Cross Country Ski into Raquette Falls from Lake Clear Lodge

     Cross Country Ski into Raquette Falls from Lake Clear Lodge

Clearly Bob - Post#19

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The ski trip into Raquette Falls is popular and is  my favorite.  It is just a great ski route.  

I would call it mostly intermediate with one more difficult short downhill with curves that, if necessary, you could walk down the side.  (Not down the middle unless you want to be very unpopular with your fellow skiers who remain on their skis.)   It is a 9 mile round trip mostly on a wide trail (it's a horse trail in the summer) with interesting ups and downs that parallels the Raquette River although not often within sight of it.   

The big payoff comes at the end where you get to enjoy your lunch sitting by an impressive waterfall.  Because of its popularity most often you will find a broken trail unless there was very recent snow.

     To reach the start drive south on route 30 from the Lodge to the junction with route 3.  Turn left on 3 and go  2.7 miles to a right turn onto Coreys Road  marked by a large DEC sign saying “High Peaks via Duck Hole”.   A bridge over Stoney Creek is 2.5 miles in.  

There is a parking area just before the bridge but the last few times I've been there you could cross the bridge and continue driving another ¼ mile or so to the summer parking area on right where the sign in registration box is located and the actual trail begins.   I've heard that Coreys Road will not be plowed all the way to the bridge anymore because the large plows were sometimes unable to turn around due to parked cars.  So far this hasn't been an issue I've experienced but it could add maybe a mile each way to the trip.  Maybe someone other than the  highway department plows is clearing the last section. 

     The trail has numerous ups and downs – some minor, some longer and steeper.  There is a trail junction 2.2 miles in (counting the sign in as mile 0) at Palmer Brook.  The trail straight ahead leads to Caulkins Brook and Shattuck Clearing.  Bear right and cross the brook.   

There is one moderate, short downhill that  often, no matter how good the conditions are on the rest of the trail,  has small exposed rocks.   I can't describe where it is – I just recognize it when I see it.  This is not much help but you're forewarned.  

Near the end there a longer climb to a crest at 3.8 miles after which there is a steep downhill with turns where you will need to exhibit your proficiency at controlling your speed.  Then it is a flat run to the end of the canoe carry around the falls where there are several signs and a interior outpost building up and to the left.   

No one is manning the outpost in the winter so forget your thought about sharing a hot chocolate by the wood stove with the friendly ranger.    To get to the actual falls continue straight on the canoe carry trail for about 100 yards and look for a narrow, not too distinct trail to the right that leads  to the falls.  The narrow trail is a bit tricky and the last little bit where it drops down to the river you'll probably have to side slip your way down.  But definitely go to the falls.  

The trees are completely encrusted with frost and ice from the mist rising from the falls.  It's a scene of cold,  raw winter beauty.      

     

Hays Brook truck trail XC skiing

Our "go to" spot to ski nearby the Lake Clear Lodge is the Hays Brook truck trail.  

Clearly Bob post - #18    FollowBob

It is only about 10 miles north on route 30 and, significantly, it tends to have the best conditions around. It is popular, meaning you may see 10 other people skiing, so most of the time the trail is broken. Obviously that depends on when it snowed last and if it is the weekend or a weekday.   

It seems that often there is an inch or two of new light powder overnight so, if you get there before anyone else,  the skiing is a magical combination of virgin snow and the ease of a tracked trail.  Heaven !  

  There are 2 options here - 

a trail to Grass Pond (3.8 mile round trip) and 

one to the "Sheep Meadow" (7.8 miles RT). 

The latter is definitely the more interesting route. Mostly these trails are novice to intermediate with a few short intermediate pitches to make things interesting. 

To get there drive north on route 30 from the Lodge. 3.8 miles north of Paul Smiths College there is a large DEC sign on the right marking the access road. You can usually drive into the parking lot a couple of tenths of a mile in.  

Ski down the continuation of the road a minute or two to the gate and register up the small hill to the left. 

       From the gate, following the truck trail north, you cross the Osgood River in 1/2 mile. This is the outlet of Osgood Pond and flows into Meacham Lake to the north. Just beyond, the trail to Grass Pond forks right. It climbs a moderate hill and then, mostly on the level, leads to the leanto above the pond. You can poke around the small pond on some short roads but it is not particularly noteworthy. 

        If you are going to the Sheep Meadow, just past the fork to Grass there is a choice. The marked route veers left following what is more of a trail whereas the wider road continues straight. The former has more ups and downs, is narrower, definitely not novice but certainly not difficult, shorter by 3/10th mile, much more interesting, and meets the other route at a "T" intersection. The latter is wider, easier, climbs a long hill and then is essentially flat to a junction (1.2 miles from the gate) where you turn left and eventually descend slightly to meet the other trail coming in from the left. Essentially the first option is the interesting hypotenuse and the second the 2 boring legs of a triangle. 

Let's see - can you guess which one I choose ? My wife likes the other. I still love her. 

       After the two options join up the trail descends in a couple of tenths of a mile to a crossing of Hays Brook, climbs a short steeper pitch and is then mostly level to the 2 leantos and horse barn 2.1 miles from the brook.   (When you return, if you bomb down the hill to Hays Brook, make sure you don't miss the bridge. The water, I can assure you, will be cold.)   The trail does not actually go through the Sheep Meadow.  But it is just a few feet away at one point.  

Before you get to the leantos, just before a long very gradual climb, look to the right through a few evergreens to the beginning of a clearing about 20 feet off the trail. This is the start of a series of interconnected but separate clearings that eventually will bring you to the back of the leantos. 

But it's also easy to fumble around and not find the leantos so if there aren't tracks to follow or if you're not willing to backtrack following your own tracks just look around the unusual open expanse and then get back on the marked trail. 

Alternatively you can poke around the same group of  meadows behind the leantos.

      Once when we were sitting in the leanto enjoying our lunch a couple skied up and we struck up a conversation. I asked where else they liked to ski around the area since I'm always looking for new recommendations. The man said I should really read a particular magazine that has lots of articles about day trips. Turns he was Dick Beamish the founder of the Adirondack Explorer which I already subscribed to and would highly recommend. It is an excellent publication. We all enjoyed the conversation. I didn't ask which legs of the triangle they chose but they seemed to be happily married so I presume they worked it out one way or the other.  

Walking on water - Fun on the Lake Clear ice

Walking on water - fun on the Lake Clear ice 

Clearly Bob post - #17 - Follow Bob

Staying at the Lodge and want to just get out for an uncomplicated quick ski jaunt? 

Just pop out onto the lake and cruise around for a while. 

It's always kind of fun to be out on the ice. (Try it on a cold, windless night when the stars are out. Sometimes you hear the ice cracking with a low other worldly rumble because as it freezes it expands.) 

There are usually some people ice fishing who are more than happy to show you what they caught - or tell you about the big one that got away. 

One beautiful, cold, windless, sunny day we were out on the lake walking with 2 of the grand kids and talked to a 10 year old who had caught a 15 inch trout. I was impressed. This was just after we had fun writing out our names on the surface by shuffling our feet as we walked around in the snow. (I have yet to improve my jumping ability enough to write in anything other than cursive.) 

The other, just out the door, option is skiing or snowshoeing along the railroad tracks. You can go forever. Just be aware that snowmobiles can, and do, go forever too and they go a lot faster.   They are not very good at sneaking up on you however.  

You can do a combo of lake and tracks since there are some places to easily connect the two. 

One nice thing about these two options is you don't have to get into the car. 

And a hot chocolate, or cold beer, will be waiting for you as soon as you step out of your skis.

Lake Clear Lodge FAQ sheet

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* Rooms, Lake side suites and private chalets

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* Lodge, private cabins/chalets, conference center, free trails  on 25 acres

* Just 20 minutes from Lake Placid, 10 minutes from Saranac Lake, 20 minutes from Tupper Lake

* Unlimited year round outdoor activities

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* Adirondack Cooking School - featuring Old World Foods with New Age Flair

website:   www.lodgeonlakeclear.com   info and book online
phone  (518) 891-1489
address:  6319 State Rt 30, Lake Clear, NY  12945

Cross Country Skiing near Lake Clear and Paul Smiths, NY

Cross Country Skiing near Lake Clear and Paul Smiths, NY
Clearly Bob, post #16, Follow Bob

Now that we are into November and all the boats are snug in their winter locations gathering dust I tell myself that this is the time to actually get some things done that I have put off all summer because, as we all know, summer, no matter what the calendar says, is the shortest season. 

But while I'm raking leaves, cleaning windows, or winterizing the lawn mower there are definitely enticing thoughts creeping into my consciousness of the coming winter snow and all the fun opportunities that come with it. Don't you love the change of seasons? Why would anyone move to Florida?

       I primarily like to cross country ski in the back country meaning not at a ski area where you have groomed trails and pay for a ticket. This does not require you being an expert skier at all - pick an easy trail and even a beginner can be comfortable. 

Most of the time the more popular ski routes will already have broken trails. If snow shoeing is your thing you can certainly do that on any of the summer hiking trails I've written about or any of the ski routes in upcoming blogs. My own preference is to snow shoe only if it involves climbing a mountain where skiing, at least for my level of ability, is not a good idea if you want your body to stay in one piece. 

       I've cross country skied in the Lake Clear area for 20 years (and elsewhere for more than I'm willing to quantitate) and here are a few observations. 

Just like with paddling, hiking and climbing, there are many, many nearby choices spanning all levels of difficulty. I haven't run out of new places to experience.  

Snow conditions are usually better than you would think. There have been numerous times we've driven up to Lake Clear expecting conditions to be terrible and, while they certainly were not great, the skiing was actually pretty good. 

There can be no snow at all on the ground around Keene and Keene Valley and we're fine. 

This is especially true if you head just north of the Lodge to the Paul Smiths College area, just 6 miles up route 30. 

The Hays Brook truck trail just north of Paul Smiths seems to have its own stealth snow making machines. The other favorable factor is that there are many trails that have a fairly smooth surface. So if there is not much snow depth skiing will still be fine on these trails because there aren't rocks that need coverage. One example of this would be skiing the ponds and canoe carry trails but, if pond ice is of questionable thickness (and this is something that very important to question), there are other choices. 

There is a very good non commercial, unbiased web site for checking cross country trail conditions in the Lake Placid area - both at commercial ski areas and back country: 

http://www.jackrabbittrail.org/conditions.html       The site almost always mentions the Hays Brook and Fish Pond trails - the latter is located in the St Regis canoe area just south on route 30 from The Lake Clear Lodge.

      Now that you are no doubt incredibly psyched to get up to Lake Clear and start skiing check out the upcoming posts where I'll get more specific about routes. 

Get your kids to rake the leaves - yeah, right !

Bob

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