Hey, there’s a new challenge in town! And it was created by one of our very own ADK Snow Falls Challenge finishers (we love this sense of community)! Anne and I were thrilled to find this one and started on it right away. Living about an hour south of the area, we finished the challenge in 3 half days, perfect for the days we had some time constraints. This is a family friendly challenge and we encourage you to check it out at www.44lakes.com. Be sure to stop in and support some of the local shops and restaurants in the region while on your expedition.
Kane Mountain
There are two options for reaching the fire tower, a longer less steep climb or shorter steeper climb. We had done the longer trail last year so this time we took the steeper shorter trail. It will get your heart pumping, but it’s not difficult. The trail conditions on the day we went were pretty dry. We met the folks from the NYS Forest Fire Lookout Association along the way. They had been up there cleaning up graffiti so the fire tower cab had a clean coat of spray paint on it. The views from the tower do not disappoint! It was closed last year due to the pandemic so this time we got to climb up and see Canada Lake and the surrounding area. There’s plenty of space for hanging out to have a picnic and explore.
Nine Corner Lake
This trail is an easy out and back hike that is less than 1 mile to the lake. The trail will cross an outlet steam with some very nice (albeit small) cascade waterfalls. A mile in, you will come to the narrow eastern shore of the lake. We recommend continuing along the southern shore another .2 or so to get better views of the full lake. It’s very peaceful out there, and according to the women we met on the way in, it’s an easy option to catch a glorious sunrise over the lake. Next time!
Willie Wildlife Marsh
There are two things that make this trail great: accessibility and the views from the boardwalk. It’s wonderfully maintained so that there is a way for anyone to visit this marsh area. We took the 1.5 mile perimeter loop through the woods. (The other option being the paved .03 mile accessibility trail). The wooded trail is a peaceful and shaded and makes you forget you are just off the road. The boardwalk dissects the marsh with great views on both sides. The day we went we saw baby ducks following their mom around and heard the endless chorus of frogs. There are picnic tables, making it a great place to stop for lunch with the family.
Stewart Lake and Indian Lake
The trail head is located in the same location as Kane Mountain. It’s a great moderate hike being about 4.5 miles round trip. The trail is clearly marked and has some rock formations along the way. At about 1.3 miles in you come across Stewart Lake. You can’t really get to its shore (unless you had waders or something similar) as there’s wetlands (a bog) that you would need to cross. You can still get a nice view from the trail.
After following the trail less than a mile further you come to Indian Lake. This is another peaceful regional lake, seemingly undisturbed by human excess. It was hot and a bit buggy and we talked about making a point one of these days to hike back and linger for a while, maybe take a swim and have a picnic. Floki decided not to wait for next time.
Mud Lake
The hike to Mud Lake is just shy of 4 miles round trip but relatively easy to moderate in difficulty. The trail is the beginning section of the Northville/Lake Placid Trail, southern trailhead. It’s clearly marked with a small elevation and switchbacks that takes you through the forest to the spur trail that leads to this secluded lake. It was a busy morning for frogs on the trail- we counted 14 of several different varieties and noted that we had never seen so many on one hike before. The lake itself is marshy and full of leaches, so maybe not a great choice for swimming, but it’s lovely- the grasses and downed trees provided a myriad of textures and colors. There is a stone fire ring but also a no tenting sign that is a bit obscured by tree branches. So it’s best to enjoy this spot for a little while and move on. We really appreciated closing out the challenge by checking off a portion of the legendary NPT.
