Saint Regis Canoe Area

By Rich Macha

During the fair-weather months, the 18,400-acre Saint Regis Canoe Area, located northwest of the Village of Saranac Lake, is a popular destination for paddlers who are looking for a wilderness experience. In winter, the area is much less visited but it does offer some interesting possibilities to the cross-country skier.

Many of the area’s ponds are interconnected with carry trails that can be skied. Skiing on the ponds is easy, whereas most of the carry trails are best for those skiers of intermediate ability. The 4.6-mile Fish Pond Truck Trail provides an experience somewhat in-between easy and intermediate. The ponds usually have sufficient ice thickness to be skiable throughout the winter months. As always, make sure to steer clear of any inlets or outlets where the ice is likely to be thinner.

In February of 2024, along with four friends, I skied a 13-mile clockwise loop that incorporated the area’s main features – out on the truck trail to Fish Pond, then looping back via Mud, Ochre, Saint Regis, and Little Clear ponds. Shorter loops are possible and, of course, skiers can just opt to ski an out-and-back route of their choice.

On the day of our trip, the ponds had less than one inch of powder on top of smooth ice. The trails had about one foot of base with some give to it, plus a little powder on top – breaking trail was not much of an issue.

The dirt roads that access Little Clear Pond, Little Green Pond, and the start of the truck trail are unplowed in winter, so you must park on the side of Fish Hatchery Road – a short distance from NY Route 30 – and start skiing from there.

The Adirondack Rail Trail, heavily used by snowmobiles in winter, is reached after skiing 200 yards. You can continue on the roads past Little Green Pond to the start of the truck trail after taking a left turn past the rail trail, but skiers can take advantage of the “groomed” rail trail and ski west on it for 0.7 miles before taking a right to pick up the truck trail. 

The Fish Pond Truck Trail is fairly level for the first 1.4 miles, then things get a little more interesting as it gains over 200 feet in a half-mile. The skier is then rewarded with a loss of over 200 feet in the next 0.7 miles. After traveling about four miles from Fish Hatchery Road, a junction is reached, and a right turn can take you to Saint Regis Pond at the fish barrier dam on its outlet in 0.2 miles. An eight-mile loop can be skied by going from Saint Regis Pond to Little Clear Pond and back to start.

We continued straight on the undulating truck trail and soon passed the junction of a trail that leads to Grass Pond. Fish Pond is reached after skiing another 1.5 miles on the truck trail. We skied across the pond to its north shore and located the south-facing lean-to where we stopped for a lunch break. For longer breaks such as this, I usually like to find a relatively warm spot that is in the sun and out of the wind.

After lunch, we picked up the carry trail to Mud Pond. The ponds often made some interesting noises as we skied across them. Fish Pond made unique glugging sounds as the skis traveled over its frozen surface. White signs mark each end of the carry trails. The area’s carry trails are much narrower and tighter when compared to the wide truck trail.

From Mud Pond, the carry trail climbs steeply to the top of an esker and generally follows the top of its rolling ridge for 0.7 miles to Ochre Pond, passing between tall pines, hemlocks, and spruce. An open stream had to be rock-hopped before reaching Ochre. Ochre Pond is surrounded by old-growth forest – I took a short break at a campsite on its north shore.

We then picked up the 0.5-mile carry trail to Saint Regis Pond. From the end of the carry, there was a good view of Whiteface Mountain in the distance to the east. Saint Regis Mountain and its fire tower loomed over the pond as we skied the 1.5 miles across it. We skied east then turned south after passing a lean-to on a point to pick up the 0.5-mile trail to Little Clear Pond.

The western High Peaks were in view as we skied the 1.8 miles over Little Clear to the summer parking area at its south end and the access road back to our start to finish the loop.

Another option is to ski from Saint Regis Pond to Upper Saint Regis Lake via Green, Little Long, Bear, and Bog ponds. Although it is a worthwhile route, you might find open water where the carry trail ends at Upper Saint Regis Lake as the private camp owners in this area employ bubblers to protect their docks from the ice over the winter.

With its remote ponds, mountain views, and its wild serenity, the Saint Regis Canoe Area makes for a great destination that will draw the skier away, at least temporarily, away from motors and civilization.

A lover of wild places, Rich Macha has led many trips for the Adirondack Mountain Club and has spent 20 years in the paddle/snowsport business. For more of Rich’s adventures, visit: northeastwild.blogspot.com.