Vanderwhacker

The Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest is a 92,000-acre (370 km2) tract made up of almost 2 dozen non-contiguous parcels that are designated as Wild Forest by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in the central Adirondack Park. The area contains 44 ponds and small lakes, and portions of the Hudson and Boreas Rivers. The area supports hiking, birding, snowmobiling, Nordic skiing, hunting, camping, canoeing, and fishing. The area is served by NY-28.

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Old Conservation Department Marker

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I always like seeing these old Conservation Department markers. I am not sure how many of them are actually 55 years old at this point, and how many were "new" old stock, that had been sitting in a warehouse for years before they were installed. Painted aluminum might be fairly indestructible compared to the plastic markers of recent decades, but I can't imagine the original markers from late 1960s would still look this good after all those years. The DEC replaced the Conservation Department on April 1, 1970.

Saturday November 29, 2025 — Hewitt Eddy Trail

Splash goes the Bores River

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The black water of the Boreas River from the tannin definately looked a bright brown color in contrast to the willy white fresh snow all around it. 

Saturday November 29, 2025 — Hewitt Eddy Trail

Campsites Along NY 28N

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I was asked the other day about accessible campsites just off the road outside of Alden Lair and Newcomb. I've camped at these field campsites along the Boreas River and they are pretty nice although some road noise. The Hewitt Eddy Trail is worthwhile to hike too. 

Cheney Pond

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This is a beautiful aerial photo super-imposed on the LiDAR hillshade to show the area with detail as you might see it from an airplane in late winter.

You can drive down to Cheney Pond via an unmarked road along Boreas Road, on top of a hill with a pull-off. The road is somewhat rutted but there is a drive-in campsite at the bottom of the road. From there, you can paddle across Cheney Pond and follow a narrow but navigable stream down to Lester Flow, which is little more then a still water in the Boreas River. At one time, Lester Flow was a all flooded but the dam is long gone, just leaving the still water.

Ortho Cheney Pond