Northern Adirondacks — Andy Arthur.org

Brasher State Forest

Andy | August 20, 2009

About 5 miles north of North Lawerence, on Saint Lawerence County Route 55 there is a sign for the Brasher State Forest and Walter Pratt Picnic (and Primitive Camping) Area, maintained CC Dam Association.

As you enter the camping area, there is a sign for the picnic area along the lake, and camping on the other side of the road. Originally they allowed camping on both sides of the road, but concerns about run-off and other pollution from campers relocated the sites to the other side of the road.

If you want to camp, all you have to do is sign-in on a card, and stick it in the retrospective window. This so they can contact you during an emergency. You can stay for up to 3 nigths, or longer if you get up to a 2-week renewable permit from the DEC.

The campsites are quite nice. Not all of them are as separated as this one, but I wanted one that was a little farther away for some peace and quiet. Also I figured I could listen to music as loud as I wanted to here.

One of the major features of the area is a beautiful dammed up section of the Red Brook, that creates an artificial lake. The Civilian Conservation Corps Dam, built in the 1930s, is where CC Dam Association name comes from.

There is a swimming beach where people can swim at their own risk. As you can see, it’s some pretty nice swimming, although the lake is a little muckier then it appears in the pictures, and is a natural reddish color from the minerals in the sand of the Saint Lawrence County.

They have a horseshoe pit.

They have a hand pump for one to get drinking water. It’s marked non-potable, probably because it draws from the same shallow aquifer of the lake. You can easily boil it on a stove to make it safe to drink.

The outhouses are in quite nice shape and very clean as you can see from these inside and outside pictures.

The sites are just wonderful. Here is Campsite 21 after I had put away all my gear before heading out. The fire pit rings vary, but for a free place, are pretty darn awesome.

The CC Dam Association is made up of volunteers from the Tri-Town Region of Saint Lawerence County, the nick-name for the Brasher Falls/Brasher/North Lawerence hamlets that dot the country south of Malone.

They collect old beer cans and accept donations via the mail for fundraising. Since camping is free, and the place is so well up-kept, I’m sure they apprechiate the help. Not to mention, collecting beer cans probably reduces litter, because people can’t really burn them, and some can be lazy about packing out their trash.

There are a number of other marked campsites on other truck trails in Brasher State Forest, including down by the Tri-Town Horse Trail area near Brasher Falls. In addition, there are dozens of miles of truck trail to drive legally in a pickup, ride with a horse or mountain bike, or illegally on a quad.

Here is a map of Brasher Falls State Forest and it’s relationship to Massena. You can zoom in for more details. NYS DEC Land Mapper has a run down of the trails.

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Chazy Lake Primative Campsite

Andy | August 17, 2009

On Lake Chazy, the state owns about 800 feet of lake front as State Forest. There is three campsites here, one of them on the lake, and two along a private road / driveway.

This parcel exists on the far end of Wilfred King Road, which runs for about 5 miles before you reach the end where the parking area and the private drive you take down to the parcel.

The site on the water has great views, a little fireplace, and lots of space for setting up two or three tents. It’s just as much a paradise as the photo suggests.

“Camp Here” marker shows that this is a designated site. When your in the Catskills or Adirondacks they tend to be fairly strict about the 150 feet rule from water and roads, unless you are a designated site.

Down by the lake in the afternoon. Imagine a book in my hands, and you can see how relaxed I am.

Cookng some dinner on my camp stove. Tonight I’m having sausage in Rice-a-Roni. The image makes it look like some kind of sinster stew that I’m making up, make out of small children I boiled up and mixed with grits. It’s not that for sure, and was far more delicious.

If you go out in the lake a little ways for a wade, you get a good view of Lyon Mountain. The water is shallow, and if it’s as hot as it was when I was there, truly delightful. While you will have to drive approximately 10 miles around the lake to get to the parking area to climb Lyon Mountain, but it’s beautiful with the fire tower up top.

Sitting down at the lake you could hear the errie call of the loon.

The site has good south-west views over the Lyon Mountain where the sunsets in the evening. The sunsets from here are amazing, as you watch the fire burn. The wood supply is limited, so you may consider packing in your own wood supply.

The important thing is that if you go there, make sure to drive all the way to the end of the road, past where the blacktop ends and after where the state forest starts. You will know when your there, and if you don’t see signs for the state parcel or the campsites, you haven’t driven far enough.

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Also, while it’s posted against driving motor vehicles past the parking lot, as it is a private driveway, you can drive almost up to the lake front campsite if you don’t want to walk with the stuff in. That said, it’s only about a 1/4 mile hike from the parking area, so it’s fine to make multiple trips throughout the night and day like I did.

Here is the site on Google Maps. The hikers are where you park, the trail follows the driveway for a while, and then turns for about 150 feet to the campsite right on the water.

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Cumberland Head State Park

Andy | August 16, 2009

The first night of my vacation it was very hot and sticky out. By the time I had reached Plattsburgh I decided I would just find a campsite at Cumberland Head State Park. I probably could have gone to a nicer state park, such as Malcom Reservation or AuSable Point, but I wanted to be close to Plattsburgh and spend a lot of time visiting old haunts in the town and up at Point Au Roche.

Once I got there I dug out my swimming truck, and ran for the swimming beach, as I was hot! Driving up from Albany in all the heat and humidity, I got a terrible sunburn through the windows of my truck. I also don’t have air conditioning, and the humidity was pretty extreme on this Sunday morning.

The water was nice. The campsites on Cumberland Head State Park are pretty close together, and are like camping in a giant field with a bunch of other people. I’m not a fan of state campgrounds at any rate, but it beat trying to hike up Pok-O-Moonshine and look out to nothing from the fire tower.

If you want cheap digs near the City of Plattsburgh, then you can’t beat Cumberland Head State Park. It’s only $15 a night, plus a $2.50 service charge for the first night, and is within a mile from downtown. The beach is nice, and when it’s not so damn hazy, the view of the mountains is amazing. That said, I’m not a fan of state parks, especially the “extreme enforcement” of quiet hours, but those showers are nice in such hot weather.