Adirondack Canoe Trip | Pond Hopping the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest

This Adirondack Canoe Route is our Favorite Day Trip Paddling Route... where we canoe 20 miles, 12 ponds, with 7 carries in the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest and Saint Regis Canoe Wilderness. We hop from pond to pond with our Placid Boatworks canoes enjoying beautiful Adirondack scenery along the way. We start at Square Pond in Fish Creek Pond Campground, then paddle through Fish Creek Pond to Follensby Clear Pond, then on to Horseshoe Pond, Little Polliwog Pond, Polliwog Pond, Hoel Pond, Turtle Pond, Slang Pond, Long Pond, Floodwood Pond, and finally Little Square Pond... before taking Fish Creek back to our campsite.
#canoeing #adirondacks #canoe #adventure #explore
Subscribe for more adventures like this:
kzbin.info...
This isn't a trip for the inexperienced or those with heavy boats. It is also nearly impossible for us to give you an accurate time this route takes to paddle. We've done this trip in as short as 6 hours and as long as 10. It all depends on how much you explore each pond, your paddling pace, and the amount of snack breaks you take. Lol.
I'm paddling a Placid Boatworks Rapidfire and my wife is paddling a Placid Boatworks Oseetah which are lightweight solo canoes.
** IMPORTANT NOTE ON DRONE USE **
Before launching a drone be aware of the FAA rules on usage and restrictions. The Adirondacks also have their own set of rules regarding drone use. You are not allowed to launch and operate a drone from within the Saint Regis Canoe Wilderness. Our shots were taken outside the no-fly boundary and the drone kept within our line of sight. Below are links to help you fly legally:
www.adirondackcouncil.org/pag...
Adirondack Land Classifications Map:
adirondack.maps.arcgis.com/ap...
HAPPY PADDLING!!!

[@DanielleRootes]

Nice trip and map details. You did a great job getting multiple angles and perspectives. I hope you guys get many more subscribers because you deserve it!

[@CanoeCampClimb]

Thanks a lot Danielle. We have so much fun trying to get different perspectives. As you know its pretty challenging when paddling. Sometimes we shoot a 10 minute clip and we end up only using 3-4 seconds of it. The running back and forth to get the camera is good exercise though.

[@robertdodd9623]

Looks like a Blast 🔥

[@paulvw6247]

Amazing trip. Awesome video.

[@CanoeCampClimb]

thanks Paul.

[@markgreene5083]

Great video. Makes me feel like I'm there with you.

[@CanoeCampClimb]

Thanks a lot Mark. Thats what we hope to do. So thanks for the nice comment.

[@brianmckittrick8665]

Your great video of this wonderful adventure was just what I needed tonight to relax and start planning for such an outing, although I am going to include a night or 2 camping to take advantage of the great remote locations. Thank you very much for taking us along on this excellent trip.

[@CanoeCampClimb]

Thanks a lot Brian. There are so many great primitive sites along this route. Some of my other videos show some of them. Enjoy your trip.

[@Jared_Albert]

Thank you for going over the map so slowly and clearly at the end. We have a much heavier canoe might try a caddy on that route. Thanks agian dreaming of summer weather

[@CanoeCampClimb]

I'm glad the video was helpful. You can caddy most of this trip. Aside from the occasional tree being down across the trail.... I think the only spots that would offer difficulty would be on the long carry between Long and Floodwood ponds... the Long pond takeout going up the root filled bank.... and then the short decent down to the boardwalk at the beaver meadow. But both are short distances.

[@Jared_Albert]

Thank you!

[@jiaowu6619]

Very nice❤

[@CanoeCampClimb]

Thank you Jiao.

[@natamadic]

Thank you!

[@CanoeCampClimb]

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@mattc1026]

I’ve watched a lot of videos of canoeing in the Adirondacks and I have to say, this is the most professionally edited video I’ve ever seen. Other posters should use this as a template for how to edit videos. The blue sky and otherwise perfect weather made this video even better. Thanks for sharing.

[@CanoeCampClimb]

Hey Matt... thank you for such a nice compliment. I really enjoy the editing process. Here a couple of my favorites... perhaps you've already seen them: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qqmWfHVthrOhjNU kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJubenufZ6-bfZI

[@mrgjoe]

Enjoyed the video guys and the trip report... BTW Crocs are the best paddling shoes!

[@CanoeCampClimb]

Thanks Joe. We do love Crocs for paddling. They shed water, sticks and stones pretty easily which is great on some of the mucky put ins. I'm about ready for a new pair.... I've beat these ones up pretty good.

[@mrgjoe]

@@CanoeCampClimb I have several pairs myself, love them!

[@UncleDan58]

What a great trip! Camera work was fantastic 👍 I like your light weight canoes, makes for an easy portage. Great video 👏

[@CanoeCampClimb]

Much appreciated Dan. Yes the lightweight canoes make this kind of trip very enjoyable. Thank you

[@slmjake]

Great video and thanks for getting us out there! I hope to get back into canoeing some day. Need to figure out a stable fishing and hunting boat.

[@CanoeCampClimb]

Hey thanks for the nice comment and for watching. I am partial to the Placid Boatworks canoes... but we are lucky to have several amazing boat builders in the Adirondacks. Hopefully you can get back out there. The canoes have made mine and Barb's lives a lot fuller... they take us so many places.

[@slmjake]

@@CanoeCampClimb thanks for the feedback! Your smiles tell it all!

[@cdouglasg]

Absolutely inspiring. As a soon-to-be canoe owner with a dog who fell in love with the Adirondacks two years ago, I'm looking forward to taking this trip and others in the area. Thanks for sharing!

[@CanoeCampClimb]

Awesome Craig. Congrats on getting a canoe. You'll love exploring the area. We have a few more videos you might find helpful (St Regis, Bog River, etc). We have several more videos we excited to get started on. Happy paddling to you and your pup. And thanks for the compliment.

[@lizdg3892]

Would love to do this trip. How fabulous. Waiting on a custom single for myself and collie boy Finn. Can’t wait.

[@CanoeCampClimb]

@@lizdg3892 Thanks Liz. Enjoy that new boat. This is a nice route for pups too.

[@rcote1234]

Fantastic trip, thanks for posting the adventure. Perfect weather day in the ADK’s. Love that area for paddling. Great trip report, thanks!

[@CanoeCampClimb]

Thanks a lot Rob. And welcome aboard.... maybe we'll see you out on the water.

[@josephhirsch1796]

What an epic paddling route. Would you recommend the Placid Boat Works ? This kind of trip that would be a shake down paddle for the Northern Forest Canoe trail

[@CanoeCampClimb]

Hey Joseph. Thank you. We are big fans of pack canoes in general. In the Adirondacks there are several different super quality boat builders. They all have their strengths. We love our Placids and they would be perfect for the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. They are fast, light, and super comfortable. They are often the first boats crossing the finish line in the Adirondack 90 miler.... which uses the first leg of the NFCT. Enjoy the paddle.... some day we would love to do the whole NFCT route.

[@josephhirsch1796]

@@CanoeCampClimb I really appreciate the advice and would love to do the Adirondack 90 miler. I wasn't sure what the rules were with the Placid Boat, but you answered my question, on that. The kayaking stroke is easier to master vs the J stroke. The kayaking stroke gives you power on every turn on of the paddle. That's really cool that you aspire to paddle the whole NFCT. Thank you for the advice.

[@CanoeCampClimb]

@@josephhirsch1796 you're welcome Joesph. Happy paddling to you.

[@Canoejerry]

I did several of these lakes in June this year. This is a pretty good route your way, I like it. You did some long portages. I didn’t think of doing it in one day as the portages might be LESS daunting without camping gear. Great job on the edit.

[@CanoeCampClimb]

Thank you. Yes we kept our load light since 2 of the carries/portages were .75 and .8 miles long. It's a pretty big day but doable. I just filmed another trip where the carries were quite a bit longer... including one muddy 1.9 mile slog. That video will be out in a month or so (it's behind a few others I am working on). Happy paddling to you.

[@gasharp162]

Nice trip I really enjoyed it the trp report at the end is really helpful in understanding what the trip involves. Nice work!

[@Hjfool]

Awesome trip! Great content.

[@CanoeCampClimb]

Thanks a lot Scott. I appreciate the nice compliment.

[@jordangonzales4444]

I'm researching packboats and I'm looking at this boat and the Swift 16.8. Have you any experience with that boat? Im wondering how they compare. The swift is a little longer and less rocker, so I'm sure it's a little straighter tracking, maybe a little faster?

[@CanoeCampClimb]

Hi Jordan. I test paddled the 16.8. My wife owned a Swift Cruiser 12.8 for a couple of seasons (she now owns a Placid Boatworks Oseetah, 14ft). Nice boats indeed. At the end of the day I chose the Placid Boatworks Rapdifre which is 15 feet long. Placid Baotworks also has the Shadow that is 16 feet long. If you compare rocker and tumblehome you will see a lot of similarities between the Swift Cruiser and Placid boats. While both excellent brands... I prefer the build quality of the Placid.... the gunnels and end caps are gorgeous... and also wanted to buy American-made. The owner of Placid Boatworks (Joe) has his hand in building every boat that leaves the shop. The best advice I can give anyone is to test paddle. The boat will choose you.

[@CanoeCampClimb]

If you have any question on this route please feel free to ask. Happy paddling.

[@fbhidy]

what was your total time start to finish? any idea your average speed on the water?

[@CanoeCampClimb]

@@fbhidy This particular trip took us 10 hours.... but we were filming and had a ton of back and forth to retrieve cameras and set up shots. I put this in the video description.... but it is also nearly impossible for us to give you an accurate time this route takes to paddle. We've done this trip in as short as 6 hours and as long as 10. It all depends on how much you explore each pond, your paddling pace, how heavy your boats are... and most importantly... the amount of snack breaks you take :-) We don't wear any tracking devices so we don't know the average speed on water. But I will tell you my wife is generally faster than me.

[@robertdodd9623]

Looks like a Blast 🔥

[@CanoeCampClimb]

This is a great day trip for sure.