The village of Speculator hand launch site on the Sacandaga River is located at the Sacandaga River Community Park in Speculator (the ball field parking area).
Paddlers can access paddle routes on both the Sacandaga River and Kunjamuk River. The Kunjamuk Hand Launch on the Pine Lakes Road provides paddlers direct access to the Kunjamuk River. » Continue Reading.
Whitewater kayaking will be the highlight of Labor Day weekend activities in Colton.
The last two water releases of the summer by Brookfield Renewable Energy for expert-level whitewater kayakers to paddle the Stone Valley section of the Raquette River are scheduled for Saturday, September 2 and Monday, September 4.
The largest turnout is expected Saturday when paddlers will be doing timed runs in the afternoon on the Class 5 section of the river which begins just below the dam in the hamlet of Colton. » Continue Reading.
For the third year, the Blue Mountain Lake Association will be hosting racers of the BluMouLA BuFuRa along the beautiful shores of Blue Mountain, Eagle, and Utowama lakes. This community event pulls together paddlers of all levels and abilities for three races of various lengths. The 14-mile, 7-mile, and a 1.5-mile courses direct participants throughout the bays and channels of the three bodies of water.
According to Blue Mountain Lake Association Race Organizer Andy Coney, the race is open to any canoes, kayaks, guideboats, SUPS and shells. There has even been a war canoe in past events. Registration begins at the Blue Mountain Fire Station on July 30 between 8:30- 10 am with a mass 10:30 am start across the street, at the Blue Mountain Lake town beach. » Continue Reading.
People interested in paddlesports will once again have a full slate of activities to choose from in Saranac Lake during the month of June.
Adirondack Lakes and Trails Outfitters, St. Regis Canoe Outfitters, and the Northern Forest Canoe Trail have teamed up to organize 14 paddlesports events during this month for the second year in a row for “Celebrate Paddling” month. » Continue Reading.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has released the Final Sacandaga Block Conservation Easement Lands Recreation Management Plan (RMP) that identifies management initiatives to increase public access for recreational use on 6,147 acres of easement lands divided between seven tracts in the southern Adirondacks.
In June 2007, Finch, Pruyn and Company, Inc. sold 161,000 acres of land to The Nature Conservancy, which in turn sold the 92,035-acres to Upper Hudson Woodlands ATP and a Conservation Easement to the State of New York in March 2009. The Sacandaga Block Tracts consists of 6,147 acres of those lands in seven tracts: » Continue Reading.
Residents of Manhattan are accustomed to seeing a somewhat polluted mile-wide Hudson dotted with commuter ferries and cruise ships. Here in the North Country, we see a different face of the Hudson. During spring, as the river swells with crystal-clear snow melt and April showers, the Upper Hudson has some of the best whitewater runs in the East.
Each year since 1958, the Hudson River Whitewater Derby is held on the first full weekend of May from North River to Riparius. This year’s event, on May 6-7, will mark its 60th anniversary, making it one of the oldest continuously run whitewater events in the country. » Continue Reading.
Last month, Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) staff and volunteers spent a day replacing bog bridging and repairing a pedestrian bridge on the Indian Carry, a portage that connects Stony Creek Ponds to Upper Saranac Lake. The improved path helps deter trail widening and makes carrying canoes and kayaks safer.
Six volunteers removed a deteriorating bridge and replaced it with 60 feet of boardwalk. Lumber and materials where provided by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. The Adirondack Land Trust, which was instrumental in conserving this property and constructing the portage trail in the 1980s, provided funding for this project. » Continue Reading.
About 600 paddlers will hit the waters between Old Forge and Saranac Lake this weekend in the 34th annual Adirondack Canoe Classic. The event starts Friday morning at 8 a.m. on Old Forge Pond and finishes up Sunday afternoon on Lake Flower. This year’s event has attracted about 250 teams, which will be paddling canoes, kayaks, and SUPs and rowing guideboats.
The 90-Miler is organized by Brian and Grace McDonnell, who run Mac’s Canoe Livery and Adirondack Watershed Alliance in Lake Clear. The couple has run the race for 18 years.
A large portion of this year’s participants will be in the non-competitive open touring class, which consists of people looking simply to finish the course and not compete with the racers. However, the class is often full of people with interesting stories. For instance, Tom and Theresa Standing, who are from the Old Forge area and paddling a tandem canoe, will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary this weekend. » Continue Reading.
Whitewater kayaking at Stone Valley is a highlight of Labor Day weekend activities in the Town of Colton. The last two water releases of the summer by Brookfield Renewable Energy for expert-level whitewater kayakers to paddle the Stone Valley section of the Raquette River are scheduled for Saturday, September 3 and Monday, September 5. The largest turnout is expected Saturday when paddlers will be doing timed runs in the afternoon on the Class 5 section of the river which begins just below the dam in the hamlet of Colton.
Spectators can expect to see expert kayakers who come from places within the eastern United States and Canada for the predictable and challenging conditions at Stone Valley on release days. They paddle the river at their own risk and on release days they usually get going by 10 am when the water is at the full release level. Beforehand paddlers will hike the trails to check conditions of the river. » Continue Reading.
The acquisitions of former Finch, Pruyn lands have created a plethora of paddling opportunities ranging from whitewater dashes to pristine lakes and ponds.
A group of paddling enthusiasts, brought together by the magic of an internet forum, took my suggestions and joined me to paddle the outflow of the Essex Chain Lakes, or more simply, the Chain Drain.
We booked campsites at nearby Lake Harris for the sake of convenience and the size of our group. Groups of us began trickling in to the campsite on a Friday, the first day of the 2016 camping season at Lake Harris campground. All were greeted by warm, sunny skies and a multitude of black flies.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents in the Adirondacks. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people from the Adirondack backcountry.
What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers in the Adirondacks. » Continue Reading.
John Connelly became the first Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) thru-paddler this season when he reached Fort Kent, Maine on Tuesday, May 24. He left Old Forge on April 16th, on the first leg of a 1,500-mile journey that combines the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT), the Maine Island Trail, and the waterways that connect them.
Founded in 2000 and officially opened in 2006, the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail consists of 22 rivers and streams, 58 lakes and ponds and 63 portages that stretch from Old Forge to Fort Kent, winding through Vermont, Québec and New Hampshire. The trail follows traditional travel routes used by Native Americans, early settlers and guides. It is one of the longest inland water trails in the United States. » Continue Reading.
A long standing tradition for Long Lakers is the Long Lake Regatta, recently renamed the Paddling Olympics, a day filled with fun competition that is fit for the whole family. It isn’t prizes that has families coming back, but the bragging rights and tradition of just being able to say they crossed the finish line.
According to Alexandra Roalsvig, Director of Long Lake Parks, Recreation and Tourism, the Long Lake Regatta started some 50 years ago when the area was filled with more summer camps and it morphed into the current event known as the Paddling Olympics. » Continue Reading.
The nonprofit that founded and organizes the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (and shares its name) is celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2015.
The longest canoe trail in the nation, the 740-mile Northern Forest Canoe Trail starts in Old Forge and ends in Fort Kent, Maine. It goes through Vermont, Québec, and New Hampshire following Native American travel routes.
The organization was founded when Vermonters Kay Henry and Rob Center, former owners of the Mad River Canoe company, first heard the idea of the trail from a group of paddlers researching the route. They loved the idea of the adventure, but were compelled by a larger vision. “We knew that the region had been through decades of decline in the forest products industries that had been the economic driver for generations,” Henry said. “We saw this trail as a means to help support the development of nature-based tourism across the North Country and an opportunity to diversify the economy.” » Continue Reading.
A state appeals court has narrowly upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against Adirondack Explorer Editor Phil Brown after he paddled through private land in 2009.
The Third Department of the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court, located in Albany, handed down the 3-2 decision on Thursday morning. It affirmed a 2013 ruling by State Supreme Court Justice Richard T. Aulisi supporting the public’s right to travel down an isolated, two-mile waterway that connects two pieces of the William C. Whitney Wilderness. » Continue Reading.
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