The Sunset Area

Introduction

The Sunset area was the Lake's first settled area, and also the first area developed for tourism. It was originally called Inlet because of a small winding stream entering the Lake at this point. Inlet, however, is a misnomer since the Lake is principally fed by springs welling from the bottom of the Lake.  The original Inlet area was a large shallow basin.  Bennet’s Path reached the area before 1800, and the Worthingtons settled near Inlet in 1806.  But the area was generally undeveloped until 1855 when the Rhoads Hotel was opened.  At this time a long wooden bridge across the Inlet basin led to a crude road over the mountain to Outlet Mills.