Canoe or Kayak Camping

[Dustin Rand]

In mid-June me and 2 close pals will be embarking on a 3 night trip. We're looking to have a relaxing paddle (preferably a loop) and fish, cookout, short day hikes, and sit around a campfire at night.

Right now we're leaning towards Cranberry Lake in upstate NY given it's remoteness and beauty. BUT, we're not 100% committed to this location just yet.

Any other suggestions? I'm looking for someplace that is upstate NY or someplace that is less than a 6 hour drive from NYC. Rentals and transportation are both very important.

Thanks all

 

[genez]

Cranberry Lake is really nice, I would love to go back there... its been about 20 years since I was in that area of the ADKs. I used to spend nearly 2 weeks every summer out there. There should be plenty of amazing options for you in the Adirondacks for Canoe/Kayak trips. This site may not be the best resource, I am not sure how many folks on here are active in the Adirondack/Upstate NY area. Check out this websites suggestions for ideas though, including their Cranberry lake trip: https://www.canoeoutfitters.com/trip-planning/routes

From there maybe google is your friend to try and find a forum with some experienced paddlers in the area.

 

[Dustin Rand]

Cranberry Lake is really nice, I would love to go back there... its been about 20 years since I was in that area of the ADKs. I used to spend nearly 2 weeks every summer out there. There should be plenty of amazing options for you in the Adirondacks for Canoe/Kayak trips. This site may not be the best resource, I am not sure how many folks on here are active in the Adirondack/Upstate NY area. Check out this websites suggestions for ideas though, including their Cranberry lake trip: https://www.canoeoutfitters.com/trip-planning/routes

From there maybe google is your friend to try and find a forum with some experienced paddlers in the area.

Canoeoutfitters is actually the same site my buddy used when he came up with this trip idea. How's the camping out there? The only campground map I can find seems to only show designates sites on the Northeast/East side of the lake. Do you know if wild camping is allowed?

I noticed there are tons of islands, some big some small, and it would be pretty kickass if we could set up a base in one of them for a night or two.

 

[genez]

Yeah. So you should look at the NYSDEC website and read about primitive camping. A lot of the wilderness areas in the ADKs allow wilderness camping. It's always best to camp in a designated spot, they are usually marked well. They are first come first serve.

Here: http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/regions_pdf/cranberrylakewildforest.pdf

That should be enough to get you started planning. I'd really encourage you to pick up a map of the area and read up on the website. Everything that you want to do is totally doable.