St Regis Canoe Area Skiing
Just down the road from
The Lake Clear Lodge
When waterways are
in their liquid form the St Regis Canoe Area is a paddling mecca. Its numerous
small and medium size ponds, linked by
portage trails ranging from a literal stone's throw to over a mile, beckon the
intrepid paddler.
But there is a good reason to
visit New York's only dedicated wilderness canoe area in the winter also. The
cross country skiing here is great.
You can ski loops from a few
miles in length to an 11 mile round trip. Some trails are very flat but there
are challenging hills to be found if you want. You can ski land only based
trails or, more preferably, do a combination of ponds and canoe carries. The
carry trails tend to be smooth so they don't need a lot of snow plus this
area's snow is very reliable so it is often skiable when others are not. Snow conditions on the ponds will likely be
different than the woods. Broken paths
don't stay broken for long as the tracks fill in quickly with wind blown snow.
Check out the conditions on Lake
Clear before you head out. If you are going
to venture anywhere other than an out and back trip, where you retrace your
route, a good map is a necessity. If
you've read my paddling blogs you know that I get a handsome monetary kickback
- oops! I mean I highly recommend the
Adirondack Paddlers Map. (Available at EMS in Lake Placid and St Regis Canoe
Outfitters in Saranac Lake.)
Finally, the ski conditions web
site I mentioned in the introductory
blog to cross country skiing very often mentions the Fish Pond truck trail
which is the main artery of the area.
Here's the link:
http://www.jackrabbittrail.org/conditions.html
This is the first of 2
posts about skiing in this area. All of
the trips in this post start at the same spot which is on short loop road off
route 30 that goes through the state fish hatchery. To get there drive south on
30 from the Lodge about 2 ½ miles and turn right into the fish hatchery. This
is the first right turn after Conley Road. About ½ mile along this road is a
DEC sign for Fish Pond that marks the start of an unplowed dirt road where you
can park. There will often be others parked there as this is a popular area.
Ski a couple hundred yards down the road to the railroad
tracks where there are signs related to the campsites on Little Green
Pond. From this point I’ll describe a few
options. Take a look at the map and you can figure out more.
The simplest choice is to just ski down
the road to the left paralleling the railroad tracks. In 0.7 miles
turn right, still on a broad road, where the road straight seems to
end and find the gate and trail register a minute or two after the
turn. This is the beginning of the well-used and therefore most
likely broken truck trail that goes all the way to Fish
Pond. But that is 5 miles away. You can
go as far as you want and then turn around and retrace your
tracks. The trail is level for the first mile or so followed by a
long climb and long descent.
A much more interesting option is to ski a
loop. Here’s the shortest and none of it is skiing on the
ice. You basically ski a loop around Little Green Pond. From the railroad tracks goes straight on the
road instead of turning left as described above. In 100 yards keep left at the
fork. (The right fork leads to the parking lot and a large
beach put in for Little Clear Pond.) You’ll see turnoffs to
the left for campsites on Little Green Pond. Ten minutes from the
tracks, Little Clear will be close on the right and there
is a parking lot on the left next to Little Green. Continue skiing
straight, go through the gate, now
on a trail. You’ll see Little Green close by again
and climb a gradual rise at the top of which there is a 90 degree
left turn. Just after the turn the trail parallels the trunk of a large downed
tree. This part of the trail is not marked on the map. There is one very short moderate climb,
followed by a crossing trail (right to Bone Pond, left to Little
Green) and then the trail is level all the way to its junction with
the truck trail where there is a sign high on a tree in front of you indicating
Fish Pond is to the right. Turn left, in 5-10
minutes go through the gate, and then continue to the railroad tracks in a
minute where a left turn will bring you back to the beginning of the
loop. This whole loop should take about an hour or less.
A longer 6 ½ mile loop gets you out skiing
on Little Clear and St Regis Ponds. An interesting sight often found
along the shores of lakes and ponds where softwoods
predominate is a distinct horizontal line below which there is
no green and above which the trees appear normal. The cause of this
is deer standing on the ice eating the vegetation. They can only reach
up so far, hence the line. The route starts out same as
the loop trip around Little Green above
but take the right fork through the parking lot and down to the put in
on Little Clear Pond. Look at your map. You’re heading
for the canoe carry to St Regis Pond at the northwest corner of Little
Clear. Angle slightly left from the put in heading for the 2
islands. Past the islands ski parallel to the western (or left)
shore, go around a large point, and head almost directly west to the far
shore. Look for the white canoe carry to St Regis Pond sign on a
tree. The carry is about ½ mile long. (About half way
along the trail there is another trail to the left which leads, in
about a mile, to the often mentioned truck trail where a left turn will bring
you back to a junction with the Little
Green Pond loop described above. This would make a shorter loop.) When you
get to St Regis Pond, you first ski out a narrow marshy area. Then,
once out on the open lake, head toward the point far away along the left or
south shore. St Regis Pond is particularly beautiful with its islands and bays
all dominated by the hulking nearby presence of St Regis
Mt. There is a leanto at the point – an obvious spot to take a
break. I’ve winter camped at this leanto several time once arriving
in the dark after a exceedingly difficult slog through the deep heavy pond snow
pulling sleds. Not fun.
After the leanto head down the bay to the far western end of the
lake where there is a small dam. (It's also possible to continue
skiing the canoe carry trails to Ochre, Mud and, finally, Fish Ponds but this
would make for a very long day trip and the trails have some sections that are
much more difficult.) To the left of
the dam find the trail which heads back in 0.2 miles to the truck
trail. Turn left to complete the loop. (If you want a
longer trip turn right to head toward Fish Pond.) The
wide truck trail climbs for about ½ mile and then you get to enjoy a long ¼
mile moderate descent before the trail levels out. About 2 miles
from the point where the spur trail from St Regis Pond joins the truck trail
there is a junction with a trail to the left.
This is the other end of the short cut mentioned above that starts on
the carry trail between Little Clear and St Regis Ponds. Continuing straight, in about 1/3 mile there
is another trail on the left. This is
the intersection with the loop route around Little Green Pond described in the
paragraph above where it meets the truck trail.
There is a sign high on a tree to your right indicating Fish Pond is
behind you. You can either go straight
and follow the route as described above or turn left and follow it in the
reverse direction.
I'll describe a few more options in the
St Regis Canoe area in the next post. Take
a look at your best friend, the map, and you can probably figure out some
routes on your own too. What a great
place!St Regis Canoe Area Skiing
When waterways are
in their liquid form the St Regis Canoe Area is a paddling mecca. Its numerous
small and medium size ponds, linked by
portage trails ranging from a literal stone's throw to over a mile, beckon the
intrepid paddler.
But there is a good reason to
visit New York's only dedicated wilderness canoe area in the winter also. The
cross country skiing here is great.
You can ski loops from a few
miles in length to an 11 mile round trip. Some trails are very flat but there
are challenging hills to be found if you want. You can ski land only based
trails or, more preferably, do a combination of ponds and canoe carries. The
carry trails tend to be smooth so they don't need a lot of snow plus this
area's snow is very reliable so it is often skiable when others are not. Snow conditions on the ponds will likely be
different than the woods. Broken paths
don't stay broken for long as the tracks fill in quickly with wind blown snow.
Check out the conditions on Lake
Clear before you head out. If you are going
to venture anywhere other than an out and back trip, where you retrace your
route, a good map is a necessity. If
you've read my paddling blogs you know that I get a handsome monetary kickback
- oops! I mean I highly recommend the
Adirondack Paddlers Map. (Available at EMS in Lake Placid and St Regis Canoe
Outfitters in Saranac Lake.)
Finally, the ski conditions web
site I mentioned in the introductory
blog to cross country skiing very often mentions the Fish Pond truck trail
which is the main artery of the area.
Here's the link:
http://www.jackrabbittrail.org/conditions.html
This is the first of 2
posts about skiing in this area. All of
the trips in this post start at the same spot which is on short loop road off
route 30 that goes through the state fish hatchery. To get there drive south on
30 from the Lodge about 2 ½ miles and turn right into the fish hatchery. This
is the first right turn after Conley Road. About ½ mile along this road is a
DEC sign for Fish Pond that marks the start of an unplowed dirt road where you
can park. There will often be others parked there as this is a popular area.
Ski a couple hundred yards down the road to the railroad
tracks where there are signs related to the campsites on Little Green
Pond. From this point I’ll describe a few
options. Take a look at the map and you can figure out more.
The simplest choice is to just ski down
the road to the left paralleling the railroad tracks. In 0.7 miles
turn right, still on a broad road, where the road straight seems to
end and find the gate and trail register a minute or two after the
turn. This is the beginning of the well-used and therefore most
likely broken truck trail that goes all the way to Fish
Pond. But that is 5 miles away. You can
go as far as you want and then turn around and retrace your
tracks. The trail is level for the first mile or so followed by a
long climb and long descent.
A much more interesting option is to ski a
loop. Here’s the shortest and none of it is skiing on the
ice. You basically ski a loop around Little Green Pond. From the railroad tracks goes straight on the
road instead of turning left as described above. In 100 yards keep left at the
fork. (The right fork leads to the parking lot and a large
beach put in for Little Clear Pond.) You’ll see turnoffs to
the left for campsites on Little Green Pond. Ten minutes from the
tracks, Little Clear will be close on the right and there
is a parking lot on the left next to Little Green. Continue skiing
straight, go through the gate, now
on a trail. You’ll see Little Green close by again
and climb a gradual rise at the top of which there is a 90 degree
left turn. Just after the turn the trail parallels the trunk of a large downed
tree. This part of the trail is not marked on the map. There is one very short moderate climb,
followed by a crossing trail (right to Bone Pond, left to Little
Green) and then the trail is level all the way to its junction with
the truck trail where there is a sign high on a tree in front of you indicating
Fish Pond is to the right. Turn left, in 5-10
minutes go through the gate, and then continue to the railroad tracks in a
minute where a left turn will bring you back to the beginning of the
loop. This whole loop should take about an hour or less.
A longer 6 ½ mile loop gets you out skiing
on Little Clear and St Regis Ponds. An interesting sight often found
along the shores of lakes and ponds where softwoods
predominate is a distinct horizontal line below which there is
no green and above which the trees appear normal. The cause of this
is deer standing on the ice eating the vegetation. They can only reach
up so far, hence the line. The route starts out same as
the loop trip around Little Green above
but take the right fork through the parking lot and down to the put in
on Little Clear Pond. Look at your map. You’re heading
for the canoe carry to St Regis Pond at the northwest corner of Little
Clear. Angle slightly left from the put in heading for the 2
islands. Past the islands ski parallel to the western (or left)
shore, go around a large point, and head almost directly west to the far
shore. Look for the white canoe carry to St Regis Pond sign on a
tree. The carry is about ½ mile long. (About half way
along the trail there is another trail to the left which leads, in
about a mile, to the often mentioned truck trail where a left turn will bring
you back to a junction with the Little
Green Pond loop described above. This would make a shorter loop.) When you
get to St Regis Pond, you first ski out a narrow marshy area. Then,
once out on the open lake, head toward the point far away along the left or
south shore. St Regis Pond is particularly beautiful with its islands and bays
all dominated by the hulking nearby presence of St Regis
Mt. There is a leanto at the point – an obvious spot to take a
break. I’ve winter camped at this leanto several time once arriving
in the dark after a exceedingly difficult slog through the deep heavy pond snow
pulling sleds. Not fun.
After the leanto head down the bay to the far western end of the
lake where there is a small dam. (It's also possible to continue
skiing the canoe carry trails to Ochre, Mud and, finally, Fish Ponds but this
would make for a very long day trip and the trails have some sections that are
much more difficult.) To the left of
the dam find the trail which heads back in 0.2 miles to the truck
trail. Turn left to complete the loop. (If you want a
longer trip turn right to head toward Fish Pond.) The
wide truck trail climbs for about ½ mile and then you get to enjoy a long ¼
mile moderate descent before the trail levels out. About 2 miles
from the point where the spur trail from St Regis Pond joins the truck trail
there is a junction with a trail to the left.
This is the other end of the short cut mentioned above that starts on
the carry trail between Little Clear and St Regis Ponds. Continuing straight, in about 1/3 mile there
is another trail on the left. This is
the intersection with the loop route around Little Green Pond described in the
paragraph above where it meets the truck trail.
There is a sign high on a tree to your right indicating Fish Pond is
behind you. You can either go straight
and follow the route as described above or turn left and follow it in the
reverse direction.
I'll describe a few more options in the
St Regis Canoe area in the next post. Take
a look at your best friend, the map, and you can probably figure out some
routes on your own too. What a great
place!
