Backpacking in the Lake George Wild Forest

 In the Adirondacks, spring is a tricky time of year to plan a backpacking trip. If you go too early. usually before May, lingering snow can leave unfavorable conditions. After the snow finally melts, mud season conditions leave the trails soupy. Wait too long, black flies harass you endlessly. Usually there is a brief window between the mud and black fly seasons. I hoped to find that window and put in a short backpacking trip during that time.

I chose the Lake George Wild Forest as my destination. I never visited the mountains surrounding Lake George. The photos of the area seem quite pretty with plenty of lake and mountain views. I always enjoy mountains that overlook bodies of water. There are numerous places within the mountains there that I wanted to visit. A good trail network allows the option to link together many of these highlights on the east side of the lake. Since more time than I wanted had passed since my last backpacking trip, I decided to put together a n overnight loop that visited many of the destinations I wanted to see on this side of Lake George.

Trail register

Looking over my map of the Lake George area, I put together a loop just over 30 miles that visited, or passed nearby, many of the highlights of the region. My loop went over Black, Sleeping Beauty, and Shelving Rock Mountains, all which have views over Lake George. Buck Mountain, also known for its lake views, could be reached by a five mile roundtrip spur off of my loop. Shelving Rock Falls is easily reached from my loop. Several small backcountry lakes and ponds provided camping opportunities. Finally, I could also visit Erebus Mountain, one of the highest in the area. It isn't known for great views, but I could visit without diverging much from my loop.

The forecast looked promising for May 5th and 6th, so I planned my trip for then. My hike began at the Pike Brook Trailhead below Black Mountain. I started my hike around 920AM on a lovely, cloudless morning . Despite being a fairly popular trailhead, no other cars were there when I arrived. The trail climbs fairly gradually as it makes its way toward Black Mountain, just 2.5 miles from the trailhead. At 2,665', Black Mountain was the high point of the trip as well as the highest mountain in the Lake George area. Although rocky at times, the trail is never too difficult. There was even a very small patch of lingering snow above 2,500'. An old firetower, now serving as a communications tower, stands at the summit as well as a small wind generator.

Trailhead sign

Notice the lack of leaves this time of year

Rocky stretch of trail

First red eft of the season

On my way to Black Mountain

It rained the day before

The last small pocket of snow

Tower and wind turbine at Black's summit

As promised, Black Mountain offered great views. A couple of open ledges provide a nice overlook to the east to the Green Mountains of Vermont. Most of northern end of Lake George can be seen from the higher outcropping. In the distance, I could still see lingering snow in the High Peaks.

View from ledge just below the summit

Looking across a cliff near the summit

Looking toward the High Peaks

Sugarloaf is the knob in the middle with
 the Green Mountains of Vermont in the distance

North end of Lake George

The trail descended toward the south. Along the way I passed a couple more ledges with views. I got a good look to the south over the lake. At one point the view looks down onto the Black Mountain Ponds. Just a few hundred vertical feet above the ponds, I could hear the chorus of peepers from the ponds.

Just below Black Mountain

Looking south over the lake

Erebus Mountain

Trailside cliffs

Black Mountain Ponds

I reached a T. Left headed toward Black Mountain Ponds and a popular loop option for those hiking Black Mountain. Right descended to Lake George at Black Mountain Point. I headed toward Black Mountain Point. It became clear pretty that few people visited this trail. A fair amount of blowdown covered the trail. None of it was too thick fortunately. The trail drops some 2,300' in elevation from the summit of Black to the lake in less than three miles. The trail never really seems steep however. A small creek tumbles down the mountain close to the trail with numerous small cascades. I wandered off the trail several times to get a better look at the scenic, tumbling water, just out of sight from the trail.

Fair amount of blowdown

One of many little cascades on the
descent toward Black Mountain Point

Little drop with two ribbons of water

This stream was full of pretty little cascades

I wandered off trail checking out the various falls

Most were just out of sight from the trail

I don't think many people explore this area

One last drop before the trail veered
away from the stream

Hiking through conifers

I soon reached Lake George. At roughly 320', this was the low point of the trip. For the next three miles, I would hike along the shoreline of the lake. Despite a nice wide path that runs essentially flat in this section, I'm not sure many hikers travel the length of the Lake Shore Trail. There isn't easy access by land. majority of the people that visit this area do by boat.

Lake George at Black Mountain Point

Looking north from Black Mountain Point

Looking south

Tongue Range

I reached the lake at Black Mountain Point. Black Mountain Point appears to be a day use picnic area for boaters on the lake. On a Thursday morning, early in the season, the place was abandoned. Pretty views up and down the lake can be seen from Black Mountain Point. As I hiked down the shoreline, I passed several tent platforms and campsites. I think these are by reservation and used mostly by boaters. There were no signs of life as I passed. The trail never ventures far from the lake and I passed a couple more picnic areas including Red Rock Bay and Commission Point. Other than one distant boat, I saw no other people along the Lake Shore Trail. Even though it's basically a carriage road, the frequent views over the lake made for a very pleasant hike.

Gentle trail along the lake

It followed the lake about three miles

Another clearing along the lake

Tongue Range

Black Mountain from a lakeside campsite

An isolated cove along Lake George

More mountain views

Picnic area at Commission Point

View at Commission Point

The Tongue Range rising above an island

After three miles I turned off the Lake Shore Trail and headed toward Shelving Rock Mountain. This trail must be taken to avoid crossing onto private property. I'm guessing by its condition, this trail sees little traffic. There is a fair amount of blowdown, at times quite thick. The blowdown was relatively short lived lasting less than a mile, ending by the next junction. I passed a couple of marked junctions before reaching the trail to Shelving Rock Mountain.

Turnoff from the Lake Shore Trail

Thick blowdown

Shelving Rock Mountain was reached by a short .6 mile spur off of my loop. The trail to the mountain follows another old carriage road as it winds its way to the summit. The 1,130' summit offers only partial views through the trees. Following the herd path beyond the summit leads a few hundred yards downhill to an open outcropping with excellent views to the west over Lake George. 

Carriage road toward Shelving Rock Mountain

Clearing just below Shelving Rock's summit

Looking down the lake

Looking toward Bolton Landing

After enjoying the views, I returned back down the carriage road, following it to Shelving Rock Road. I followed the road a few hundred feet and turned onto a wide trail that led to Shelving Rock Falls. I saw photos of Shelving Rock Falls that looked impressive. I could hear the falls before I reached them. 

Shelving Rock Falls exceeded my expectations. The falls were higher than I expected and flowing with a lot of water volume. Most sources list it at 50 foot tall, but it looks larger. I followed a path to the bottom of the falls to get a full view of it and take a few photos. The trail I came in on ended at the top of the falls with no obvious place to cross to the trail on the other side.

Shelving Rock Falls

I returned back to the road for a short distance before rejoining a trail that headed toward Dacy Clearing. Although I eventually would end up at Dacy Clearing, I wanted to take a side trip to Buck Mountain. I could have reached Buck Mountain more directly by walking on Shelving Rock Road, but took the less direct route by hiking on the Big Bridges, Shortway, and Old Farm Trails.

I'm glad I avoided the road because the scenery along the trails ended up being rather scenic. The Big Bridges Trail and part of the Shortway Trail followed a nice mountain stream with several rocky riffles and a few waterfalls. I saw my first snake of the season along the water, a garter snake basking in the sun. I saw the first other people of the day about 12 miles into my trip on the Big Bridges Trail. The Old Farm Trail brought me back to Shelving Rock Road with a half-mile or so road walk to the start of the climb for Buck Mountain.

Hiking along Shelving Rock Brook on
the Big Bridges Trail

Shelving Rock Brook

This waterfall was a short bushwhack off 
the Short Way Trail. I followed the sound.

Old Farm Road Trail, notice the lack of 
leaves in early May

Buck Mountain was reached from a spur off my main loop. Since I have never been to this area, I wanted to incorporate it into my hike. It's said to have good views. Buck Mountain is roughly 2.5 miles (distance varies depending on map or sign by a couple tenths of a mile) trail from Shelving Rock Road. The trail never seems to difficult as it gains 1100' in elevation over its length. 

The start of my hike of Buck Mountain

Open forest

Buck Mountain's2,334' summit provides more nice views over the lake. Although not as wide open as the perch below Shelving Rock Mountain, the view took in more area with multiple view points. The middle of the lake toward the Bolton dominates the view from the main outcropping. A smaller outcropping, a short distance north of summit, gives a neat prospective of the Tongue Range and the Narrows on the lake.

The main viewing area on Buck Mountain

Looking over the Tongue Range and the Narrows

Montcalm Point off the Tongue

By the time I time I departed Buck Mountain, it was around 5PM. I was hoping to reach Bump Pond, 6-7 miles away. I ate a quick snack and retraced my way back to Shelving Rock Road. Originally I planned  taking the Buck Mountain Connector Trail toward Dacy Clearing. Other than one marker, I didn't see any discernable tread or trail to follow. Rather than bushwhack to save a few tenths of a mile, I just followed Shelving Rock Road to the turnoff toward Dacy Clearing. The route to Dacy Clearing followed a narrow dirt lane past several campsites. Eventually it traveled passed a small stream with old remnants of the Dacy Farm. An old dam and foundations stood along the road before Dacy Clearing. From the Buck Mountain trailhead to Dacy Clearing, I traveled a between 1.5-2 miles on a dirt road, but never saw a vehicle.

Hiking the road to Dacy Clearing

Old foundation along the road

At Dacy Clearing, I began my climb to Sleeping Beauty Mountain. The trail to Sleeping Beauty climbs relatively gradually with some rocky sections. At times it travels under cliffs. By now the light was fading in the cover of the trees and thin clouds moving  in the area. I reached the clearing near the summit of Sleeping Beauty around 720PM.

Dacy Clearing

Like Black and Buck Mountains, 2,347' Sleeping Beauty is another mountain near Lake George known for its views. The scenery didn't disappoint. The vantage from Sleeping Beauty looks into most directions. The Green Mountains stretch out to the east. Buck Mountain stands out to the south. Endless mountains make up the western horizon, with the Lake George in the foreground. This view was further enhanced by the evening light and thin clouds.

Climbing toward Sleeping Beauty Mountain

Looking down the ledges on Sleeping Beauty

The Green Mountains of Vermont in the distance

Lake George from Sleeping Beauty

Clouds moving in over the lake

Cliffs along Sleeping Beauty

It was nearly 730PM when I left Sleeping Beauty. I only had about a mile to travel to Bumps Pond where I intended to camp. Sunset was after 8PM, so I figured I'd be okay reaching my destination. By 750PM I reached the pond and soon found the designated campsite after a 24+ mile day. I had enough light to finish all my evening camp chores, but ended up eating in the dark. While filtering my water in fading light, I saw a shooting star over the pond. I was serenaded by peepers for the evening.

Less than a mile left for the day

The campsite at Bumps Pond sits just out of sight from the pond. The pond is the most southerly in a series of small backcountry ponds between Sleeping Beauty and the Black Mountain area. The pond sits relatively high in elevation for the area around 2,000', just 300' below Sleeping Beauty.  An old rock chimney, once part of a hunting camp from many years ago, stands in the small clearing at the campsite.

Sleeping Beauty reflecting in Bumps Pond

Old chimney from long gone hunting camp

Shortly after laying down, I heard loud bang or gunshot. When it continued, I realized that I was hearing a nearby fireworks show. I was camped in a bowl surrounded by forest and had no view of the show however. After the fireworks I slept soundly. Thin clouds kept the temperature from dropping too low, but it was probably in the upper 30sF overnight.

Home for the night

I woke up with the morning light and slowly got moving. After eating and breaking camp, I returned to the trail about 715AM. I began climbing toward Erebus Mountain. Although not known for its views, I wanted to hike deeper into the forest and visit one last mountain. The terrain rolled before finally making its way along the side of Erebus. Despite the leafless trees, the trail passed through pretty terrain as it worked its way around some boggy areas. Luckily it was still a little early for bugs. In another month, this area looked like it would be prime mosquito habitat.

My next destination

Partial views in the leafless forest

I'm guessing this area would be thick
with mosquitos a month after my hike

The trail doesn't pass over the summit of Erebus. A small cairn at the trail's highpoint marked the beginning of a faint herd path that worked its way to the summit. The herd path wasn't very well worn, but occasional flagging marks the way as well. The herd path gains a couple hundred feet through mostly hardwood forest and passes through a cliff band before reaching the 2,527' summit. Even with no leaves, the view was extremely limited. A small cairn marks the actual summit. My diversion to Erebus took about 20 minutes round trip.

Cairn marking herd path to Erebus

I think this sign marks the point you need to hike to on
Erebus to qualify for the Lake George 12ster hiking challenge

Rough section enroute to Erebus

The herd path wasn't always visible

A faint tread on the herd path

The summit cairn, the canteen was already there

Red eft

Back on the actual trail, I had a few peeks through the forest of Lake George and Black Mountain as I descended toward Fishbrook Pond. Fishbrook Pond is the largest of the backcountry ponds on my route and probably the most scenic. Trails go all around the pond but I stuck to the northern end. The trail often travels a few feet from the shore. Erebus Mountain rises above the pond, providing a nice backdrop. A couple of lean-tos sit along the lake and would make for a pleasant spot to spend a night. I also saw a bald eagle flying around the area as well.

Black Mountain visible through the trees

Swampy trail

Passing a boggy section

First glimpse of Fishbrook Pond

Hiking along the pond

Erebus rising above the pond

One of the lean-tos along Fishbrook Pond

View from the lean-to

Last look at the pond

From Fishbrook Pond, the trail passes a web of trails. A snowmobile trail veers off the hiking trail. A separate marked, but unsigned trail, heads to Greenland Pond. Following the DEC markers to the left will keep you traveling north toward Millman Pond.

I continued north. I reached Millman Pond after a mile or so. Millman also offers a lean-to. A boardwalk allows you to travel out onto Millman Pond, but it was partially submerged at places. The trail travels along its shore before following its pretty outlet stream. 

Trail following Millman Pond's shore

Boardwalk to Millman Pond

Near Millman Pond's outlet

My next destination was Lapland Pond. The trail doesn't travel as close to Lapland as the other ponds in this stretch. It could be seen through the trees, but only with obstructed views. At a small stream crossing, I saw a faint path that led toward to the pond. The path ended at an official campsite that sat right on the shore of the pond. This would be a nice spot to camp. As I hiked away from the pond, I passed a junction that lead to a lean-to by the pond. It's also possible to visit the Black Mountain Ponds at a signed junction in this stretch.

Pretty cascade

Thick forest ahead

Lapland Pond

This photo is from the tentsite right along the pond

From Lapland Pond, I needed to travel about two more miles to my starting trailhead over easy terrain. I passed one last pond, an unnamed beaver pond with a nice view of Black Mountain. About a mile from Lapland Pond, I rejoined the trail that heads to Black Mountain. On a clear, comfortable morning, I passed a few groups headed toward Black. The last mile went by quickly. I reached the trailhead about 1015AM.  

Cruising through the forest

Small beaver pond

Back into the open coniferous forest

Bridge over beaver pond outlet

Black Mountain reflecting in a beaver pond

Last 1.2 miles

My route, including side trips, totaled about 32.5 miles. Despite the modest elevations ranging between 300' and 2,600', my route managed to gain more than 7,800' of elevation. While there was a moderate amount of elevation gain, the trails were never too steep for very long compared to other parts of Adirondacks. A couple miles of this loop involved travel on dirt roads to add the side trip to Buck Mountain. Eliminating Buck Mountain would get rid of majority of the dirt roads.

Overall, I enjoyed this trip. Even though the mountains aren't anywhere near the highest in the Adirondacks, there was no shortage of views and nice scenery. I enjoyed my time hiking along Lake George. Even though Shelving Rock Falls outshined the other small cascades on the route, I found the tumbling mountain streams to be quite pretty. The smaller backcountry ponds on the latter part of my hike provided a nice wilderness feel. My timing worked out as far as avoiding bugs. I only had black flies bother me at one spot. Hiking before the summer tourist season and avoiding the weekend allowed me to have the forest almost to myself. I didn't see anyone for the first 12 miles. Even then the few people I saw were mostly near the higher mountains. I hope to travel back to the Lake George area to hike the Tongue Range in the future.

My route highlighted in yellow
Click DEC Map for more detail

View from Sleeping Beauty

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Cross Country Skiing in the St. Regis Canoe Area

This winter brought an unusual season for cross country skiing in the Adirondacks. Consistently cold temperatures didn't really arrive until the beginning of January. In fact is was the coldest month ever of my three years in the Adirondacks or eight years in Maine. Twenty nights dropped below zero, with at least a handful colder than -20F. We didn't have a good snow pack for skiing though, even with frigid temperatures. February saw snowier conditions. However, rain and warm ups between snowfalls left the skiing conditions less than desirable much of the month. 

I managed to ski a handful of days this winter. I always like to explore new areas. This year I explored the St. Regis Canoe Area for the first time by ski. St. Regis Canoe Area sits near the tiny settlement of Lake Clear, roughly 10 miles east of Saranac Lake or 15 miles northeast of Tupper Lake. Despite its name, the St. Regis Canoe Area provides recreational opportunities for more than just canoes. More than 50 lakes and ponds lie within the 18,400-acre area as well as 26 miles of trails. Some of the trails are specifically marked as ski trails. With some of the coldest winters in the eastern US, the bodies of water usually freeze solid in the heart of winter, opening up more skiable terrain.  The state manages the area similar to a Wilderness Area with no motorized use within its boundaries. Although the summer brings plenty of canoes and kayaks, the winter sees far fewer people in the backcountry here.

I skied the St. Regis Canoe Area twice this season. The main cross country skiing thoroughfare is the Fish Pond Truck Trail (trucks no longer use this trail and nature has mostly reclaimed it). This former logging road provides nearly five miles of skiing from the to Canoe Area boundary to the interior of the Canoe Area at Fish Pond. From the Fish Pond Truck Trail, numerous other trails can be accessed, as well as frozen ponds. 

Skiing to Fish Pond and back seems to be a fairly popular destination in the area allowing for a roughly 10-mile roundtrip. I skied this route my first time skiing the Canoe Area in late January. After looking at my map, I realized the possibility of more interesting excursions and loops by traveling on the other trails and ponds in the area. After a month of temperature swings and less than desirable conditions, I returned to the St. Regis Canoe Area when the snow improved. I planned on skiing a loop incorporating the Fish Pond Truck Trail with some of the ponds in the area as well as side trails and canoe portage trails. This post covers that loop, but I will include some photos from the first trip in January since I traveled on the Fish Pond Truck Trail on both visits.

Sign at the start of the Fish Pond Truck Trail

After nearly 20 inches of snow over the previous week, I returned to the St. Regis Canoe Area on Friday March 4th. The conditions of the lakes for skiing looked promising after a week of continuous subfreezing temperatures. In fact I was a little surprised to wake up to a not-so-motivating -17F. Fortunately, the temperature climbed quickly reaching a balmy +8F by the time I started skiing at 10AM with some sunshine helping take the cool sting out of the air. 

Canoe Area Boundary marker

The best place to access the area in winter is on a tiny side road near Lake Clear called Station Road. The dead end road stays plowed with parking at the end of it. This parking sits next to a main snowmobile corridor. The skiing begins along the snowmobile trail (be aware of snowmobile traffic as they travel quite fast). Skiing to the left from the parking area, you reach the first marked ski trail that circles Little Green Pond with access to Bone Pond and Little Lake Clear as well as campsites in summer. This is where my trip ended and I'll come back to that later. Passing the Little Green Pond ski trail, I continued another 2/3 of a mile and reached the turn onto the Fish Pond Truck Trail. This also marks the Canoe Area boundary.

Along the snowmobile trail

The Fish Pond Truck Trail sees a fair amount of traffic. After fresh snow fell nearly every day the past week, only one or two new ski tracks were visible. Not all the junctions are marked well. About a 1/4 mile along the Fish Pond Truck Trail I passed a junction on the right with ski markers. This is the end of the trail around Little Green Pond that I will get back to eventually. About a 1/2 mile later I reached another trail marked for skiing but no destination signs. This trail leads to a canoe carry (the Adirondack word for a portage trail) between St. Regis Pond and Little Lake Clear. I headed down this trail. Although an old trench was faintly visible, there were no fresh ski tracks on this trail and I wouldn't see any for several miles. I skied down this trail roughly a mile until it reached the boggy southeast corner of St. Regis Pond.

Along the ski trail to St. Regis Pond

Ski Trail marker

Little Clear Pond can also be skied 

Following the carry trail to St. Regis Pond on untracked snow

With snow cover, it isn't obvious that you reached water, so a map is helpful for navigation at this point. Once I reached the pond, I had no tracks to follow for the next several miles, so a map was absolutely necessary to find the portage trails between the various ponds. I followed the bog until I reached the more open, main body of St. Regis Pond. With recent cold temperatures, the snow on the pond provided a solid ski surface with no slush, as anticipated.

Heading onto St. Regis Pond

At nearly 400 acres, St. Regis Pond was the largest body of water on my route. Even with rock solid ice, I wanted to limit my time skiing on a frozen body of water, so I skied the most direct route across the pond. Out of the protection of the forest, the wind on St. Regis pond put a chill in the air. Blowing snow pelted me at times on the open pond. St. Regis Pond offers the best scenery of the surrounding area on my route with St. Regis Mountain dominating the view.

St. Regis Mountain's high point is the peak on the right

I broke the traverse across St. Regis Pond into two segments. I skied the first 3/4 of a mile to a prominent point. A lean to on the point provided a nice spot to get out of the wind for a moment and hydrate. I also took a look at my map so I knew roughly where the canoe carry trail led to the next pond. The last 1/3 of a mile wasn't quite as windy as the first segment. I found the carry trail to Ochre Pond without much difficulty.

The lean to sits on the point of land on the left, with
St. Regis Mtn.in the background

Looking back on my track across St. Regis

Lean to along St. Regis Pond

Looking back on the length of St. Regis Pond

The skiing between St. Regis and Ochre Ponds was fairly straightforward. The snow on the carry trail looked to be untouched all winter long. The carry trail runs maybe a 1/2 mile between the two ponds. Despite the untracked snow, the path is fairly obvious at most times. I only saw one or two markers on the trail, so if you aren't comfortable navigating in remote areas, you may want stick to the marked and tracked ski trails. By now, the morning sun gave way to clouds and light snow.

Start of the carry trail to Ochre

Although not marked, the route is fairly obvious

Looking back on my tracks

A section where the trail becomes a little less obvious

This canoe carry trail brought me to Ochre Pond. The traverse across Ochre runs only about a 1/4 mile. A pretty steady wind blew across the pond, but I was able to cross quickly and head back into the protected forest. The sign marking the next carry trail on the west end of Ochre Pond has seen better days and was a little more difficult to spot at a distance. Combing the shore, I was able to find it soon enough on the narrow pond.

Ochre Pond

This sign marking the trail wasn't easy to find in the snow

My next segment on the carry trail between Ochre and Mud Ponds was the most challenging leg of the trip. This trail travels over a mile on rougher terrain. A series of eskers traverse the area. The carry trail climbs up and over these eskers, at times fairly steeply. Like the trail between Ochre and St. Regis, this trail was completely untracked. At times following the trail took some careful analysis to stay on track. Very few markers are found on this trail. Because of the eskers, the terrain gets a little tricky with steeper pitches and narrow trails with a couple of overgrown sections. The snow was quite deep in places. Because of its location and untracked nature, you get a real sense of remoteness along this section.

Skiing along an esker

Overgrown section of trail

Fairly typical stretch along the Ochre to Mud carry trail

A mild section of the Ochre to Mud carry trail

Eventually the trail descends fairly steeply off a final esker as it reaches a junction. At this point, you have the choice to ski across one more pond, or head directly to Fish Pond. I decided to ski across Mud Pond. Mud was the smallest pond on the route so far. Although difficult to tell under deep snow, it looked like would have been more shallow and boggy than the others that I traversed. One last short carry trail brought be to Fish Pond.

Junction to Mud Pond

Mud Pond

Final carry trail to Fish Pond

Fish Pond covers more than 100 acres and is a decent size pond. I skied roughly 1/4 mile over the pond to reach the Fish Pond Truck Trail at the southeast corner of the pond. If skiing this loop in reverse, the canoe carry trails toward Mud Pond and Ochre Pond didn't have any signs. With snow, these trails are very difficult to find if you don't know where to look.

Fish Pond

Hills around Fish Pond

Obscured visibility on Fish Pond as snow falls

Looking back at my tracks on Fish Pond

Now that the harder skiing was behind me, I took a break to eat and drink before closing out the last five miles of my route. Although there wasn't a fresh track on the Fish Pond Truck Trail, it sees a decent amount of traffic and was fairly packed under the fresh few inches of snow. It's also wider than most standard trails making it a good choice for even most beginner skiers.

Transitioning from conifers to hardwoods

Gentle terrain on the Truck Trail

Generally the Truck Trail travels gentle, rolling terrain with no major elevation changes. There is one modest hill in the middle section of the Truck Trail that could be a little tricky in icy conditions. The hill features about 200 vertical feet of elevation gain before dropping back down. In good snow, it can be climbed with minimal herring bone climbing and descended without much danger. Both times I skied it, I had prime conditions. On harder snow, it may pose a little more challenge.

Icy cliff near the height of land

Skiing from Fish Pond, you pass a few junctions. The first obvious trail leads down a marked trail to Ochre Pond. Another trail leads to the western side of St. Regis Pond. About four miles from Fish Pond, I passed the start of my loop at the ski trail that leads to the southeast corner of St. Regis Pond. Finally I reached the ski trail that travels around Little Green Pond that I mentioned at the beginning of the post. The skiing on the Truck Trail went by quickly on the packed surface compared to the untracked ponds and carry trails.

Skiing through conifers

Nice forest on the Fish Pond Truck Trail

To add a little variety from the Truck Trail, I headed down the ski trail around Little Green Pond. The trail begins on a narrower path that's easy to follow with ski trail markers. A short detour leads to tiny Bone Pond. The trail turns into the wider Bone Pond Truck Trail before reaching the campsites on Little Green Pond. The marked ski trail eventually passes a clearing of Little Green Pond and finally Little Lake Clear before ending back at the snowmobile trail a few hundred yards from the parking lot, about 1.3 miles from the Fish Pond Truck Trail.

Narrow start to the Green Pond loop

Bone Pond

Trail around Little Green Pond

Little Green Pond

I don't have a specific measurement on the distance of this loop, but going by a rough mapping estimate on CalTopo, I measured this loop out to about 13 miles, but it didn't feel quite this long. With perfect snow conditions, I couldn't have asked for a better day of cross country skiing. Despite the chilly start, it warmed up to the low 20sF. Apart from some wind on the ponds, the forest sheltered me from the wind most of the time. It snowed for about 90 minutes but nothing too serious. Even with sections where I had to break trail for nearly half of the trip, I still managed to ski the route in less than five hours.

The red line shows my approximate route

I passed one skier not to far from Fish Pond and skied a mile or two with another skier for a couple miles near the height of land on the Fish Pond Truck Trail. I saw one other person at a distance near Bone Pond. My previous outing skiing the Fish Pond Truck Trail, I encountered only one other group. I'm sure the area sees more traffic on weekends with good snow, but the area doesn't seem to get too busy or over skied.

If you choose to ski the ponds, be sure to check the safety of the ice before committing to a crossing of a body of water. Also be aware that the ponds are prone to wet and slushy conditions after heavy snow or warmer periods that make skiing miserable. If you aren't comfortable with route finding, stick to the marked ski trails or tracked snow. The area is fairly remote and sees little to no traffic off the main trails in the winter.

If you ski this area and have a sense of adventure, there are plenty of options to create your own adventure on the various ponds and trails. If you are looking for a less adventurous outing, the trail around Little Green Pond and the Fish Pond Truck Trail both make good skiing options.

Click the links below for additional resources.

St. Regis Canoe Area Map

St. Regis Canoe Area Overview

Local Ski Conditions Report

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