Paddling on Limekiln Lake

Another opportunity to use our Sea Eagle inflatable kayak.


When we first visited Limekiln Lake Campground, we just went hiking but vowed to return to paddle on the lake.  It took us two years to return, but here we are.

Limekiln Lake, with a surface area of 457 acres is almost the same size as our own Kayuta Lake (461 acres) but more compact, it's widest diameter being 2 1/2 miles.

It was quite warm but thankfully, some clouds provided a little relief from the heat making for a very enjoyable paddle.  Through the clear water, we could see the rocky bottom of the lake, at least close to the shore.  No wonder there were many swimmers on the beach as well by the numerous waterfront campsites.

With 3 1/2 miles of shoreline, we had no plan to circle the whole lake. From the swimming beach area, we paddled until we almost reached the lake's easternmost shore which appears to be beyond the campground's border, there being a number of private camps around.

The lake was pretty quiet considering that the campground's 271 campsites were almost all occupied. Paddling was such a joy, sharing the lake mostly with  kayakers, some canoers and only 1 jet ski and a motorboat.

The day became even more memorable by these two loons, the first we have sighted this season.

Paddling on Seventh Lake

On one of our carefree days in Kayuta, we drove an hour to the town of Inlet towards Seventh Lake, the second largest lake on the Fulton Chain.  On a previous trip to Eight Lake, we saw that the campground has a dock on Seventh Lake but there did not seem to be an easy way to park and we would have had to pay an entrance fee to go there.  Instead, we opted to just use the fishing access site off Route 28.





It had a parking lot that could easily accommodate more than 10 cars at a time.  At the end of the parking lot was a building whch could have served as restrooms in the past but now, there are only 2 porta potties in front of it which thankfully were quiet clean.

Google Map of Seventh Lake;
Goff Island seen southwest of fishing access

Since the major part of the lake was towards the west, we headed off that way.  It was cloudy, the UV index 0, with 0 chance of precipitation, our ideal time to paddle.  Even though the wind was relatively calm, with only a few motor boats on the lake, the water was still a little bit choppy.  With the lake's average depth of 40 feet, maximum of 87 feet, we did not feel comfortable venturing too far away from the shores in our inflatable kayak.




With an area of 851 acres and an 11-mile shoreline, we knew we could only see a fraction of the lake with Goff Island as a good turn around point.  As we skirted the island, we could see the rocky bottom which accounted for the clarity of the water.  So unlike the murky bottom of Kayuta Lake. The island is forested and mostly uninhabited.  We saw about 2 dwellings at the western end of the island. The island was known by different names in the past but according to Adirondackalmanack.com, the current one was in honor of Isaac C. Goff who bought 4 acres of the island in 1898.  The remaining 11 acres remained state land.

Going northeast of the fishing access site, the lake became narrower with a small island in the middle of the channel.  Boats can dock on the island where picnics are allowed but no camping.






We circled around the island in a counterclockwise direction.  We noticed the lake was fairly

Google Earth photo 

shallow around the island particularly on its northern border.  The channel there was strewn with logs sticking out of a sandbar, our kayak touched bottom a few times.  We had to back out and try different routes before we finally made it through.  A google earth photo later revealed just how shallow that area was.

After the boat ride ended, we had our picnic lunch while waiting for our kayak to dry.  Later on, we discovered a trail starting from the end of the parking lot. This led to several picnic and swimming areas.

Not a bad place to return for some more paddling and picnic.

Eight Lake

We love visiting the Fulton Chain of Lakes in the Adirondacks. We've cruised the Lower Fulton Chain which starts at Old Forge and continues for 10 miles from the First to the Fourth Lake on a rented pontoon boat but we've never paddled on our own. These first 4 lakes were just too busy with power boats for our comfort.  The pond-like, 13acre Fifth Lake which is accessible from Fourth lake appears just a bit too small.  A portage for boats is necessary to reach Sixth Lake which then continues to Seventh Lake.  From there, another portage is necessary to reach Eight Lake.


But, there is a state campground that allows boats to be launched on either Seventh or Eight Lake.  And so, for a chance to finally do some paddling on the Fulton Chain, we headed off for the Eight Lake Campground which is conveniently located along State Route 28 between Seventh and Eight Lakes about 1 hour from Kayuta Lake.

Eight Lake Campground Map

Although the campground is located on the southeastern shore of Eight Lake, it has campsites extending to Seventh Lake where it also has a boat launch .  With an area of 851-acre and an 11-mile shoreline, Seventh Lake, is the second largest lake on the chain, the largest being the 2,050-acre Fourth Lake. Some websites (e.g, landlubbers.com; adirondacks.com) mentioned how challenging it could be to paddle here when it is windy.  Although it was a calm day, we decided to go to the smaller, 303 acre, Eight Lake.

Seventh Lake

We drove towards the north end of the campground, passing by some of the 126 tent and trailer sites, many of which were occupied.  We parked by the picnic area and proceeded towards the beach between the swimming area and the boat launch to set up our Sea Eagle inflatable kayak.

Eight Lake Beach

Initially wary about the predicted high and humid temperature, we were surprised to find how pleasant the weather was.  The average depth of this lake is 39 feet, with a maximum depth of 81 feet.  Although the lake was also formed by a dammed river (Moose River) like Kayuta Lake (Black River), the water was extremely clear, so clear that we could see sand and rocks at the bottom even beyond 4 feet of water.  We wished our lake was also this clear.


Completely surrounded by wooded and undeveloped land, the lake was mostly quiet. There were only a few kayakers and canoeists sharing the water with us, the calm only briefly interrupted by two jet skiers.






After passing a small island, we saw one of the three lean-tos on the lake. 



Although we were unable to completely circumnavigate the lake, we did see the north end of it.  Soon after we turned around, we were entertained by 2 loons actively diving for food.

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.