We have been experiencing some cold nights. Some days the highs were in the 20s. I swung by Lower Canopus Lake in Fahnestock State Park when travelling nearby and saw these two ice fishing.
They were quite a distance away. This image was taken with a zoom lens and is heavily cropped. On a side note, the Appalachian Trail runs through this park, not far from where I took this image.
Some enjoy the cold weather, others tend to hibernate indoors. Whatever you do, have a great Friday!
I read somewhere this lake was private, but I found a state operated fishing access boat launch. This means you can kayak here.
This launch has a parking lot across from a gas station store off of route 3 in Star Lake, NY. There are a few parking spaces. I seemed to be the only one that was launching a boat. Others stopped to park there to eat lunch it appeared. It had at least one picnic table at the parking area. I did not see a privy/ outhouse on site.
Above is the road down to the launch. I walked my kayak down with the use of kayak wheels.The road was very affected by erosion and had ruts near the top. I am not sure if this area was affected by the storm that delivered 10 inches an hour or so north.
The lake had many houses along certain parts of it, some having boat houses. These are not as elaborate as the ones in the areas of Lake Placid and Saranac Lakes.
This heron flew into a tree branch on the shady side of an island.
There were multiple adult loons here sticking together when I was there. I think I saw 4. They were getting along and diving down in spurts. This was taken with a zoom lens at quite a distance and heavily cropped. The quality is not as good as the photos I get of the loons who swim up to my kayak.
There were two cormorants in a tree. This one had better light on it.
These signs are in the shape of the Adirondack Park. They had a few of these no wake signs up on the lake. All boats were slow moving that day. I was more concerned with the wind.
I did not take too many photos of the lake itself. The wind again concerned me. In addition there were many houses along parts of it and people in the water or on shore. I try not to take pictures including people when I can.
This is the boat launch from the lake. It was easy to get in and out of the lake here, the ruts due to erosion made it a little difficult to move your kayak down to the water. I rate it a nice lake to a canoe or kayak on a day trip.
“To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”
Winston Churchill
The colour of the water appears to change in minutes when out kayaking on a lake. A lot of things come into play such as cloud cover, sunlight, time of day, what is nearby on land will all affect how the colour of the water appears. If you wait around you just may get to see the water appear to be different hue.
This is a loon from Upper St. Regis in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. In other pictures that day, the water appeared green and different shades of blue etc. Change sometimes is good.
What is one place where you can paddle more than one body of water while not getting out of your boat, and it is close to the towns of Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake? Middle Saranac Lake is one of the options.
One trip from Middle Saranac you can make is paddling to the Weller Ponds. Both of these are accessed by boat through passageways between the bodies of water. One way to get into Middle Saranac Lake is through the South Creek Boat Launch. It is right off Highway 3 going from Saranac Lake to Tupper.
There is a parking lot that can handle several cars. There is a privy/ outhouse closer to Highway 3 in the parking area. They have several barriers up. It is hard to walk a kayak through on wheels. It is easier if someone is there and you can ask them to be a second set of hands to carry it over the big rocks. Once you get it in the water it is a gradual descent into the water which is great for kayaks. People canoeing prefer the dock. I wish they would get rid of one of the big rocks, so people could easily get their kayak or canoe through.
Hungry Bay is the northern end of Middle Saranac Lake directly north across the lake from the South Creek entrance to the lake.
Because of the wind and predicted threat of thunderstorms around the time I would try to get back to the parking lot, I skirted the edge of Hungry Bay to be safe.
The above is looking towards the entrance of Weller Pond. I did not take too many pictures on this pond because it looked like the campsites along it and on or near Tick and Tok Islands were occupied. There were also kids out on the lake in boats.
The above picture is looking towards the northern part of Weller Pond from the east side.
If you are heading from Middle Saranac to Weller the passageway to Little Weller Pond is on the right before you get to Weller. This is the passageway leading into Little Weller Pond.
It is a smaller body of water, hence its name. There are no campsites along this body of water.
This is the passageway looking south and heading back towards Hungry Bay of Middle Saranac Lake.
There are camp sites along Middle Saranac Lake and Weller Pond. These sites have to be reserved through http://www.reserveamerica.com or through the reservation number at 1-800-456-CAMP. I have never seen all the sites on this lake occupied on my visits. Campsite 81, pictured above, has a lean-to. Only two other sites, one on the east side of the lake and one on the northwest side of Weller Pond have one. Most of them involve pitching your own tent. They come with a picnic table, a fire pit, and a privy/outhouse.
This was a group of boys and men who were heading for a campsite on the lake for the night. They took all their gear on their canoes with them. They traveled with several canoes. This canoe gave me permission to take their picture.
Every time I visit this lake I either see loons or hear them. I saw two together near the South Creek entrance to the lake. I also heard two and saw one in Hungry Bay. An eagle nest is on a nearby body of water, so you may see one circle looking for fish.
This lake is a motor boat lake, although the times I have been here I have mostly seen people in canoes and kayaks either fishing or heading towards campsites along the lake. There are a few private houses as you get closer to the west side. I’m not sure if some of them are water access only or they are ones accessed through the private road, Bartlett Carry.
This visit it was a treat to watch a sailboat take advantage of the winds and circle around the lake.
As you can see from the above photos, one of the positives about paddling this lake are the Adirondack Mountain views.
I highly recommend paddling this lake and route. You get nice mountain views. I would recommend as always bring food and water. You never know when you might need to pull off for a passing thunderstorm or because you need a rest. The unoccupied campsites have great views and make great picnic spots.
I made almost a week long trip to the Adirondack Mountains in New York. I am not kayaking as far as I did last year. Luckily I do not have to go far to see loons on the lakes I visited. All the pictures below are from one lake. These were over two days. Some were in the evening and others during the morning.
Slow down and enjoy nature. Sometimes you do not have to go as far as you think.
Not all bad light days make for bad shots. The morning I took these this past clouds were covering the sun and the lighting conditions were not optimal. I got some good feeding shots regardless and shots of the parents with fish.
These pictures were all taken at a distance with zoom lens.
A cloudy day does not always ruin your chance at getting good photos. Go out and enjoy nature even when it is not sunny.
Loons are fun birds to watch. I took 3 kayak trips on a lake over three days. Each time I watch these loons for an hour or so. I have a zoom lens ,an extender and these are cropped.
The lighting changed even within the hour or so I watched them this day. It depended on which way they were facing, cloud cover, and what objects they were near. In this case I believe the green colour was a reflection in the water from a boat cover. The mom kept the little one near the shore of the lake.
The parents kept parading around with small fish that seemed much too big for the baby. I think the baby finally ate them when they cut them in pieces. It is fun to watch nature. Loons are becoming my favourite birds. They have such personality.
There are two lakes you can access from the town of Lake Placid in New York. From the main business street in the village you can see Mirror Lake. If go on west towards Saranac Lake on the outskirts of the town the much larger lake is Lake Placid. Lake Placid , the lake, has a few hotels along it, private land with mostly summer residences, and some land that falls under wilderness or forest preserve.
These were all from an end of September trip to the Adirondacks. I took one long trip on the lake, and a couple of short trips. I started out from the Paradox Bay area of the lake on the southern end. This area of the bay has shallow areas and attracts wildlife. Basically most of the wildlife I saw along the lake was in that section.
There is a boat launch with ample parking outside the bay on the lake.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think that is Whiteface Mountain in the background. The issue with large lakes in the Adirondacks is many times when you get away from shore it can be quite windy. On my long trip the first day I was there I did fine hugging the island on the way towards Whiteface landing, but on the return when I crossed the lake to the east side is was a struggle to head south hugging the shore. The wind was pretty strong. I did see a few other kayakers out there. I think one whom I talked to briefly ended up getting a ride on a boat. I was too busy trying to paddle to get any decent pictures on the return.
There are a lot of summer homes along the lake. Some are only accessible by boat.
In summer this lake is very busy with a lot of motorboat traffic. I shy away from paddling this lake during the summer months. In September after Labor Day many of the summer people have left and there are more kayakers and canoeists than motor boaters. I highly recommend going before or after summer and staying close to the shore of the lake.
I did hear and briefly see a kingfisher several times. At some lakes they will pause long enough for you to get a snap of them, at this lake they don’t. I saw two adult kingfishers on the bay.
I recommend visiting this lake to canoe or kayak before or after summer. Always be prepared and dress appropriately. Be familiar with the conditions. It is a beautiful lake!
How do you access Middle Saranac Lake in the Adirondack Mountains of New York? One way is by the boat launch at South Creek. This boat launch is on Route 3 about halfway in between the towns of Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake. There are multiple options on where to paddle from this launch so it is a launch that may interest you.
It was kind of a rough carry from my car in the parking lot to the launch. The gates were locked and to squeeze the kayak through the rocks along the side was no easy task. I use a kayak wheeled device to move my kayak to launch sites. Where you walk to carry when I went was rough with gulleys. The boat launch itself as you can see has a gradual descent that is great for kayakers while also providing a dock that individuals who canoe may like.
The view above is going in the opposite direction from the lake. The view on the bottom is going towards the lake. It looks like a long paddle to reach Middle Saranac Lake on the map, but it is really not that long.
This was the campsite on Shaw Island. As you can see these are primitive sites that are carry-in and carry-out. They are accessible by canoe or kayak.
On the southwestern side of the lake you enter a narrow body of water that goes in the direction of Upper Saranac Lake. This is one option for accessing other bodies of water. Another option is to paddle north from South Creeek and go through Hungry Bay and into Weller Pond. Another option is to go east to the Saranac River through the upper locks into the southern end of Lower Saranac Lake.
The canoe carry was a gradual descent into the water, ideal for kayakers. You follow the path over land to Upper Saranac Lake. It looks far on the map for one person, so I did not attempt it even with a kayak carry device. I encountered a women’s kayak tour on another lake and the guide said the Canoe Carry on the Upper Saranac side is a good launch for kayakers. I will take her word for it.
I always enjoy lakes where you can view wildlife. This one was no exception. I saw two groups of black ducks, although I was nervous for them. An eagle was on a tree very close by eyeing them. Eagles in the Adirondack Mountains travel from lake to lake. They do not always stay on one body of water all day long. I arrived in the morning on this lake and a saw some fishermen on kayak and motorboat. One man I talked to said he arrived at 5 a.m. He was pleased with the bass he caught.
The boat launch is on the other side of Route 3. You kayak under the bridge and the launch is on the left when you are coming back in.
Despite it being a little rough to get into the parking lot from the launch and into the water from the parking lot I would like to come to this access point again. I do hope they make improvements on it though as it could be a hazard. I recommend they remove a rock or two on the side to make is easier to bring your kayak to the water and fill in the gulleys made by erosion. Middle Saranac Lake is another beautiful Adirondack lake.
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