Town of North Hudson trails

[saabrian]

Anyone know exactly where they are? All resources indicate it's on/off Frontier Town Rd. I went up and down the road multiple times and did not see anything signed as such, only the new state campground and a state trail. Or were these trails absorbed into the new state setup? A bit confused. Thanks.

[Festus]

So far only 1 trail exists to my knowledge. Park in the large public parking lot with the year-round bathroom facilities and walk out to the Frontiertown Road and walk left a minute. The trail is on the right and it is a horse and mountain biking trail. It soon crosses rt. 9 and loops around heading south and it crosses rt. 9 back to the west side of it again. It now is an old dirt road as it has not been improved yet. This leads down 10 minutes or so to the Schroon River at the old Weir/dam and campsite/lunch area. The trail will continue from here but is in bad shape past the campsite spot. This spot is not bad swimming by the way...

[TCD]

There used to be a very tight "spaghetti network" of trails located here:

http://www.adirondackrock.com/map.htm?lat=43.93968668167825&lng=-73.73379707336427

This blog post shows the kiosk that was there:

https://www.schroonlakeregion.com/blog/2012/04/mossy-singletrack-north-hudson-0

I think these trails have been eliminated by the big state construction projects. I don't think the kiosk is there anymore. It was on the west side of Frontiertown road, just a few yards north of the intersection with route 9.

I walked around on those trails about ten years ago. The network didn't really go anywhere, just down to the shore of the Schroon river.

[DSettahr]

Yeah, it's basically just an improved (ADA-accessible) short loop around the campground. It's OK (and there's some pleasant views over the Schroon River) but for most on this forum it's not something that will take up more than an hour of time at the most. You can see hints of old paths that pre-date the campground (and have largely been obliterated by the construction of the campground), but it's also obvious that they were in pretty rough shape even before the campground was built.

I'm not sure if more trails are planned for the future- the campground is not actually on state land, the area is a mix of town and county lands. I'm not sure if or how this affects the state's ability to plan for a broader network in the future- it very well could be that the town would take point on the development of further trails.

I believe a network of multi-use trails (although mostly with mountain bikers in mind) is planned for the vicinity of "The Branch," on the north side of where it crosses Blue Ridge Road. This was part of the Boreas Ponds acquisition. As it is, you can hike up on the old road that follows the west side of The Branch (park at the Hoffman Notch Trailhead and hike north instead of south into Hoffman Notch). It's a very pleasant hike and there's some really nice views along The Branch. After about 1.5-2 miles, the road turns and climbs away from The Branch and there's not too much else to see (other than old log landings) and it eventually comes to a gate at the boundary with the Elk Lake Preserve (which is private).

There's a number of really nice campsites along the The Branch that pretty clearly pre-date state acquisition of the property. One of them also has a small memorial on a rock in the site. Currently, they are illegal sites (too close to water and not in compliance with the 150 foot rule). I'm hopeful that the state has the foresight to designate at least a few of them.

[Bob K]

FYI - the dirt roads by "The Branch" make for good XC skiing. The elevation & shade helps with snow cover and it doesn't take much. A good option to nearby Gulf Brook Rd (if parking access not plowed) and fewer people than going in Elk Lake rd. It is uphill for a while but not difficult - and a nice ski out. The stream there is pretty & a few nice spots to stop. There is a small pond back there with a picnic table & a small network of lesser rds.

[TCD]

Back to North Hudson: I had not been in that area in a while. I had some errands to run in Glens Falls today, so I stopped through the area on the way by.

The old trail system has, in fact been obliterated by the massive new state development. The development is sprawling, with many acres of pavement; it looks like a suburban housing development or shopping mall. (No wonder it cost $25 million in taxes.)

Really nothing there for folks that want to hike actual trails, except maybe for the hike that Festus suggested down to the Schroon at the weir. You can cross there (careful, the old weir is slippery!) and find your way to the "Squaw Mountain" hiking culvert, and get into some real wilderness on the other side of the highway.

[peskypup]

The trails on the opposite side of the road, and some on the Frontier Town side are still there. Here's the old map (such as it is), I'm not sure if they've put out a new one yet or not:

https://www.schroonlakeregion.com/files/public/NorthHudsonTrailCenter.pdf

[TCD]

Good map! Thanks; I was looking for that map and couldn't find it anymore.

You're right; the trails on the E side of route 9 are probably intact. But the area on the W side with "Upper West Terrace", "West Extension" etc has been replaced with parking lots and paved roads, as can be seen on a Google Satellite view.

[saabrian]

All - esp TCD - thanks for the info. I found the kiosk and the parking lot. I found a trailhead on the road that said it led to Hammond Pond WF but it was a DEC sign and trail, nothing that was a town trail.

Also, web searches indicated that there would be a map of the town trail system both at the kiosk and at the town hall. Neither was the case. Makes sense if it was absorbed by the state project.

[TCD]

Yes, that kiosk that is shown in the first photo in that old blog post is the one that used to be there before the state project. It was right on the shoulder of Frontiertown Road, with room to park a couple cars.

That kiosk no longer exists. The big new parking lot, with the new kiosk that does not have a trail map, is right where the old kiosk used to be.

But on a happier note, there is a lot of great stuff to explore in that general area. The Hammond Pond Wild Forest is huge, and full of wonders, and gets very little traffic. Summits, ponds, cliffs, old paths; it's a great area.

[saabrian]

It is. I've done most of the stuff in that area of the HPWF. Was just hoping for something new. Probably my 2nd favorite lesser-used area of the Adirondacks.

[MTVhike]

Went over to North Hudson to check out the trails on the East side of 9. Although they are somewhat similar to those on the map, the colors of some have been changed and parts have been rerouted. They are now all (or mostly) bike trails. BUT there is a lot of blowdown No problem for a hiker but a bike wouldn't want to go there. Once it's cleaned up, it would be a nice hike on very soft, mossy trails (easily ruined by bikes). In addition, the North end has been taken over by a sand mining concern.

Good news - the new Paradox Brewery is open! (takeout only, but you can go in, even though the sign says call ahead (518-351-5036). There is Verizon cell service there.