Indian Lake – Miles of Shoreline Offer Lots to Explore

By Alan Mapes

“Indian Lake is a scene
You should make with your little one
Keep it in mind if you’re lookin to find
A place in the summer sun”

So go the lyrics of the Cowsills’ hit song from 1969 – the year I graduated from high school, but who’s counting? The song was inspired by the fifth largest lake in the Adirondack Park – a bit smaller than Raquette Lake and larger than Schroon. I paddle a fair amount in the Adirondacks, but somehow had not been on Indian Lake for many years. A trip there was long overdue.

My perfect excuse came with a listing on Facebook from the ADK Pirates kayaking group. I had paddled with this crew in the past, but it had been quite a while. This loosely organized group of friends is based out of the Glens Falls area and, as their name suggests, paddle primarily in the Adirondacks. The weather forecast for the day called for sun and nearly 80 degrees. In mid-May, this makes for a perfect storm of paddling danger – more on that later.

Indian Lake is a narrow water body spanning about 14 miles in length. Because of the geology, it runs southwest to northeast, like several Adirondack lakes and rivers – think Long Lake. A dam built in 1898 on the Indian River raised the water level by 33 feet, creating the lake by flooding three small lakes and the surrounding valleys. Navigating the lake can be confusing at times, with a number of islands, deep bays and long peninsulas. Keeping track of your location using a map and/or a GPS is a really good idea for the new visitor. The 50 miles of shoreline offers lots of lake to explore.

Expecting a fairly long day on the water, I decided to take the most comfortable of my three kayaks, an old British-made NDK Explorer. The problem – the thing weights around 65 pounds and I have a new car and a new rack system, with no way to assist the loading of a heavy big boat. My new Yakima rack can have a pull-out bar added to one of the cross bars, allowing you to put one end of the boat up on that extension bar, then raise the other end to the rack and finally shift the first end over. The pull-out bar then slides back into the rack – it’s called a Boatloader EVO. The problem: they are out of stock, as are many outdoor recreation items lately.

Yankee ingenuity to the rescue – I took an old canoe thwart made of sturdy ash and shaved down one end so I could stick it securely into the rack bar, serving the same way as the fancy Yakima item. I managed to load the 18-foot craft with ease and without adding any dings to the shiny new ride (plug-in hybrid, by the way).

Our launch spot was at the south end of the lake, the headquarters and jumping off spot for the NYS DEC Indian Lake Islands Campground. This system of 50-some campsites around the shores and islands was not yet open for the season, but the boat launch was open for free informal use. The campsites are open from May 21 to October 11 and the fee is $20 a day. Reservations are a must with these campsites and are made through reserveamerica.com. They tend to book up quickly.

As we got ready, we all were contemplating the looming safety problem. The day’s air temperature would top out near 80 and the water was still very cold, I guessed in the low 50s. The old adage tells you to dress for the water temperature, not the air. An out-of-boat experience with water this cold is serious. The body numbs quickly and the use of hands and other body parts to get yourself out of the water goes away fast. Our solution was to dress for coolish conditions, but not so that we’d swelter during the day. Everyone was wearing their life vest, zipped up and strapped down, plus a spray skirt.  Everyone was in a full sea kayak with hatches and bulkheads. We were all familiar with assisted rescues, although everyone agreed that we should do a practice session as soon as the water warms up.

I like this safety in numbers and experience approach when facing the hot air and cold-water danger. The considerations would be very different for a solo paddle trip or with a group of inexperienced paddlers.

Ellen and Paul Martin of Queensbury have long been the leaders of this group and conduct trips in a laid-back but safe style. As our group of five headed north, the route was discussed and agreed on at several points along the way. I was pleased to see how compatible a group of paddlers we were – everyone stayed within easy hailing distance, everyone staying quickly reachable if a problem occurred. Everyone seemed to have a good sense of where the others were at all times (situational awareness). No-one headed off on their own – as I sometimes find happening on a group paddle.

Our route took us through the cut south of Long Island and into John Mack Bay. A stop at campsite #28 offered a nice beach and two picnic tables for lunching. When the campground is open and the sites in use, there are six picnic areas shown on the NYSDEC map for day use boaters. Power boat traffic may be a concern during the summer, as it is on other large lakes.

Later, we poked into the cove where a trail starts for John Mack Pond (1.4 miles), but decided to leave the hiking for another day. There is also a water-access hiking trail farther north on the lake for Baldface Mountain Trail (1.1 miles).

After lunch, our route took us through a group of islands and then a downwind run back to the launch. Winds were less than 10 mph during most of the paddle, but were enough to create small waves that helped our progress back to the south. I briefly donned my instructor hat, giving two fellow paddlers some tips on surfing wind waves: paddle as normal until a wave lifts up your bow, then paddle hard for a few strokes and lean forward in your seat. Your bow will drop and you will ride the face of a wave for a free boost of distance and speed.

If you go – The map I used is the National Geographic #744, “Adirondack Park: Northville / Raquette Lake.” Indian Lake does not appear to be covered by any of the popular Adirondack Paddlers Map series. The NYS DEC website has a campground map and information for Indian Lake Islands and Day Use Area: dec.ny.gov.

Alan Mapes (alanmapes@gmail.com) is a kayak instructor and guide, certified by the American Canoe Association. He lives near Saratoga Springs and offers kayak instruction through Capital District Kayakers Meetup.