Nick's Lake

Nick's Lake Campground is located in the Black River Wild Forest of Adirondack Park.  From Kayuta Lake, we drove for about 24 miles on Route 28N turning on Birch Street by the Adirondack Scenic Railroad in Thendara then through local roads toward Nick's Lake Campground. The main road to the campground is less than 100 yards past the road to the McCauley Mountain's scenic chair lift. The campground has 112 campsites, playground, picnic area, a large beach, and over 20 miles of biking and hiking. On this trip, we were mainly interested in paddling around the lake which is closed to motor boats.

We passed a boat launch where we could have easily dropped our kayak but there was no parking allowed at the site so we decided to go to the beach area instead.  There was a restroom, changing room and picnic tables around. After only a short walk from the parking lot, we inflated our Sea Eagle kayak on the sandy beach.  There was a number of canoes on the beach which can be rented by calling Tickner's in Old Forge.

 Nick's Lake is named after Nick Stoner, a near-legendary Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 veteran.  According to a sign at the campground, it is "shallow glaciated lake fed primarily waters from aquifers". Data from the Adirondacks Lakes Survey Corporation show it to be 208 acres in surface area with a maximum depth of 17feet, mean depth 8.2 ft.

The lake was so peaceful and quiet with only a few other canoers around.  There were a few people fishing (brown and brook trout, rock bass, sunfish, bullhead and suckers are found here) but we did not find anybody with a catch.  Starting counterclockwise, we passed the bridge that goes over the inlet. Against some moderate winds, we paddled parallel to but not too close to the shoreline, much of which is quite shallow. Although the lake was small, it's irregular shape makes for a good 4.8 miles of shoreline to explore. 


The aquatic plants were blooming, particularly the pickerelweeds and the white water lilies. We saw what looked like an old beaver lodge (or maybe just a bunch of tree branches). To our delight, a solitary loon popped up close to our kayak and stayed there for several minutes, a fitting climax to our first and likely not our last paddle on Nick's Lake.

Bubb and Sis Lakes

The trail to Bubb and Sis Lakes has been described as a "very pleasant walk suitable for families and older hikers" where one can see both lakes in about 0.9 miles. For a longer hike, one can continue on towards Moss Lake.



To reach the trailhead, we drove on Route 28N 4.6 miles past the Information Center in Old Forge and parked at the lot on the left side of the road where the sign to the trail was easily visible.














The trail rapidly ascended 150 feet going northwest, becoming muddier as the trail became more level.  The stepping stones suggested that some sections are frequently muddy but it must be more so this day.  After all, this was only a day since the severe storm that ripped through the northeast including a tornado that devastated nearby Smithfield.

0.2mi - Vista Trail junction

At 0.2mile, we passed the sign for Vista Trail. Although this trail promised nice views, the 4.4mile one-way hike along the ridge was  not something we wanted to tackle that day.

0.4mi - side trail to Bubb Lake

Shortly after, we took a fork on the right of the main trail and walked 55 yards to the south end and our first view of Bubb Lake.   With an area of almost 50acres and a shoreline almost 1.5miles, this peaceful lake would have been an ideal place to bring our inflatable kayak were it not for the rocky shoreline and the difficult carry-in.  Maybe we can just borrow the aluminum canoe that somebody left behind.

Bubb Lake

0.7 mi- side trail to Sis Lake

 Returning on the main trail, we continued onward and took another side trail, on the left this time, and a 40 yard stroll to Sis Lake.  Being only around 25 acres with a maximum depth of 6.9 feet, it was really more of a pretty pond than a lake.

Sis Lake

The main trail continued along the east side of Sis Lake.  We passed a small campsite between the two lakes and then the bridge over the stream between Bubb's inlet and Sis' outlet.This would have been the point to turn around for anybody just going on the main Bubb & Sis Trail.

0.9 mi - Bridge over stream between Bubb & Sis Lakes

 

Unmarked trail to Bubb Lake

We wanted a longer hike so we continued onward, the trail going parallel to Budd Lake on our right. We took a small trail for another closer look at the lake. It was another pretty spot but we had some difficulty finding our way back to the trail.

1.6mi-  northeast end of Bubb Lake

Soon after, the trail came close to the northeast end of Bubb Lake. If we had known this was around, we wouldn't have bothered with the last side trip.

1.8 mi- Bridge over Bubb Lake outlet

Old dam over Bubb Lake outlet

We crossed another bridge, this one over the Bubb Lake outlet.  There was an old dilapidated dam on the downstream side which was originally built as a fish barrier.

2.3mi- junction of Moss Lake Circuit Trails

Finally, we got to the junction of the Moss Lake Circuit Trails.  At this point, we turned around and retraced our steps to parking lot on Route 28. Almost 5 miles round trip, we thought it was a proper hike for a couple of "older hikers".






References:
1. Sis Lake
2. Bubb Lake
3. Adirondack Lakes Survey
4. CNY Hiking
5. Haberl, Arthur W.  Guide to Adirondack Trails. The Adirondack Mountain Clubs, Inc. 1994.     pgs.103-108

Limekiln Lake State Campground and Nature Trail

Limekiln Lake Campground is a state campground which first opened in 1963 on land that was purchased from the Gould Paper Company.  By 1964, all the present 271 campsites have been developed.

About an hour from Kayuta, we reached the campground by going on Route 28 just past the village of Inlet and turning on Limekiln Lake Road, turning right at the campground sign about 1 1/2 miles later.  Since we were only there for the day, we only paid $8 instead of the $20 camping fee.





On this July 1st, the campsites were starting to fill up, particularly the ones on the waterfront.  Each campsite had its own picnic table, fireplace and even a "bear locker" since bears do roam the area.

There was a sand beach and swimming area where we saw some canoes and rowboats for rent.  This looked like an ideal place to launch our kayak whenever we decide to go on the lake. Two and a half miles at its widest point, there's about 3 1/2 miles of potential paddling here.  But since this was only our first visit to this campground, we planned to just go hiking.

The Old Dam Nature Trail is an easy 1.6 mile loop with only a 44 feet elevation gain.  The trail starts beyond a yellow gate just beside and behind campsite #87, pass an open field and an easily visible sign.

About 1/4 mile in, the trail splits with a registry on the right fork.  After signing the registry, we continued our counter-clockwise route as suggested by cnyhiking. 





The trail was mostly shaded by tall maples, firs, spruces, white pine and hemlocks and bordered by thick shrubs. Limekiln Creek was occasionally visible on our left, which was later crossed by a bridge, the site of an old dam.

After a smaller second bridge, we saw a sign going to South Shore Rd or the Limekiln Swamp Ski Loop, neither one of which we were inclined to take.




 
Continuing on the nature trail for another 1.3miles, we reached the bridge below which is a fish barrier dam.  This is the end of the loop.  After signing out on the trail registry, we just retraced out steps back to our parking spot by campsite #87.

References:
1. DEC.NY
2. CNY Hiking
3. Trails.com
4. Quiet Kayaking in New York

On the Sea Eagle at Moss Lake

Ever since we first discovered the loop around Moss Lake, it has been one of our favorite hiking trails.  The 115 acre lake itself looked quite peaceful since no motorized boats are allowed there.  We have always wished we could join the other kayakers there, specially when we noticed that the loons did not seem to be bothered by them. Since we do not have any decent kayak carrier yet, that wish did not appear to be possible any time soon.


Until we bought what is probably our best chance to kayak on other lakes besides Kayuta.  The Sea Eagle SE370 Inflatable Kayak with Pro Package came with the SE370 kayak hull, 2 deluxe seats, 2 aluminum paddles, a foot pump, repair kit and a carrybag.  Although the kayak weighs only 32 lbs, when except the paddles are inside the bag, the total weight is around 42 lbs.  Its a good thing the trail to the lake is only a short distance.

 

After easily inflating the kayak and seats, we were ready to explore the lake.  Although the kayak supposedly can carry 3 people and up to 650 lbs, my 6-footer husband my barely 5 foot frame were just comfortable.   Three average-sized people would be really crowded in the kayak.

 It was wonderful to just paddle around the lake without any wakes from motor boats.  Inspite of the relatively high winds from an approaching thunderstorm, the kayak was very stable.  We watched the lake's resident osprey flying to and from it's nest on the island.  We were able to get so close to the island that we could hear some chirping.

My husband even enjoyed trying solo-kayaking.  The day was almost perfect.  The only things missing were the loons.