Three Adirondack Paddling Adventures for your Bucket List

The Adirondack Mountain region offers an incredible amount of flatwater paddling opportunities that will connect your heart and soul with your deep rooted love of nature. Crystal clear lakes create vibrant reflections of blue skies and green mountains as you coast the water in serene wilderness environments. In a land populated with bald eagles, beavers, bears, and frogs, you’re bound to have an exceptional wildlife viewing experience, along with a chance to catch some fish. Marshes, streams, and flows beg for your exploration in and out of mystic channels with unique flora. Hundreds of public backcountry campsites populate these shorelines, patiently waiting for you to settle down and pitch a tent for the night. What’s that? It’s not just the howl of a loon across the water, the Adirondacks are calling for your exploration. Here are some fantastic adventures to help get you started.

Lows Lower Dam to Lows Upper Dam

The Bog River flows for several miles from Lows Lake all the way into Tupper Lake. Along the way, it passes through Hitchins Pond that separates the Horseshoe Lake Wild Forest on its north side from the the Round Lake Wilderness on its south. A splendid paddling trip can be taken from Lows Lower Dam to Lows Upper Dam. The route is over very calm and slow moving water that is fairly shallow. The round-trip distance covers about 6-miles and has many marshes and water outlets to explore, birdwatch, and observe wildlife.

Rollins Pond Loop

The Rollins Pond paddling loop is an 8-mile trip that passes through five scenic water bodies in the Saranac Lakes Wilderness. This is a very popular day trip through calm waters and meandering streams that can be great for the whole family. Along the way, there are lots of opportunities for birdwatching, fishing, and swimming. The entire area is one of the most favored in the Adirondacks, with lots of places to explore and create your own unique adventure.

Deer River Flow

In the northern end of the Debar Mountain Wild Forest, at the upper end of the Adirondack Mountains, the Deer River Flow is a narrow Y-shaped body of water that is a paddler’s paradise.  A series of marshes, open areas, streams, and wildlife make this a fantastic destination to explore. There is a dam at the northern end of the flow, on the western side of the Y, where you can peer over the outflow and look back to an incredible view of the surrounding mountains. The round-trip distance for this adventure is about 5-miles over flat water.