NFCT: Day 2 on the Saranac Lakes

Overnight, it really didn’t get as cold as we thought it might. Maybe that contributed to it, but we heard some of the craziest loon sounds I’ve ever heard. We normally hear what is labeled the “wail” during the day. We heard some of that, but also after looking it up, I believe a mix of the yodel and the tremolo. I wish I had recorded it, but it was 2am. Check them out.

It was extremely foggy in the morning from first light to 8am. And we certainly took all of that time to get ready, but I don’t know what we were doing. I snapped a few pictures of the fog but wished I had gotten out on the lake earlier to see it. We did get to see two female common mergansers, which are inedible (and because of the mercury in what they eat as diving ducks on the don’t-eat list) but still some neat birds.

Middle Saranac was extremely calm the whole hour or so we were on it before reaching the winding Saranac river. The river isn’t the easiest to see, but as you navigate to the northeast end of the lake, there are the standard red and green navigation buoys floating at the edge of some reeds.

As we turn around the first bend, we saw 6 mallards bobbing for food in the shallow waters. And shallow they are. If you stay in the channel, you’ll be fine but I do wonder how easily the motorboats make it through when they have to pass each other.

Quite soon we came upon the Upper Locks which we’d been looking forward to. We got out and looked at the minor rapids and thought about running them, but with all our gear and the whole day ahead of us, I didn’t want to chance getting too wet. Hopefully we’ll do it another time.

So we investigated the locks and read the instructions about how to operate them. Ben got back in his kayak and brought mine through while I worked the lock. There are these long wooden arms that you push open and closed topside, and walk across to open the metal gates that control the water under the doors. You have to go back and forth a few times to get everything open and shut properly. But it’s pretty straightforward and because of the water pressure, you can’t get them into a state that you can’t return from. There is a tender during the summer months, but after Labor Day, you’re on your own.

Before the lock the river is more of a marsh with reeds, but afterwards it’s much more like a narrow river running through a forest. We saw a few black ducks but before long the river widened and we entered the Lower Saranac Lake. It’s still remote but you can see a lot more boat traffic and camps along the side. We happened to see a helicopter that could land on the water. So a seacopter? It wasn’t clear what they were doing as there only was a campsite nearby, but they took off, landed and buzzed around quite a few times which got old.

You don’t traverse much more than 1/3 of the lake before you head south east on the Saranac River to Oseetah Lake via Second Pond. There’s a boat launch right off NY 3, and we stopped there quickly to change and use the port-a-potties. It was hot.

Second Pond is decently large, but you again head into a windy river through a forest. At some points the river is wide but extremely shallow and there are a lot of obstacles. In a kayak you can pretty much clear everything, but I’m again surprised at the boats that make it through. There are many stumps and dead trees in the water, so there are a lot of the red and green navigation buoys to guide you in the right channel. Lower lock has been keeping the water up for years, and maybe in general the water was lower at this time of year but it’s hard to understand why there are still so many trees after so many years in the water.

Lower Lock still had a tender working the controls and he said he would be there until Columbus Day. He can control it from his booth but there are manual controls when he’s not there. There is a sign for a canoe carry off to the right and when it’s busy, they do make the canoes use it. Since it was a slow day, he didn’t make us do that but also said since we had a bunch of gear he probably wouldn’t have.

After Lower Lock, you head into Oseetah Lake. I read that it has an average depth of 3 feet. To me it’s surprising with how many camps and boats you see on the lake and river. But I guess it makes sense why there is a lock, as many people must try to get up to the deeper Lower Saranac Lake for better water. There are still some great views here, and in one of my photos I believe you can see Whiteface in the distance.

The further you go, the more camps and boats you see. You leave Oseetah Lake to get to Lake Flower where there is a marina, and then round the bend and see the village of Saranac Lake which is right on the lake. This is where their Winter Carnival is held, and they harvest the ice right from the lake. It helps that it’s generally the coldest town in NYS.

At the end of the lake there’s a dam but on the right hand side, there are some nice docks where we could easily take our kayaks out. We thought about driving over, but it was easy enough to roll our kayaks on the sidewalks to the lot behind the buildings on main street that you access via Dorsey Street.

Right down the river is St. Regis Canoe Outfitters. According to their website, you can even leave your kayak or canoe there overnight, plus mail food there and they’ll hold it for free for you. We didn’t try it or even have time to stop in but hopefully some day I’ll return. Instead, we loaded up our kayaks, went back to pick up Ben’s truck at Upper Saranac Lake, and headed home. Another great trip.. can’t wait to go again and with the rest of our family.