Camping at Horseshoe Lake, Aug 12
Horseshoe Lake is located on South Eastern Saint Lawrence County, on a dead end state highway, NY 421, a spur from NY 30 South of Tupper Lake. It offers 6 campsites scattered along the lake, with 6 others on nearby roads. It is also near the Bog River Flow Canoe/Kayak Area. Don’t expect to get a campsite on the lake in the afternoon, but the sites along the truck trail are rarely used.
Six Miles to Horseshoe Lake. This is the turn off for NY 421, one of the strangest state highways in the state. It is a dead ended highway, that leads to gravel roads around Horseshoe Lake and Bog River Flow. It is very twisty and narrow, and portions have not been resurfaced in over 50 years.
After The Pavement Runs Out. About a two miles from the paved end of NY 421, I camped. This is first thing in the morning, with the sun shining down from the wetlands near where I camped.
Campsite No 9. This is Campsite No 9 at Horseshoe Lake, on an Unnamed Adirondack Park Road, about two miles from the end of NY 421/Paved. I could not get site on the lake, arriving at 5 PM at night, but it’s still a nice campsite. This area of Saint Lawrence County is so remote, only 2 big pickup trucks, and logging truck passed by in the 12 or so hours I was there.
Not Fancy Campsite. By no means was Campsite No 9 on the Unnamed Road, particularly fancy. But it provided a place to camp, and was a three minute drive down to the lake. I could have gotten a spot on Horseshoe Lake most likely had I arrived in the morning, as it seemed like campsites tended to clear out in the morning.
Road Crosses Railroad Tracks. This is where the weird hair-pin turn appears on maps at the end of NY 421. I’m not sure why it follows this route, as the terrain is flat, but maybe at one time there was an inholding or private home located in here.
Horseshoe Lake in Morning. Heading swimming in a couple of minutes. The water was real nice.
Cowboy Hat, Swimming Trunks, Work Boots. Not that you could get the total picture from this image. But the cowboy hat and work boots came off before the dip. A real country boy thing.
Unnamed Dirt Road. This is the road that goes from Horseshoe Lake to Mount Arab / Piercefield.
Wetlands Along Horseshoe Lake. This is about a mile after the pavement runs out on NY 421, just after the Bog River Flow / Lower Lows Dam Road turn-off
Here is a map of where I camped, on the truck trail, west of Horseshoe Lake.
12 Comments
me and my family have camped here for 20 yrs or more, my father and brother in law camped here many yrs before I did. there was a thriving town there and the train stopped there also had a bar there, they made maple syrup there we have some of the syrup bottles. if you swim at the concrete dock be carful for they are old glass syrup bottles in the lake and you can get cut bad. we always went there because it was free. there is a lot of history to the town of horseshoe. thank you jack
I have been diving Horseshoe sent 1977, the most bottles I ever found in one lake was found in one of the smallest lakes up north was Horseshoe lake. where bottles from Belfast Ireland round bottom bottles stack up like cord wood over two hundred in a pile. And some still in crates, maple syrup bottles ten different sizes hundreds in piles in fifteen of water.
in 1898 A.A. Low taped 10,000 trees, where are all those sap buckets? were there above ground bottle dumps? I am getting up in years but still like diving for bottles.
Daniel Weeden, Camden NY.
That is awesome do you still have any bottles?
i have been hunting here for 10 years now, i am 16. i started going up with the hunting crew when i was 6 for rabbit and grouse, now i have moved on to big game like deer and coyote. excellent place to go and have a good time with dad.
Andy. There was an American Legion Veterans’ Mountain Camp on that weird hairpin turn. Back in the 1970’s a group of investors purchased the old camp in hopes of making it a vacation spit. It was unsuccessful. My father was involved in this. As kids we spent most of our summers up there for a few years. There were a couple of privately owned camps. But everything is gone now since the land was turned over to the Adirondack Park. I haven’t been there in years. Many memories up there!
Fascinating story. I’ve only been up to Horseshoe Lake twice but I always here from people the great memories they’ve made up that way. It seems to be a special place to a great many people.
We had a camp there on Horsehoe Lake for years. My uncles had a trailer on the main road and we leased one of the railroad cabins for years. We spent many years at Horseshoe Lake and was there when the investors purchased the American Legion campgrounds area. As kids we explored every inch of that Mountain Camp area. We hiked all over the lake area-I do remember people being up there.
We vacationed at the American Legion Camp in the 50’s from LI…Great memories…Is it possible to visit ? What is the status ? We enjoyed the cabins & clubhouse…
I spent several summers up there in my early teens in the mid to late seventies. We were among the group of families invested in the property. I remember arriving in the “village” it was awesome. A little hamlet in the middle of nowhere! A bar/restaurant was at the center of town just before the concrete launch. Next to the bar was a caretakers cabin. Then a left turn going over the railroad tracks. Over the tracks was another sharp left hand turn that brought you further into the wilderness. But, if you continued straight you quickly came upon a two story hotel on the right. Straight ahead, sat an abandoned American Legion galley that was full of old tables and broken plates and glassware. Up on the hill, to the left, were a row of cabins. We stayed in one of these cabins. It was a great way to spend the summer. Swimming, fishing, and exploring the Adirondacks. On the weekends, I remember that a guy would come to the bar with his guitar and play Jim Croce and John Denver songs. Fond memories. All sold before the 80 Winter Olympics.
How open was the sky at campsite number 9? I know it is not light polluted out there. Is there an open expanse without high trees so I can see all the constellations?
It’s not terrible but some light pollution from Tupper Lake.
Not very open, your best bet is to walk down to Horseshoe Lake, though the disadvantage is you’d be looking northeast towards Tupper Lake light pollution. Maybe walk the railroad tracks with a flashlight or Lows Lake Lower Road after dark with a flashlight to the marshy area — but watch out for bears.