Pharaoh Lake Wilderness Area
Pharaoh Lake Wilderness is a great uncapped campground, located in upstate New York, specifically, near Schroon Lake. It is one of New York’s largest untamed wildernesses, and is apart of the Adirondack Forest Preserve, surrounded by other forest preserve lands and many ponds/lakes. It does not cost anything to camp here. When you park, beware, there are dirt/unpaved roads you will have to drive through, to access the parking lot.
Once you get to the parking lot, you will have to walk at least 3.6 miles with all your gear, and tents, to get to the first lean-to. Thus, this preserve area, is a great, beginner place, if you are interested in doing more backpacking (here is a link to some great backpacking gear). It is on a first come, first serve basis, you can’t reserve any of the lean-tos, or campgrounds. Thus, I suggest getting there early to secure a campground. Also, the lean-tos, are always the first to go.
Alright, if you want to visit this area, you probably need directions. No worries, to get here, you will drive on, interstate, 87 North or South (depending where you are coming from). You will stay on here, until exit 25, then get off, and go towards NY-8 and Hague. Then, in .3 miles you will turn right onto NY-8 towards Brant Lake and Hague. Then, in 350ft, turn left onto Schroon River Road. Then, continue straight on CR-55 for about 5.3 miles, then turn right onto Johnson Road.
Then, in about .8 of a mile, turn right onto Beaver Pond Road. Then, in 2.8 miles turn left onto Pharaoh Lake Road. Then in about .3 of a mile, you will arrive at your destination. The parking lot is fairly large, but I still recommend arriving early, because it is a popular place to visit, especially, of course, on the weekends.
There are 38 different campsites, with 14 various lean-tos. You can ONLY camp at the different designated yellow, “Camp Here,” markers. They will be located on different trees, and yellow colored, with a picture of a tree, and, saying, “Camp Here.” This is how you know; you can camp here. More information, about the different campgrounds, and how to access them, can be found here (under camping section of page, will have to scroll down, about half way to see).
Once you are in the park, you will see, it contains over 46,000 acres of land, and the lake is over 400 acres. Thus, you have plenty of room to explore! There is also great hiking located in the preserve! The mountain I hiked while there, is Pharaoh mountain, being a total of 10.5 miles round-trip (depending where you’re campground is).
You can also access the Sucker Brook Trail, the Pharaoh Lake Trail, the Crab Pond Trail, the Pharaoh Lake Loop, the Glidden Marsh Trail, the Springhill Ponds Trail, the Springhill Ponds Spur Trail, the Berrymill Pond Trail, the Lost Pond Trail, the Grizzle Ocean Trail, the Clear Pond Trail, the Treadway Mountain Trail, the Bear Pond Trail, the Rock Pond Trail, the Lilypad Pond/Rock Pond Trail, the Otter Pond Trail, the Short Swing Trail, the Crane Pond Trail, the Goose Pond Trail, the Gull Pond Trail, and the Spectacle Pond Trail! So, LOTS of hiking! In addition, here (under featured activities; hiking, section of page) is a link to even MORE hiking and how to access the trails mentioned.
You can also kayak/canoe, and paddle, on Pharaoh Lake! Oh, and of course, SWIMMING!!! In addition to Pharaoh Lake, you can kayak, canoe, or paddle, on numerous different ponds and lakes, accessible from this wilderness! Such as, Crane Pond, Goose Pond, Berrymill Pond, Lost Pond, Putnam Pond, and Eagle Lake (here is a link, explaining more and how to get to these bodies of water, located, about ¾ of the way down, under paddling section of page). In addition, if you are in need of some kayaking gear, here is a great website with some great gear!
You can also fish at any of these places listed above. However, there are rules and regulations you must follow, that can be found here, (under fishing section of page, about ¾ of the way down on page). Also, a main rule, is Baitfish are prohibited anywhere within the wilderness.
Other activities you can access here, are Hunting and Trapping (follow these rules and regulations, about ¾ way down on page, under Hunting and Trapping section), cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, horseback riding, and you can visit various other forest preserves located nearby. This website, will provide you with all the information you need about these different activities.
Thus, there is a lot to do here. My friends and I mostly swam and soaked up the sun. I also hiked Pharaoh Mountain. Which, from our campsite, was 5 miles away, and then another 5 miles to get back to our campsite. Thus, I was pretty tired after my hike! However, from other campgrounds, this isn’t as far away.
Once you have walked the initial 3.6 miles to get into the campgrounds, there will be a fork in the road, telling you to either continue right, and you can access different lean-tos, or you can go left and again, access different lean-tos. My friends and I went to the right, whereas Pharaoh mountain, is more to the left, which is why, my hike was so long. I went ALL around the campground, just to find the trail head. Thus, if you want to hike Pharaoh Mountain, maybe veer to your left instead of your right.
Alright, that wraps up our time at Pharaoh Lake Wilderness. I hope you found a new, beautiful, and inexpensive, place to visit, with LOADS of activities to do. Thanks for reading, and enjoy. P.S. here is a link to some footage I got while staying here.
