Most of the Pharoah Lake Trail follows an old woods road
As seen on this 1895 topographic map.
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As seen on this 1895 topographic map.
There are two ways to get between Crane Pond and Pharaoh Lake. One brings you over Pharoah Mountain, which has great views but it's a much bigger climb, especially on the southern side.
Pharaoh Mountain Trail (2,556 feet) extends 3.8 miles between the Pharaoh Lake Trail and Crane Pond Trail. The trails ascends 1,355 feet in 1.2 miles to the summit and then descends 1,405 feet in 2.6 miles to Crane Pond.
Glidden Marsh Trail extends 2.6 miles between Pharaoh Lake Loop Trail and the Pharaoh Mountain Trail. The trail ascends 300 feet from Pharaoh Lake for the first 0.4 mile and then descends 270 feet for the remaining 2.2 miles.
Pharaoh Mountain is located about 10 miles east of Schroon Lake, and can be accessed from the Long Swing / Pharaoh Mountain Trail from the North along with a much steeper and longer trail from Pharaoh Lake from south.
If you choose to take the infamous and rough Crane Pond Truck Trail to it’s end, and then park at Crane Pond, it’s only about a 3 1/2 mile hike up the mountain. If you stop at Alder Pond, and don’t drive through the shallow end of Alder Pond to get to the last mile of Crane Pond Road, then it’s a 4 1/2 mile hike each way.
Below is Alder Pond. It was an amazing morning, as the rain let up and started to clear off. The truck trail cuts through the end of the pond, and with the recent rains, it was deeper then I wanted to take my old pickup through.
At end of Crane Pond Road is Crane Pond (not surpisingly!) There is a parking area here, and Crane Pond is known for it’s good fishing and beauty.
Reaching Glidden Marsh on the Pharaoh Mountain Trail. Pharoah Mountain is in the distance, with the peak sticking up. Most of the trail is relatively flat, until you reach the mountain, and then you start climbing.
About halfway up there, there is the most charming little water fall.
As you climb, views become progressively better.
Reaching the summit, there are views in almost all directions, although you have to wonder around the top of the mountain to get all views. Here is looking North-East toward Ticonderoga. You can see Lake Champlain in the distance — barely, along with Crane Pond, Alder Pond, Oxbow Lake, and other features up close.
On the northernly view, you have nice views of the High Peaks Region of the Adirondacks, with Mount Marcy and Alonquin Mountains peaking out top.
To the south-west, there are view of Gore Mountain (ski trails still with snow on it as of April 11).
There also is a primative campsite on top of Pharaoh Mountain.
To the South-East there is Pharaoh Lake, which I did not visit, but the maps show about 5 lean-tos surround it.
Desolate Swamp is quite purty from the mountain.
After hiking up the mountain, I took a side trip to the beautiful Oxbow Pond, and the other side of Glidden Marsh. Here is the Long-Swing Trail along the edge of Glidden Marsh, near the turn off to Oxbow Lake.
Oxbow Lake is so beautiful, and probably real deep.
The Oxbow Lean-To. It looks well used, but is in good shape, and has a decent outhouse a little ways from it, a fire pit, along with lots of water for cooking in the nearby pond.
The one end of Oxbow Lake is swampy, as it runs between outfall of Crab Pond down to Oxbow.
Heading back to the truck, the sun flickers on the outlet of Glidden Marsh.
An amazing hike. Definitely want to come back, and possibly spend a night at Oxbow Pond.
Updated map of Pharoah Lake with campsites based on the latest data dump from the NYSDEC. As of this summer, the bridge over the outlet (southern tip) of Pharoah Lake is closed for repairs, so one must go around the lake to get to the northern shore of the lake from the Pharoah Lake Trail from Pharoah Road/Beaver Dam Road in Schroon.
At 420 acres, Pharoah Lake is the largest lake surrounded entirely by wilderness in New York State. Located in the heart of Pharoah Lake Wilderness it is home to 6 lean-tos and 12 designated campsites. The loop trail around the like is roughly 5 miles.
https://andyarthur.org/pharoah-lake
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/51351.html
43.77418022914859,-73.64566515243904
The Pharoah Lake Trail is 3 1/2 miles from Beaver Pond Road in Schroon over a gentle upslope, taking you back to the largest wilderness lake in the Adirondacks at 420 acres. One mile in, there is two designated campsites near the trailhead for Crab Pond Trail. The loop trail around the lake is roughly 5 miles.
https://andyarthur.org/pharoah-lake
http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/51351.html
The most popular way to access Pharoah Lake is via the Pharoah Lake Trail off of Pharoah Road and Beaver Pond Road in Schroon. The Pharaoh Lake Trail extends 3.3 miles from the Pharaoh Lake Road Trailhead to the intersection of trails at the outlet of Pharaoh Lake. There is no access to the north shore at this point, due to the bridge over Pharoah Lake Brook being closed at this time.