Moose River Plains

Spanning Herkimer and Hamilton Counties, the Moose River Plains Wild Forest offers an array of activities, including camping, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, hunting, and canoeing. Free campsites are accessible from late May to December’s end. Winter highlights snowmobiling along the Limekiln Lake-Cedar River Road linking Inlet and Indian Lake. Must-visit spots encompass Cedar River Flow, Moose-spotting at Helldiver Pond, scenic Wakely Mountain with its firetower, as well as numerous smaller ponds and lesser-known trails. This diverse landscape caters to a range of outdoor pursuits, making it a year-round destination for nature enthusiasts and adventurers.

Download all Moose River Plains Maps as a PDF on Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/document/640702975/Moose-River-Plains-Map-Pack

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Super Soft Spot in the Plains

Heading out in the sandy part of Moose River Plains, there are some sections were the road is super soft from the wet spring.

Moose River Plains is really big when you walk

This past weekend I decided to leave Big Red parked and walk to most of my destinations at Moose River Plains. Walking along Otter Brook Road remind me how truly large Moose River Plains truly is. That’s a blessing but it also means to get to many if not most destinations, motoring is required although I guess the roads also would be a lot of fun to bike, especially in the relatively flat plains.

Thunderstorm Coming to the Plains

Moose River Plains Upgrades

A decade ago Moose River Plains was a lot more diapolated than it is now it seems. While the state had invested in some of the accessible features like the new improved accessible trails to Helldiver, Icehouse, and Mitchells Pond, and the accessible campsites most of the other campsites had fallen into disrepair with outhouses and picnic tables falling apart if they existed at all.

Campsite on Moose River Plains road

In more recent years the situation has improved enormously. Most of the drive in campsites have new outhouses, fire places have largely been replaced as have picnic tables. While the original infrastructure of the Plains held up well for fifty years – much of it from the late 1960s and early 1970s, use and abuse meant it needed to be upgraded.

Untitled [Expires August 4 2024]

I’ve heard that many of the upgrades were in part done by volunteers and not the Division of Operations. But regardless, they still make for a nice area to visit and enjoy. Having a picnic table and outhouse at nearly every site is a good improvement for sure.