The town of Woodstock public beach is a popular place to gather on a hot summer day. While the people enjoying Mirror Lake appreciate the clean, clear water and the gravel-sand lake bottom, they have a limited understanding of how the lake ‘works’ as an aquatic ecosystem. In fact, the beach is an important player in the hydrology of the lake –but more about that later.

When you look across the lake at the wooded hill slopes you may be surprised to know that the forest you see has been cut-over at least 3 times in the past 200 years, and much of the lower area was actually cow and sheep pasture.