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I paddled Long Lake (and it lived up to its name) to Tupper maybe 40 years ago with my dad. Wonderful trip. Stayed at a leanto on Long (forget which one), then in one along the Raquette. Did a car shuttle from the marina which no longer exists on Tupper, so don't know where you'd park now. Would love to get back there again.
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Raquette River outfitters did a shuttle for me a couple of years ago when I did it , They left my truck at Axton for me.Comment
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I would assume shuttle services like these are still available through various outfitters in high-use areas like St. Regis. Do you have names of any that are still in operation?Originally posted by Cold River Bob View PostComment
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Probably a bit more convenient for parking and only slightly farther downriver than Axton is the boat launch known as "The Crusher", 3 miles (by road) upstream from the village of Tupper Lake. It is the day-2 finish line for the annual 90 mile canoe race.Originally posted by Cold River Bob View Post
I don't know about today, but Dave Cilley at St Regis Outfitters in Saranac Lake has offered shuttle service as well as RRO. It would be worth a call to both.
Brian and Grace McDonnell at macscanoe is also a good choice, Contact Mac at:
Mac lists typical common locations and shuttle prices on his web page.Last edited by Wldrns; 04-23-2020, 11:24 AM."Now I see the secret of making the best person, it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth." -Walt WhitmanComment
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The main boat launch on Tupper Lake (south of the village) does not allow overnight parking. I think there is a smaller hand launch where the Simon Pond empties into Tupper Lake that does allow overnight parking but I'm not 100% sure on this.
I spent 8 days doing the Long Lake -> Raquette River Traverse last September (paddling plus a bunch of time poking around and hiking/bushwhacking up into the Cold River and Calkins Creek area), and I elected to park at the Crusher Boat Launch on Route 3/30 for convenience- there's no shortage of parking here and overnight parking is allowed. (I've also heard that the paddle loses some what of the scenic appeal downstream of the Crusher due to the prevalence of private camps.)
You could also park at Axton Landing, or at the Stony Creek trailhead for the Raquette Falls horse trail for a slightly shorter trip. (Although Stony Creek would necessitate a bit of carrying to get gear to/from the water.)
I don't say this at all to discourage anyone from doing this trip (because it is a very worthwhile trip) but keep in mind that it can be a popular area. Long Lake sees no shortage of motorboat campers staying in the lean-tos and designated campsites along the lake, and the full through-paddle is very popular with scout troops and the summer camp crowd (I've heard that Long Lake to the Crusher is the exact distance needed to earn the scout paddling merit badge). This is also one of the few places that summer camp groups can still get permits for a group size of up to 12 people.
Accordingly, it's probably not a bad idea to plan to start looking for camp early each day (and get an early start to facilitate this). That way, if you have to resort to "Plan B" or even "Plan C" you won't risk getting caught out in the dark while looking for an open site. Gary (the DEC's caretaker at the Raquette Falls Interior Outpost) also told me when I was chatting with him on my trip through last fall that it's not uncommon to see a lot of bigger groups get stacked up at the end of the Raquette Falls portage trail at the end of each day (for youth groups especially, the portage tends to be an "all day affair" and there's little interest and energy in continuing on down the river after making 3 or 4 trips back and forth to carry gear over). So it might be a good idea to plan to avoid camping near the outpost entirely.
Of course usage patterns could be different this summer even after things start to ease up a bit from Cornavirus. So who knows what the season will look like.Comment
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