our main street, There are also two churches in the hamlet. The Averill Park High School is also located here and newer neighborhoods have grown off in many directions.

The hamlet of Sand Lake is the smallest in the town. This hamlet, also at a crossroads, contains the Sand Lake Center for the Arts, yet another post office, Town Hall, and an elementary school. In addition there is a convenience store, a hardware store, a tavern and a new mercantile shop. Residential lots surrounding the hamlet are more rural and widely spaced than in the other two hamlets and the east end is the most historically intact with mainly stately homes. A former blacksmith shop now houses a tavern. Sand Lake Union Cemetery is located here, and a beloved civil war horse, Moscow, is buried near his owner.