Crane and Oxshoe Ponds

in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness

By Rich Macha

The Pharaoh Lake Wilderness is located east of the Adirondack Northway and the hamlet of Schroon Lake. Small mountains and an assortment of ponds of various sizes dot the wilderness area and many of the trails within are conducive to cross-country skiing. A two-mile trail on an old woods road in the northwest part of the wilderness area leads to Crane Pond, one of the bigger ponds in the wilderness area.

To get to the trailhead, from NY Route 9 north of Schroon Lake, turn east and drive on Alder Meadow Road, passing the local airport, for 2.2 miles. Then turn left and go east on Crane Pond Road for 1.4 miles to the end of plowing where there is room to park several vehicles.

It is an easy two-mile ski along an old dirt road to the scenic one-mile-long Crane Pond and six inches of snow would be sufficient to make the trip on skis. At least a foot of snow would be desirable for skiing the trails beyond Crane Pond. The eastern Adirondacks do not normally get as much snow as other parts of the Adirondacks, so do your homework and explore on skis when conditions are optimal.  

Less than a mile into the trip, there are photogenic, icy waterfalls on Alder Brook down to the left that always tempt me to drop down for a closer look. Soon after, the 0.6-mile trail to Goose Pond is passed. After that, you get some gentle hills as the trail passes under towering pines and hemlocks. At around 1.5 miles, you have a choice of continuing on the old road across an open stretch that is partially flooded in warmer seasons or following trail markers through the woods around the north side of the flooded area, then picking up the old road again on the other side.

The Blue Hill trail, a 2.8-mile trail to NY Route 74 enters from the north at the 1.7-mile mark. This alternate access route, one end of the Short Swing and Long Swing trails, travels over more difficult terrain – I have also found that the trailhead is seldom plowed. The routes of the Swing Trails are of most interest to backpackers.

There are views of Pharaoh Mountain across Alder Pond before reaching the shore of Crane Pond at a clearing near its outlet. Most of the pond is out of sight so, as long as the ice is safe, I will usually ski out onto the pond. Sun-gathering campsites along the pond’s north shore make for good lunch spots. There are good views of Pharaoh Mountain to the south, plus views of lesser peaks such as Pine Hill to the east, and Bear Mountain, which was ravaged by fire in September of 2015, to the northeast. There was a sawmill at Crane Pond during the 19th century and the area was devastated by forest fires in the early 20th century.

Intermediate skiers can continue across the bridged outlet and ski 0.7 miles to the junction with the trail up Pharaoh Mountain. Go straight at the junction and soon drop down to a good bridge over the rocky outlet of Glidden Marsh. Glidden Marsh is reached after skiing 1.1 miles from Crane Pond. In early 2024, there was some blowdown on this stretch that needed to be worked around. At the marsh, one gets another view of  Pharaoh Mountain.

The Long Swing Trail continues straight and reaches Pharaoh Lake in 3.1 miles. From there, it makes its way to Putnam Pond. A left turn puts you on the Short Swing Trail to Oxshoe, Crab, Horseshoe, and Lilypad Ponds, as well as Tubmill Marsh. This trail initially climbs steeply, gaining a quick 120 feet – I find it best to go off-trail to the south and zigzag up or down the hill through open woods. It is hard to believe that about 175 years ago several farmhouses were located between Crane and Oxshoe Ponds.

The trail soon reaches a lean-to at an attractive spot above Oxshoe Pond. The pond has steep rocky shorelines and is surrounded by stately red and white pines. The lean-to makes a good place to take a break, but it faces north, so don’t expect the sun to send its warming rays your way. Some winters ago, while lunching at the lean-to, we were entertained by white-winged crossbills and pine grosbeaks that seemed unperturbed by our presence.

On the return, skiers benefit from skiing in their tracks and a general loss in elevation. Elevations vary from 990 feet at the start of the trip to 1,255 feet on the Oxshoe Pond trail. The round-trip distance is 7.5 miles, more if you ski out onto the ponds or explore one or more of the side trails.

More information on the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness and a map can be found on NYSDEC’s website: dec.ny.gov/places/pharaoh-lake-wilderness.

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.