Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest 📍

Located in the southwest corner of the Catskill Park, Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest contains more than 13,500 acres of “forever wild” Forest Preserve. With an extensive trail network to several ponds, this wild forest is ideal for hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, backpacking, canoeing and cross-country skiing.

The Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest is located 8 miles south of Margaretville (Route 28) and 18 miles north of Livingston Manor (Route 17). It lies mainly within the western Ulster County town of Hardenburgh, with small appendages in the towns of Middletown and Andes in Delaware County.

The terrain is a combination of high mountain ridges, steep sided valleys, numerous brooks and ponds, with elevations ranging from a low of 1,740 feet along Mill Brook to a high of 3,723 feet at the summit of Balsam Lake Mountain.

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Canoers Fishing

Andy | September 4, 2024

Down at the marshier end of Alder Pond.

Sunday August 29, 2010 — Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest — Alder Lake - Millbrook Range 🗺 — Alder Lake Campsites 🗺 — Balsam Lake Mountain Trail 🗺 — Kelly Hollow Trail 🗺 — Mongaup Hardenburg Trail 🗺— PDF with All Maps 📚

Light Hits Bank

Andy | September 3, 2024

The first rays hit the western bank of the lake, providing some of the greens of the day once again.

Sunday August 29, 2010 — Big Pond — Big Pond 🗺 — Touch Me Not Trail From Big Pond To Alder Lake 🗺— PDF with All Maps 📚

Thematic Map: NYS Median Household Income by Municipality

Nasty Algae Crap

Andy | August 29, 2024

This was at the marshy end of the pond. The algae soup was not as bad in the center of the lake, but it still had a nasty green sheen to the whole lake. This is in the middle of Catskill Park, there are no farms or houses upstream, so I'm not sure if it was just the weather or poor practices from campers.