We are looking to paddle the St. Regis area for a 4-5 day canoe camping trip. Easy paddling, short (if any) portages, remote camp areas, scenic with opps for day trips from campsite.
Suggestions welcomed!
Thanks.
most campsites without
long portages are not that remote.
Try the www.adkforum.com
quite a bit of info and links here http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/70572.html
http://www.canoeoutfitters.com/trip-planning/routes
They have maps available of the area.
The birthplace of the ADK pack canoe which is light. Most portages are not terribly cart friendly
There is an Adirondack Paddlers Map
More solitude is found now or after Labor Day.
Maps and guides
– Last Updated: Jun-03-14 8:09 AM EST –
For paddling guides and maps - ADK's online store here.
http://www.adk.org/category.php?pname=paddling-guidebooks-maps
Web site of St Regis area info from DEC -
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/70572.html
Note the following clip from DEC's web site -
"The highest level of use occurs during the last two weeks of July and the first two weeks of August. Large numbers of visitors also come on most weekends between the end of June and the beginning of September. During these times, it can be difficult to find a campsite; visitors should be prepared to travel further to reach an open campsite...
Visitors to the St. Regis Canoe Area should be properly prepared and equipped for a remote, wildlands experience. Visitors should expect to assume a high degree of responsibility for their own welfare and for environmentally sound use of the area. Know safe hiking practices, camping & hiking rules, how to avoid getting lost (PDF) (191 KB), state land use regulation and current trail conditions."
As to portages... it's the Adirondacks. Portages come with it, especially the chains like St Regis. If you don't want to do portages you need to think about something like Lake Champlian.
The OP criteria
are contradictory in the Adirondacks. Remote=portages Remote better means bushwhack.
Easy paddling means small lakes… Small lakes mean portages. Big lakes like Cranberry are fun, portageless but potentially dangerous.
Lows is a big lake. One short portage. It also can be dangerous. Lots of hiking there.
Oswegatchie River is possible up and down trip but its a river and well used in the summer
Little Tupper/Round Pond…no portages… so people.
Neither of the above are in the SRCA.
Of course depending on where the poster is from remote can have many definitions. One woman yelled at a party clunking along in their canoes in the SRCA for spoiling her wilderness.
She was 500 feet from a parking lot.
Chuckle
So was anyone able to spot how many empty beer bottles were laying around near that woman?
There is sometimes a reason to rent a cabin. It often puts the jerks further away from you than on tenting sites.
I don’t think she had any
but she was from NYC seeking ADK solitude not far from a parking lot.
Just an example of very different expectations from person to person.
Floodwood Launch is good
Ample safe parking at Floodwood Pond across the street/tracks from St Regis Outfitters is a wonderful place to paddle camp, portage, swim etc.
Free camping on Floodwood Road
You can make day trips from there. I was there in September and there was competition for sites on this road. Take any site and wait for someone to leave to get a better site.
I was a bit disappointed in the day paddles from that point. I didn’t find the remoteness I was looking for. Long Pond might be the best paddling from there. The portage is something like 1/4 mile.
You might check that
I think I read on the ADK forum that the Floodwood road sports no parking signs.
http://www.adkforum.com/showthread.php?t=20223
I’ll second the Floodwood put-in
plenty of secure parking at the outfitters. Depending on the time of year (May-June) you’re likely to encounter the dreaded blackfly, so paddle out to one of the islands in Floodwood pond to get away from them. You can use that as your base camp to a day paddle of the Fish Creek Ponds loop then spend the next day doing the Rollins Pond loop. You might also enjoy for the variety of topography doing the route taken by the racers in the Adirondack Canoe Classic and start in the town of Old Forge. Paddle through the Fulton Chain and end in Blue Mountain Lake. While there, visit the Adirondack Museum. The next day, put in where the seaplanes dock in Long Lake and go the distance into the Raquette River. You’ll only have one very long portage. Then you can get out at Axton or the Crusher, or go all the way to Tupper Lake. Lastly, spend a day exploring Upper, Middle, and Lower Saranac. You’ll need camping permits for those last two.
Appears to be for the put-in
Not for the campsites
SRCA
Long Pond is a great option for a 1st timer. I would suggest the main parking lot over the one by the outfitter. The portage from the outfitter can be a pain. From Long Pond there are more than enough day trips for a 4 day stay. There is even a nice hike up Long Pond Mountain and a great “semi-bushwack” up to Ledge Pond. Go the week before Labor Day(schools have started so much fewer people) and plan to leave that Friday as the hoards will be arriving. After Labor Day it should be pretty quiet. On the other end, St Regis Pond is an option but it will take a little more work to get there.