Raquette Falls

By Bill Ingersoll

This under-appreciated hike along the Raquette River passes no fewer than five lean-tos, including one just 0.2-mile from the trailhead and another unassuming shelter within spitting distance of a ranger station. If you are dead-set on camping in a lean-to on your next adventure, few hiking routes are this well endowed with options.

The flipside is that all but one of these shelters stand on the banks of the Raquette River, making them equally accessible to boats and canoes. This puts backpackers in direct competition with paddlers for the best spots, and on busy weekends the paddlers (and boaters) may have the advantage.

While the trail may not be the most visually exciting wilderness route – and the ranch-like ranger station at the falls may break the wilderness spell – it nevertheless deserves more attention than it seems to get. People seeking the scenic charms of Raquette Falls are more apt to approach in canoes or motorboats, but this same trail in any other part of the Adirondack Park would be highly regarded as a recreational asset. Here, it suffers only by comparison.

Between Long Lake and Tupper Lake, the Raquette River is mostly wide and tranquil. Although it forms a portion of the western boundary for the High Peaks Wilderness, the river itself is not part of the wilderness and thus motorboats are permitted. However, a mile-long section in the middle of this stretch is unnavigable, culminating with the thunderous plunge at “Lower” Raquette Falls.

Campers, take note: None of the five lean-tos are located within view of the falls, although the last two are close enough for a quick stroll whenever the mood strikes. Several designated campsites are also sprinkled between these two shelters.

Getting There – The trailhead is located on Coreys Road, which begins on NY Route 3 about 2.6 miles east of the junction with NY Route 30, between the villages of Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake. This begins as a residential road but quickly becomes a gravel lane leading almost entirely through state land – much of it a reforestation area of pines. The trailhead parking area is on the right at 2.7 miles, just after the bridge over Stony Creek.

The Trail – The trail to Raquette Falls is an abandoned road that was later designated for horse use, although to my knowledge it is no longer frequently used by horses. But this history explains the route’s easiness, with gentle grades and wide turns.

The first thing that happens as you leave the trailhead is the fork to the right, which leads to the Stony Creek Lean-To, just 0.2-mile from the parking area. Despite its name, it stands on the Raquette River and is therefore accessible to boats and canoes. Across the Raquette is a forest of gracefully curving silver maples.

The main trail keeps left for Raquette Falls. The walking conditions are excellent as the horse trail undulates through a forest of mostly hardwoods, with a few hemlock groves and spruce-fir pockets thrown in for good measure. The lowlands surrounding the river are on your right, forming a labyrinth of swamps, pools, and oxbows. Topographically it is a confusing world out there, so be glad to have the clarity of the trail.

At 2.2 miles, a 0.6-mile-long side trail branches off to the right, leading to the Hemlock Hill Lean-To – out on the river. Not advertised on official trail signs is the unmarked spur branching south to the Palmer Brook Lean-To, 0.7-mile distant.

The horse trail passes the junction to Calkins Brook at 2.4 miles and then reaches a scenic wetland on Palmer Brook with glimpses of Seward and Donaldson mountains, two of the westernmost High Peaks. Seward Mountain was named for William Seward, a former NYS Governor, best known for serving as the US Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and negotiating the purchase of Alaska.

The trail crosses a small hill and passes close to one of the river’s small peripheral ponds. It then cuts a corner through a bay, arriving at roughly 3.6 miles at a fourth lean-to, easily accessible from the trail and designated the Raquette Falls No. 2 Lean-To. It is a nice, attractive spot with a good view across the river, a small pond beyond, and a small mountain on the horizon.

Beyond this point, the trail climbs and descends another small hill, with a side path leading to the large pool at the foot of the rapids you have been hearing for some time. After this you reach the sprawling campus of the Raquette Falls ranger station at 4.3 miles, which is only manned by DEC for part of the year. This rustic structure, with its barn-like storage building and nearby field, is like a scene from a western ranch.

There are numerous signs here, for in the summer this is a busy place. One points to a side trail leading 0.2-mile to Lower Falls, one of the three drops comprising Raquette Falls, and easily the most photogenic. The cascading river is an awesome sight when the water is high – a thunderous, raw, menacing force, like a lion trapped in a cage. This is a massive river.

The main trail continues past the ranger station to a solitary lean-to on the edge of the meadow – the last and loneliest of the five shelters, named Raquette Falls No. 1. It stands beside the trail but far from water. That being said, it is not a horrible site and may be the most dependable for hikers, since this is the only shelter that boats can’t reach.

Although this is the most distant lean-to on this hike, it is not necessarily the end of the adventure. Among the reasons I recommend this hike is so backpackers can take advantage of the hiking options here. The obvious is Raquette Falls itself, but also the rugged footpath that hugs the east bank of the river and provides access to the other cascades comprising Upper and Middle Falls. There is the canoe carry trail leading 0.8-mile upstream from the lean-to to the top of the rapids, as well as the charming footpath leading in about equal distance to secluded Dawson Pond.

Bill Ingersoll is a cofounder and vice-chair of Adirondack Wilderness Advocates: adirondackwilderness.org. He’s the author of recently published guidebook, Wilderness Camping in the Adirondacks: 25 Backpacking and Canoeing Overnight Adventures, which features relatively easy outings and you can buy it from a local outfitter, bookstore and online.