Tag: #OsgoodPond

Paddling Jones Pond to Osgood Pond Via Jones Pond Outlet

Do you want an option to paddle multiple bodies of water without getting out of your kayak or canoe? Do you want a place to camp while paddling? Jones Pond and Osgood Pond in the Adirondack Mountains of NY are accessible to each other via the Jones Pond Outlet. Both have free campsites on or near the ponds.

I started at Jones Pond on this September Day. There are campsites along Jones Pond next to the road and off the road accessible by car. Jones Pond also has a boat launch that makes it easy to get in a kayak via water. Jones Pond is also accessible to Rainbow Lake via a carry path.

Kayak launch on Jones Pond. You can access this via a dirt road off of Jones Pond Road. It was not ell marked when I was there. Usually there is a sign at the road. The sign was at that time was easy to miss. You can get to Jones Pond Road via 86 near Paul Smiths or from 60 on the other end of the road. The road to the boat launch is closer to the 60 end of the road.
In Jones Pond going towards Osgood Pond.
Entering Jones Pond Outlet, a waterway/ stream between the ponds.
A beaver dam that I had to clear a couple of sticks from to go across. The Jones Pond Outlet is quite accessible via Kayak. I think canoeists may have slightly more difficulty navigating the beaver dams.
A hawk I saw along the way.
Where the Jones Pond Passage meets Osgood Pond.
This couple was part of a small group of canoes. They started at Osgood Pond and tried to head to Jones Pond. They decided to turn around at the beaver dam. There is a beach area to the right of the entrance to the lake. I have seen different groups taking lunch breaks on that small beach.

Other bodies of water are accessible via Osgood Pond. I will not put photos of Osgood here as I have a post from another trip detailing Osgood and the passage to another Pond.

On my return and eagle was circling over my head at Jones Pond. That pesky beaver had a lodge in the grass area near where the pond meets the outlet. The weather was nice, but windy so I got my exercise for the day.

I highly recommend this trip especially if you want to camp along or near one of these bodies of water. Bring a lunch and plenty to drink. It involves a couple hours each way, but it is worth the ride.

Osgood Pond

What makes a pond a pond? What makes a lake a lake? It is not always size in terms of acreage it covers. There are some ponds that are larger in size than lakes. Lakes are usually much deeper. Ponds they say are shallow enough to allow light to reach the bottom. One pond that seems larger than some lakes is Osgood Pond.

Osgood Pond is near Pauls Smith’s in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. You can access Osgood Pond by car by White Pine Road off of State Route 86. It has a boat launch maintained by the state. I visited there on two separate days. During the summer a recent university graduate was employed to check boats going in and out of the pond. The state tries to make sure invasive species are not carried from one body of water to another. I liked this boat launch. It was a gradual decline in to the pond.

There are not many houses on this pond. There is one on this island. Much of the land around the pond is designated wilderness.

One advantage of this pond is you can access other bodies or water without getting out of your canoe/ kayak. Some lakes and ponds have carries between them. This one has some passageways or outlets between it and other ponds and rivers.

This passageway is about 1.5 -2 feet deep between the ponds.
Passageway between Osgood and Church Ponds
Church Pond
Passageway from Church to Osgood Pond. It is very dark through the passageway. I rather enjoy taking these little outlets in between ponds and lakes.

Another advantage is there are some campsites accessible paddling from Osgood. There are primitive campsites along nearby Jones pond, accessible by paddling through Jones Pond outlet. There are lean-tos on Osgood and Church Pond. There are also primitive campsites on Upper Osgood River. These campsites are free and first come first served.

Thirdly, and most importantly to me, this pond has great access to viewing wildlife. There are ducks, multiple loon pairs, and eagles coming and going. There must be fish worth trying for. I did see a few fishermen.

One of two juveniles. The eagles go between lakes to find food.
So hungry I will eat a pine cone. These juvenile eagles (born in Spring) are at least a month or more behind the ones born along the Hudson River. I think they are born 1-2 months later. They flew but had trouble landing and in August did not fly much over water. They made no attempt to get food on their own, and the parents appeared to delay getting food for them.
After one fish was dropped off the kids fought over it and the parents flew back to the nest to break it up.

Loon behaviour on this pond was odd. I did not see them stick their heads above water for long and they did not hang out long on the surface at any time. I watched them the first day. The second day I saw the eagles. I attribute the loons’ behaviour to the eagle’s presence. Eagles will go after ducks and loons and their young. I did not see young loons on this pond. A local told me the eagles have been visiting for three years and they have not seen loon young in three years. They tie the two events together.

Overall it is a great place to kayak. I enjoyed it so much I went back again the following day. If you wish to canoe or kayak a few different bodies of water without carrying your boat, I recommend this pond. If you want a spot to camp for free arriving by boat, the lack of traffic at this location may make it ideal.

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