Tag Archive for "Paddling" - The Adirondack Almanack

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Several projects along the Saranac River section of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) will impact access for paddlers and other users this fall. The projects include construction on Casey Road, a dam removal near Indian Rapids, and a fish ladder being installed at Imperial Mills Dam.

“Our community partners have done great work to inform us of the impact these projects will have on users,” said NFCT Stewardship Director Noah Pollock. “We want to be sure that paddlers, anglers and other outdoor recreationists know about this work and adjust their plans accordingly — the goal is to keep people safe and informed. Ultimately, these projects will enhance these sections of the Saranac River and we’re excited to see them come to fruition.” » Continue Reading.

Sunday, August 7, 2022

Schroon Paddle Challenge Established

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Act and Adirondack Water Week in early August, the Schroon Lake Chamber of Commerce, Town of Schroon, Schroon Lake Association and the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism have partnered to create the Schroon Paddle Challenge.

This challenge encourages residents and visitors to undertake excursions on three local waterways that comprise the Schroon Lake watershed: Schroon Lake, the Schroon River to Schroon Lake, and Paradox Lake. Participants can use any type of human-powered vessel such as kayak, canoe or stand-up-paddleboard.

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Adirondack Paddling Symposium returns with new presenters, new host

The Adirondack Paddling Symposium will return this June with new organizers and a new host community.

The Symposium is a comprehensive weekend of paddling instruction for beginners and intermediates, and includes course tracks for kayaks, pack boats, stand-up paddleboards and canoes. The event was put on hold in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic; this year, it will be held June 17-20 in Saranac Lake at the Symposium’s host site, the Hotel Saranac, with water-based activities happening at Lake Flower and Lake Colby.

Originally founded by NRS and hosted by Mountainman Outdoor Supply Company out of Old Forge, this year, it will be presented by the Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) and NRS.

Friday, July 23, 2021

Long Lake/Raquette Lake Hiking and Paddling Challenge

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Long Lake Parks and Recreation has launched a Hiking and Paddling Challenge that includes a variety of outings in the region stretching to Raquette Lake. There are 24 activities on the card with over 50 miles of hiking, 3 mountains, one fire tower, one Adirondack Great Camp and nine paddles enabling participants to achieve a variety of patches.

Monday, June 7, 2021

Celebrate Paddling back after COVID hiatus

The organizers of Celebrate Paddling month are excited to announce that the month-long paddling festival is back.

Nearly all of our 2020 events had to be cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the lack of events and races, people took to the water in droves, as interest in outdoor recreation boomed. Already, local outfitters are seeing this trend carry over into 2021, even as COVID restrictions are lifted.

Celebrate Paddling began in 2016 with the goal of featuring paddlesport events, races, presentations, guided trips, river clean-ups and more in Saranac Lake. Over the years, the event has expanded to include surrounding Tri-Lakes area communities, including Lake Clear and Tupper Lake.

This year, our schedule includes two races — the Tupper Lake 8-Miler on June 26 and the Celebrate Paddling Invitational on June 27 — as well as virtual presentations, river clean-ups on the Saranac and Raquette rivers and guided trips in the St. Regis Canoe Wilderness.

The Tri-Lakes area offers some of the best paddling in all of upstate New York and the Northern Forest. We hope you’ll join us this month at some of our offerings. You can find the schedule and other details at celebratepaddlingadk.com.

Friday, August 7, 2020

What’s on your Adirondack summer bucket list?

by Melissa Hart

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People all over the country are flocking outside during this pandemic summer. And recent top stories from AdirondackExplorer.org and AdirondackAlmanack.com reflect the strangeness of recreating amid Covid-19, I as wrote about in my weekly “Adk News Briefing” e-mail newsletter. (Click here to subscribe to it.)

I’m curious to know what’s on your Adirondack summer “to do” list. Have you tried something new this summer? Have you joined the crowds or ventured into more remote territory? Feel free to leave a comment or share an email: editor@adirondackalmanack.com

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Paddling and Covid-19

by Lorraine Duvall

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I have such gratitude for the Adirondack woods and waters during this Covid-19 pandemic. Paddling my solo canoe is the best. When I’m with friends, we easily keep our social distance as we float on the open waters and maneuver up a stream bed.

Keeping six-feet away from the crowds at canoe access sites this summer is another matter. Often it’s difficult finding a parking spot with enough room to keep clear of others walking around their cars while lifting canoes and kayaks. My friends and I wear our masks, but not all do. Families are relieved that their kids can run around, which they do in the parking lots and beaches that serve as canoe and kayak put-in and take-outs. I stick with water access points that are maintained for use by cartop water craft, rather than launching sites appropriate for motor boats.

Sunday, February 23, 2020

DEC Proposes More Recreation Access In Croghan Tract

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced the release of a draft Recreation Management Plan (RMP) for the Croghan Tract Conservation Easement in Lewis County in the Western Adirondacks.

DEC is now inviting the public to share comments and ask questions about the draft plan at a public meeting and/or to submit comments on the draft RMP during the 30-day public comment period. » Continue Reading.

Monday, February 3, 2020

Plans Afloat For New Ownership of 90-Miler, Other Races

The Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) and the Adirondack Watershed Alliance (AWA) are working towards a transfer of AWA events and activities, including the Adirondack Canoe Classic, to NFCT’s care before the launch of the 2021 paddling season.

AWA, managed by Brian and Grace McDonnell for over two decades, currently coordinates the ‘Round the Mountain Canoe and Kayak Race and the Celebrate Paddling Invitational in Saranac Lake, the Long Lake Long Boat Regatta, and the Adirondack Canoe Classic, known more commonly as the 90-Miler. » Continue Reading.

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Upper Saranac Shoreline Protected Along Canoe Route

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The Adirondack Land Trust purchased five acres of forest along the shore of Upper Saranac Lake to ensure that a mile-long stretch of shoreline between Indian Carry and Indian Point remains forever wild.

The tract features 570 feet of rugged lakeshore edged by boulders and northern white cedars. The Adirondack Land Trust is expected to work with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to transfer the land to the state to close a gap in the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest, which is protected under the “forever wild” clause of New York’s constitution as part of the Adirondack Forest Preserve. » Continue Reading.

Monday, December 23, 2019

The Longest Adirondack Rivers

by Mary Thill

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How many times have we seen the Adirondack mountains ranked by height, the tallest 46 separated into a revered category of their own?

There’s a club and way of life dedicated to hiking the 46, and a Lake Placid restaurant offers 46 different sandwiches named for the peaks.

For a change, today we list the largest streams in the Adirondack region.* » Continue Reading.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Dealing with the Environmental Effects of Flooding

Heavy rain has led to historic flooding in parts of the Adirondacks. Waters are receding, but the clean up and repairs will continue for some time as Adirondackers return to flooded homes and camps. Some will return to flooded outbuildings, destroyed docks and shoreline changes.

Building owners with flooded basements should check for sheens or odors from gasoline, oil or substances that may have leaked from fuel oil storage tanks, furnaces or motorized equipment before pumping out water. » Continue Reading.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Lorraine Duvall: A Visit to Paddle Boreas Ponds

by Lorraine Duvall

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“I’m from Canajoharie, the others from Albany and Catskill,” a women said when I saw her with two friends on Boreas Ponds last week.

“We met through the Facebook page ‘Paddling in the Adirondacks’ and we’ve been going on trips together ever since,” she said, “often driving hours, as we did today.”

These three middle-age women in their colorful kayaks were among the twenty or so paddlers I saw on the a trip to Boreas Ponds on a partly sunny, 60-degree Fall day. » Continue Reading.

Monday, September 30, 2019

Battles Over Boreas Ponds Brought Access to Wild Lands

by Peter Bauer

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Just after Labor Day weekend this year, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) completed its work to fully open up public access to the Boreas Ponds, in the southern High Peaks Wilderness Area. These beautiful ponds are now easily accessible for people to either canoe or to hike.

New state facilities were constructed over the past two years to rehabilitate the six-mile-long Gulf Brook Road, build parking lots, public education kiosks, a canoe carry and canoe launches to make this extraordinary natural wonder fully accessible to the public.

The reconstructed road and new access points opens a new southern gateway to the High Peaks Wilderness Area and makes easily reachable one of the most scenic and visually dramatic areas in the Adirondacks. Paddling through the network of three inter-connected waterways gives one the sensation of paddling through mountaintops. » Continue Reading.

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

90-Miler Adirondack Canoe Classic Results for 2019