Area Streams
Furnace Brook
A small urban trout stream flowing through historic Elmwood Park in Syracuse.
Elmwood Park
A Stream in the City
Furnace Brook is located within the City limits of Syracuse in historic Elmwood Park. The wooded glen follows the brook for nearly one-half mile, with stone mill-building remains, staircases, walls, bridges, and a remarkable diversity of birds, trees, wildlife, and wildflowers.
The brook flows through a stone channel constructed during the Depression. Small weirs and rapids slow the water along its course, creating a remarkably clean waterway that supports aquatic life, trout, and freshwater shrimp.
Fishing Notes
A Compact Trout Fishery
Furnace Brook is stocked each year by Carpenter’s Brook Fish Hatchery with Brook Trout and has earned a reputation among anglers as an excellent trout stream. If you fish it, bring a 3-weight rod and small nymphs such as Hare’s Ear, size 18. Waders are not needed: much of the brook is only about 10 feet wide, so approach quietly and watch for easily spooked fish. The spillway at the beginning of the park forms a larger pool before the brook goes underground and meets Onondaga Creek in the Valley of Syracuse. Spring is a recommended time to visit, when other local streams are washed out.
Help Protect Local Waters
Join the Iroquois Chapter in caring for Central New York’s coldwater fisheries and stream habitat.