Boreas Ponds parking area.

[Neil]

Can anyone help me pin-point the parking area on Gulf Brook Road?

My guess puts it about here.

[cuterocky]

You're pretty close, it's just a little before your mark. I took a look at my GPS track from my cross-country ski trip down the road this winter and found the parking area to be at about 43°58'45.34"N 73°53'44.59"W (we stopped for a break near here). If you look at those coordinates in Google Earth or a satellite view, you can see there is a small clearing there

[Trail Boss]

cuterocky's coordinates in Google Map and NYS GIS Orthoimagery:

https://goo.gl/maps/H6Niy7Cye662

https://orthos.dhses.ny.gov/?Extent=...che,2009_cache

[Buckladd]

Well, the road is now open to the Four Corners....
https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/s...eas-ponds-road

[MTVhike]

Yes, I was there Saturday before Labor Day and a ranger there told me that would happen.

[Justin]

Not to hijack the thread but any word on other future designated campsites other than the lean-to being built next month?

[DSettahr]

Last I heard, campsites weren't likely going to be designated on the ponds until some time next year. The plan is to start with 2 designated sites (in addition to the ADA lean-to), with the option (under the UMP) to add 3 additional sites in the future if the use levels are high enough to justify them.

Construction has started on some of the road-side designated sites on the road into Boreas Ponds also, although I'm not sure if the plan is to have any of them completed and ready for use this year.

[Justin]

Originally Posted by DSettahr

Last I heard, campsites weren't likely going to be designated on the ponds until some time next year. The plan is to start with 2 designated sites (in addition to the ADA lean-to), with the option (under the UMP) to add 3 additional sites in the future if the use levels are high enough to justify them.

Thanks D.
I’m curious what dictates “high usage”?
Last fall I saw & photographed several illegal makeshift campfire rings scattered about in different areas, most of which I found near the dam area, along with several toilet paper piles & beer can litter. Thoughts?

[DSettahr]

Toilet paper has been a light problem, not anywhere near as bad as elsewhere in the High Peaks. I understand that the designated sites will have box toilets- and there's already a box toilet installed for the lean-to site (it's been there for at least a year, but there hasn't been a sign for it). Each of the roadside sites is getting a full ADA outhouse.

The beer cans you found were definitely not typical of the impacts to the area over the past few years (at least prior to the opening of the road).

I've also noticed a lot of the same sites popping up as you (and probably found a bunch more that you missed ). Most of the more obvious of these sites were closed down and brushed in earlier this season by the DEC. As of 2 weeks ago, all had stayed closed down- but it's also worth noting that at least until the opening of the road, the camping use on the ponds was way down this year compared to last year.

[jan]

Please let me know how the road is now. I rode my mtn bike in to the ponds a couple years ago, and the road was so bad I walked the bike on some parts. Wouldn't have dared to try to drive it, and I have a 4 wheel drive truck. Phil's article makes it sound good for driving, but a ton of gravel may make for lousy biking.
Thanks,
Jan

[Schip]

So, is the road open to the Four Corners during the week or only on the weekend?

Kathy

[Festus]

The gravel has made mountain biking in no longer any good...

[DSettahr]

The road is open to 4 Corners 7 days a week (presumably to the end of the big game season). It's fine to drive in pretty much any vehicle now. But as others point out, not great for mountain biking due to the large diameter stone crush used to make the road more drivable.

You can bike the 1 mile from 4 Corners to the dam the outlet of the ponds- and this is still fine for biking. Beyond the dam is Wilderness, no bikes permitted.

At some point, a network of mountain bike trails is planned for the vicinity of Ragged Mountain and The Branch.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

[Festus]

I noticed that the road from 4 corners to Trout Pond looked recently worked on and there are no signs stopping bikers from going past that gate. I was tempted to bike that but had my dogs and didn't have time...That might be a nice out and back, turning around when the posted land of the Tahawus Club is met...

[kwc]

Be aware that the road from the first parking lot to the Four Corners lot is fairly narrow. Not too many places to pull over if you meet an oncoming vehicle.

[DSettahr]

Originally Posted by Festus

I noticed that the road from 4 corners to Trout Pond looked recently worked on and there are no signs stopping bikers from going past that gate. I was tempted to bike that but had my dogs and didn't have time...That might be a nice out and back, turning around when the posted land of the Tahawus Club is met...

Signage posted both at the Blue Ridge Road register and the interim parking lot register states that the road between 4 Corners and the private property line near Trout Pond is not open to bicycle use.

Conversely, signage posted at 4 Corners states that the road between 4 Corners and the private property line near Trout Pond is an "adminstrative road open to multiple uses" without any further elaboration or clarification exactly what those uses are. This could be inferred to mean bicycle access but it's not clear if this is the intent (it could also mean just horse and foot traffic only).

FWIW, the signage both at Blue Ridge Road and the interim parking lot also still states that the road is not open to public motor vehicle access beyond the interim lot.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

[Buckladd]

Originally Posted by Festus

I noticed that the road from 4 corners to Trout Pond looked recently worked on and there are no signs stopping bikers from going past that gate. I was tempted to bike that but had my dogs and didn't have time...That might be a nice out and back, turning around when the posted land of the Tahawus Club is met...

If I recall, the initial plan was to have that area open during big game seasons, including campsites. Not sure if that's the case this year, or in future years.

[Grey-Jay]

Other than the Boreas River bridge place on 28N, is there any roadside camping in the nearby area or along the access road in orde to get an earlier start for paddling this area? Is it legal or illegal to sleep in vehicles at parking areas on state land?

[TrailBlaser]

I was told by a Ranger that sleeping in a car is considered camping, so doing so in a parking area where camping is not permitted would be illegal.

[bluequill]

Originally Posted by Grey-Jay

Other than the Boreas River bridge place on 28N, is there any roadside camping in the nearby area or along the access road in orde to get an earlier start for paddling this area? Is it legal or illegal to sleep in vehicles at parking areas on state land?

There is a campsite at the bridge over the Boreas/ Wolf Pond trailhead on the Blue Ridge Road/ North Hudson Road. It used to have a yellow disc and when I was there a few weeks ago someone was camping with a trailer.