Remsen Falls

By all accounts, Remsen Falls is not really a waterfall but just some rapids along the south branch of the Moose River in the Black River Forest of the Adirondack Park. It is supposedly a scenic place for a picnic or go camping. And so after our hike to Bear Lake, we decided to take our lunch to the "falls".

 The trailhead to Remsen Falls is also on Wolf Lake Landing Road, about 3.2 miles from the McKeever Trailhead parking area, 2.1 miles from the Bear Lake trailhead.  We parked at the small parking area just before the barrier. The road is handicap accessible although motor vehicle access is only allowed to permit holders who can obtain the combination to the lock on the gate by calling the Herkimer DEC office at 315-866-6330.

We walked in the middle of the road since tire tracks had created muddy trenches on both sides.









At 0.2 mile, we reached a four way junction- to Woodhull Mountain, to the McKeever Parking area and all the way to the Bear Creek Parking area.  We continued on the trail to Remsen Falls.
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 At 0.5mile, we reached a small parking area for the disabled with a privy at one end of the lot. The trail then became narrower but no longer muddy.  A wheelchair can easily navigate this trail.











Shortly, we reached a clearing with a picnic table and a nice view of the Moose River.  The Remsen Falls lean to can be seen at a the distance across the water.

After a short lunch at this site, we followed the path to the left of the picnic table.  It crossed 2 small streams.

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 Then there was an unofficial campsite with this old picnic table.  Just off to the side, we were able to get close to the water for a good view of Remsen Falls.

Remsen Falls

Immediately across, we can see the Remsen Falls lean to.  This can be hiked to from Nick's Lake Loop.

It was indeed a peaceful and scenic place which we had to ourselves the whole time. We could have stayed here longer were it not for the pesky bugs that drove us back to our car on Wolf Lake Landing Road.   

Bear Lake

Bear Lake Trail is in the Black River Wild Forest in the Adirondack Park. From Kayuta Lake, we took NY28 North into the Adirondack Park past White Lake.  Before crossing the bridge over the Moose River (which was unidirectional at the moment because of bridge construction), we turned right on McKeever Road where there was a DEC sign at the corner.


Shortly, we followed a right fork on the road with a sign that stated "Access to State Land".  We crossed the railroad tracks and found the McKeever Trailhead parking area where we saw a kiosk and signed the trail registry.  Two dirt roads lead out of the parking area.  The one on the left is the Woodhull Mountain Trail that led to a number of trails including the Bear Lake Trail (0.5mi) and as far as the Bear Creek Parking area via Woodhull Lake lean-to (13.1mi).  Although it was marked a foot trail, we saw a car drive that way.  The one on the right is the Wolf Lake Landing Road which was slightly wider than the other road. The barrier was open so we proceeded that way.

It was a one-lane gravel road, in fairly good condition, with red snowmobile markers.  There were some pull outs along the sides in case one encounters oncoming traffic. At 1.1 mile from the McKeever parking area, we found the trailhead for the Bear Lake Trail. It was not clearly marked and at first looked like a campsite on the right side of the road. We parked close to the entrance of what turned out be a semicircular driveway. Across the other entrance to the trailhead, we saw some markers for other trails but still no sign confirming that this was the Bear Lake Trail.  We were only assured it was the correct trail based on the GPS coordinates (N43.36.628, W75 04.127). There were some signs along Wolf Lake Landing Road warning about some narrow bridge (actually just where the road crosses some creek) and this parking lot was just after the second warning sign. 

We started walking on the narrow trail that was almost completely overgrown with ferns and soon passed a small bridge over a stream.   Blue markers were easily visible which made it easy to follow the trail.  Gradually ascending, we crossed the stream several times, mostly over boulders, tree trunks or just jumping across.  At some areas, the trail was so wet we thought we were walking along a stream bed.

After a steep climb, 0.8miles later, we started to see views of the lake through the tall deciduous trees.  Walking alongside the creek, we heard the unmistakable sound of a waterfall, a narrow ribbon hiding behind the trees.




At 1.2 miles, we reached an unofficial campsite with a great view of the lake.  Bear Lake, is small, and according to the Adirondack Lakes Survey has a surface area of 1.97 sq. miles, maximum depth of about 15ft and mean depth of 6.5ft.  It was really peaceful with only a pair of loons on the water, entertaining us with their synchronized diving.

Bear Lake. Loons on right side of lake.

After having our fill of the loons, we continued on the trail as it made its way around the lake, again crossing the stream as it drains into the lake, this time over a small wooden bridge.  At around 1.5mile, we caught a glimpse of a lean to and made our way to it via an unmarked trail.  Built in March 2010 by a group of lean to rescuers, it looked almost new and very clean, including the nearby privy. There was a picnic table and a large fire pit.

Leaving the site, we found the real trail to the lean to and a sign which can only be seen coming from the opposite direction.  Along the shore, there was a beaten up old aluminum boat complete with a makeshift oar.  Still did not look seaworthy though.

With more trail ahead, we continued onward passing a bridge over a bigger stream until we reached a trail junction, one going to Woodhull Lake lean-to, the other to the Neejer Hill Trail. 

We followed the latter trail a short distance towards the shore where there was another unofficial campsite with a beautiful view of the lake.  From here, we retraced our steps back to the trailhead on Wolf Lake Landing Road.

Nick's Lake Loop

Nick'a Lake Campground has over 20 miles of trails for hiking and biking.  On our first visit, we kayaked around Nick's Lake. This time. we decided to do Nick's Lake Loop, a 4.5mile hike that circles the lake.

From the parking lot, we followed the footpath towards the far end of the beach where a small sign marked the trailhead. We signed the registry at the foot of a nice bridge over the inlet then proceeded on the boardwalk over the wetland. We continued onward, taking note of landmarks provided by CNY Hiking.

boardwalk after bridge

.1mi - trail register

0.3 mi- small bridge over stream

The trail with it's yellow markers followed the southern shore of the lake.  The lake can be seen through the tall stands of spruces and hemlocks with a nice expansive view seen after crossing a small bridge over a stream.

.06mi - view of lake

.8mi - bridge over Nick's Creek

There was a longer bridge over Nick's Creek, the outlet of the lake, soon followed by a steep ascent of about 100 feet.






After passing the junction to the Remsen Falls Trail, the trail descended, and became muddy.  We were surprised to find tire marks on the trail for it  crossed a small stream strewn with large boulders and no bridge.

0.9mi- junction to Remsen Falls Trail

The junction to the Nelson Lake Loop was clearly marked but the foot trail was barely visible under the dense overgrowth suggesting little traffic going that way. At the junction to Bixby Road, the main trail becomes a narrower foot path.  If we did not want to pay the $10 campground day use fee, we could have started our hike from the Bixby Road parking lot.  But that's an extra 2 miles of hiking which was longer than what we were prepared to tackle.

1.8mi - Junction to Nelson Lake Loop

2.55mi-Junction to Bixby Road

We saw an unmarked but well-travelled trail and walked 0.1 mile to the shore of the lake.

2.8mi- Unmarked junction to shore

After crossing a small bridge, there was a small sandy beach on the right.

3.1mi

After crossing another slightly longer and nicer bridge, we started to ascend again to a map kiosk and the junction to Loop A parking.

3.2 mi

Map Kiosk, Junction to Loop A parking

 The trail continued along the ridge below towering white pines and some other hardwoods and evergreens with the lake below us.  Although tougher than the others, this is probably the prettiest section of the trail.  We started to see campsites on our left side.  Up to this point, the trail was clearly marked.  Somehow, we lost the markers.  When we saw campsites to our right, we knew for sure we lost the trail.  We decided to leave and trail and found ourselves on Loop B road when we should ended up on Loop E.  We made our way to the park road and back to the beach area parking lot. Next time, we would like to go back to the section of the trail that we missed.




 References:
1. Nick's Lake Campground. CNY Hiking
2. Herkimer County TrailsMap/Guide pg. 40
3. Nicks Lake. Department of Environmental Conservation
4. Black River Forest CNY Hiking.

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