View from Long Pond Mountain of waters of the St. Regis Canoe Area, with the Adirondack High Peaks in the background

The Saint Regis Canoe Area is a 19,000 acre wilderness area in southern Franklin County, New York about 18 miles northeast of Tupper Lake and southwest of Paul Smiths.

It is the largest wilderness canoe area in the Northeast and the only designated canoe area in New York state; it is closed to motor vehicles, motor boats and aircraft. There are 58 ponds and the headwaters of the West and Middle Branch of the Saint Regis and the Saranac Rivers. Only two of the ponds can be reached without a carry. The area is noted for its beauty, wilderness and short canoe carries. Primitive canoe camping is permitted on many of the lakes and ponds. St. Regis Mountain (2874 feet) and Long Pond Mountain (2530 feet) are within the Canoe Area. The trail to Long Pond Mountain can only be reached by water.

The put ins and take outs and the carry trails can be very muddy at any time of year, and black fly can be extremely active in the spring and early summer.

Ponds

  • Bear Pond - two short carries from Upper Saint Regis Lake via tiny Bog Pond, Bear pond is part of the Seven Carries route.
  • Bessie Pond - Reached via a 1.5 mile carry from Long Pond, one of the longer carries in the Canoe Area. One campsite.
  • Bone Pond - A very small, rather isolated pond.
  • Clamshell Pond - Part of a (difficult) route from Long Pond to Fish Pond.
  • East Pond - A small pond accessible only by bushwhacking.
  • Fish Pond - A medium-sized pond that can be reached by relatively lengthy carries from Long Pond or Saint Regis Pond. Five campsites.
  • Grass Pond - A small pond with two campsites.
  • Green Pond - part of the Seven Carries route; oddly, Green Pond is smaller than Little Green Pond.
  • Kit Fox Pond - A small pond; part of one route from Long Pond to Fish Pond.
  • Ledge Pond - Can be reached by a short carry from Pink Pond.
  • Little Green Pond - one of two ponds in the canoe area that do not require a carry to reach; start of the traditional Seven Carries.
  • Little Clear Pond - the other pond that does not require a carry to reach; alternate start of the Seven Carries. No fishing or camping.
  • Little Long Pond (west of Fish Pond) - Part of one route from Long Pond to Fish Pond.
  • Little Long Pond (east of St. Regis Pond) - part of the Seven Carries route.
  • Long Pond - at 2 miles long and 338 acres, the second largest pond, with two islands. Reached by 0.25 carry from Floodwood Road, 18 campsites.
  • Lydia Pond - A small pond, one of the most remote in the Canoe Area; one campsite.
  • Monday Pond - A very small pond with one campsite.
  • Mountain Pond - A small pond on the trail from Long Pond to Long Pond Mountain.
  • Mud Pond - A small pond; part of the route from Saint Regis Pond to Fish Pond, via a carry from Ochre Pond.
  • Nellie Pond - Reached via a 1.7 mile carry from Long Pond, one of the longest carries in the Canoe Area. No campsites.
  • Ochre Pond - Part of the route from Saint Regis Pond to Fish Pond.
  • Pink Pond - Reachable in high water from Long Pond, no campsites.
  • Roiley Pond - A small, isolated pond near the eastern end of the Canoe Area
  • St. Regis Pond - 400 acres, the largest pond in the canoe area, with four islands. 14 campsites.
  • Slang Pond - A small pond, reachable by a 0.15 mile carry from Long Pond; connects to Turtle Pond. Two campsites.
  • Turtle Pond - A small pond that connects Slang Pond to Hoel Pond (just outside of the Canoe Area).

There are also a number of unnamed ponds in the Canoe Area.

Sources Jamieson, Paul and Morris, Donald, Adirondack Canoe Waters, North Flow, Lake George, NY: Adirondack Mountain Club, 1987. ISBN 0-935272-43-7.

External links

This article appeared originally on Wikipedia as St. Regis Canoe Area; its edit history there reflects its authorship. It is licensed under the GDFL.

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