Silver Lake Wilderness Area

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Silver Lake Wilderness Area
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Location Adirondack Park New York USA
Nearest city Lake Pleasant, NY
Coordinates 43°17′41″N74°25′47″W / 43.29482°N 74.42963°W / 43.29482; -74.42963 Coordinates: 43°17′41″N74°25′47″W / 43.29482°N 74.42963°W / 43.29482; -74.42963
Area105,270 acres (426 km2)
Governing body New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

The Silver Lake Wilderness Area , an Adirondack Park unit of the Forest Preserve, is located in the towns of Lake Pleasant, Benson, Wells and Arietta in Hamilton County and is roughly bounded on the north by NY 8 and private lands near Piseco Lake, Oxbow Lake, Hamilton Lake, Sand Lake and Lake Pleasant; on the east by NY 30; on the south generally by the Hamilton County line; and on the west by NY 10, the West Branch of the Sacandaga River and the Piseco Outlet.

Contents

The area contains 48 bodies of water covering 569 acres (2.3 km2), 26.5 miles (42.6 km) of foot trails, and 2 lean-tos.

Geography

The terrain is relatively low with rolling hills and only four mountain tops that exceed 3,000 feet (910 m) elevation. There is a considerable area of conifer swamp as well as some beaver meadows along the streams.

Forest

The forest cover is chiefly mixed hardwoods and softwoods with some stands of nearly pure hemlock in large diameter size. In the swamp area along streams and at the higher elevations around the mountain tops, the forest cover runs predominantly to spruce and balsam.

Water

Silver Lake is the principal attraction near the center of this area, chiefly for brook trout fishermen. Mud lake, Rock Lake and Loomis Pond are also popular trout fishing spots. Big Eddy on the West Branch of the Sacandaga River and Cathead Mountain also attract visitors to the area.[ citation needed ]

Recreation

The area is suitable for hiking and backpacking. The Northville-Placid Trail has its southern terminus in Benson at the southern edge of the area and runs through the center in a northerly direction, crossing the northern boundary near Piseco Lake. Although this trail has some use by hikers, the foot trail from the vicinity of Hamilton Lake to the top of Hamilton Mountain is a more popular trail.[ citation needed ]

See also

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Lake Pleasant (Hamilton County, New York)

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Blue Ridge Wilderness Area

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Dix Mountain Wilderness Area

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Five Ponds Wilderness Area

The Five Ponds Wilderness Area, an Adirondack Park unit of New York's Forest Preserve, is located in the towns of Fine and Clifton in St. Lawrence County, the town of Webb in Herkimer County and the town of Long Lake in Hamilton County. It includes 1,064 acres (4.3 km2) of private inholdings, 99 bodies of water covering 1,964 acres (7.9 km2), 57.9 miles (93.2 km) of trails, and 14 lean-tos.

Giant Mountain Wilderness Area

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High Peaks Wilderness Area

The High Peaks Wilderness Area, the largest Forest Preserve unit in the U.S. state of New York, is located in three counties and six towns in the Adirondack Park: Harrietstown in Franklin County, North Elba, Keene, North Hudson and Newcomb in Essex County and Long Lake in Hamilton County.

McKenzie Mountain Wilderness Area

The McKenzie Mountain Wilderness Area, an Adirondack Park unit of the Forest Preserve, lies in western Essex County in the towns of St. Armand, North Elba and Wilmington. In general, the Saranac River and Franklin Falls Pond border on the north; the Wilmington-Franklin Falls road, the Whiteface Mountain Memorial Highway and the west branch of the Ausable River form the eastern boundary; the Saranac Lake-Lake Placid Road, NY 86, forms the southern boundary; and the Saranac River forms the western boundary.

Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area

The Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area, an Adirondack Park unit of the Forest Preserve, is located in the towns of Lake Pleasant, Wells and Indian Lake in Hamilton County and the towns of Johnsburg and Thurman in Warren County. It is one of the larger wilderness areas of the Northeast; extending about 18 miles (29 km) from north to south and about 13 miles (21 km) from east to west at its widest part.

West Canada Lake Wilderness Area

The West Canada Lake Wilderness Area is an Adirondack Park Forest Preserve management unit in the State of New York, USA.

The Northville–Lake Placid Trail, also known as the NPT, is a lightly travelled foot trail that runs 138 miles (214 km) through the Adirondack Park in northern New York State. It was laid out by the Adirondack Mountain Club in 1922 and 1923 and is maintained by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. From 2014-2016 the southern section of the trail was re-routed to remove most of the road walk into the town of Northville. The southern terminus is Waterfront Park in Northville, NY and the northern terminus is Averyville Rd in Lake Placid.

Hadley Mountain

Hadley Mountain is a mountain located in the southern Adirondacks in the U.S. state of New York and is the second highest peak in Saratoga County after neighboring Tenant Mountain. The Hadley Mountain Fire Observation Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 23, 2001 for its role as a Fire lookout tower with the New York State Forest Preserve. Hadley Mountain is the highest of the three peaks that form the West Mountain ridge.

Moose River Plains Wild Forest

The Moose River Plains Wild Forest is a 64,322-acre tract in the Adirondack Park in Hamilton and Herkimer counties in the state of New York in the United States of America; it is designated as Wild Forest by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

T Lake Falls

T Lake Falls is the tallest waterfall in New York State and in the Adirondacks, at minimum doubling the height of Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, NY. It is located in Hamilton County, New York in the West Canada Lake Wilderness Area. T Lake Falls with a height stated of 350 feet up to 600, depending on the source, reasoning behind judgment of the height is the crescent edge at the top of the falls and where the falls officially start. T Lake and the falls have been an attraction because of the several different ways to hike in, and the option of staying at the lean-to at the lake. There is also swimming in the pool at the bottom of the falls in the summer months and snow shoeing, cross-country skiing to the falls to go ice climbing in the winter.

Sacandaga Lake

Sacandaga Lake (sa-kuhn-DAH-ga) is a lake in the Town of Lake Pleasant in Hamilton County, New York approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Speculator. The outlet is a channel that leads to Lake Pleasant, which is the source of the Sacandaga River.

West Branch Sacandaga River

West Branch Sacandaga River converges with the Sacandaga River in Blackbridge, New York.

Jessup River Wild Forest

The Jessup River Wild Forest is a 47,350 acres (191.6 km2) Forest Preserve area in the towns of Lake Pleasant, Arietta, Indian Lake, and Wells in Hamilton County. NY-28 is the border of the forest to the north and NY-30 is the border of the forest in the southeast. West Canada Lake Wilderness Area is located to the west, Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area is located to the east, and the Silver Lake Wilderness Area to the south. Indian Lake, Piseco, Speculator, and Wells are located near or within the Jessup River Wild Forest. There are many trails to hike on, and many rivers and lakes to canoe or fish on within the forest which includes Jessup River. Part of the Northville-Placid Trail is located within the forest.

References