Galway Lake is located west of Galway (village), New York, in the town of Galway in Saratoga County, New York, USA. It was originally named New Galloway after Galloway in Scotland. When the town was incorporated, however, it was incorrectly recorded as Galway. Although the spelling is the same as Galway, Ireland, it is not pronounced the same.

The lake was first constructed in 1855 to serve as a reservoir for the nearby City of Amsterdam, and was owned by the Amsterdam Water Works Company.[1] Galway Lake was enlarged by the creation of the Galway Lake Dam on North Chuctanunda Creek in Saratoga County, New York, once used to power various mills and industries along the creek,[2] and is now used solely for recreation purposes. Construction of the current Galway Lake Dam was completed in 1982, after the camper association purchased it from the Amsterdam Water Works Company for $1. At normal levels it has a surface area of 564 acres. It is property of Galway Lake Campers Association.[3]

At low levels the Lake is at 550-acre (2.2 km2); also, it currently permits only electric powered or sail boats. Source: Wikipedia