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Cedar river - paddle to flow?

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  • Cedar river - paddle to flow?

    Hi all, heading up to ADK's the week of June 6 coming up. Looking for an easy kayak paddle to a primitive camp area. Where Cedar River rd's pavement ends, it looks like there's a small parking lot about 2/3 of a mile down the dirt road. Is it possible to park there, paddle the ~4 miles UP river to Cedar Flow?

    I'm thinking of doing that, spending a night or two at a primitive site around the flow, doing some day paddles/hikes, then doing the 4 miles down river back to the car. I think the river flows North if i'm not mistaken.

    I know you can drive the ~5 miles on the dirt road to the Flow itself, but my 3-series bmw does not really enjoy dirt roads in the ADK's haha.

    Any other "easy kayak paddle to primitive site" suggestions for this time of year? I have a couple ADK paddle maps, but the selection is overwhelming!

    many thanks!
    -josh

  • #2
    Josh,
    Do you have access to a topo map? If so, look at the gradient on that section of the Cedar.
    In spring runoff, it's a class III or class IV run.
    Upstream is not possible, and in early June all you'll be doing is walking upstream over boulders and ledges.
    FWIW, last fall I saw plenty of small cars and even a class C motorhome at the flow. I would think your Beemer would be OK. BTW, most of last year there was a resident moose at the Flow...

    For easy access, you can't beat Little Tupper Lake and connected Round Lake, plenty of wilderness sites (Cedar River Flow allows motors) and if the winds kick up you should have no problems in your kayak.

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    • #3
      The road in to the Flow is not that bad at all. You can paddle up the flow to the inlet, negotiate a beaver dam, and continue upstream to a lean-to near the head of navigation. The tricky part is finding the inlet, as it get quite marshy. Follow the current and you should be o.k.

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      • #4
        I have driven my Ford Fusion to the Flow on the Cedar River Road (via the entrance near Indian Lake), through the Moose River Plains and on to Otter Brook. Last year I was unable to go beyond the Otter Brook trail head (on Indian River Road).
        "Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing."
        - Henry David Thoreau

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        • #5
          This is great, folks, thanks for the info! I think i'll skip the Class 3/4 segment haha, I'd probably end up in a body bag. Also, little tupper and Round look pretty easy as well. I'm also looking at the Bog River down into Low's lake. Hopefull the weather holds up a bit. Thanks!

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          • #6
            On Low's and Little Tupper, the winds are very strong starting in mid-afternoon. Try to be off the water early enough. Otherwise, this is prime paddling.
            "Days in the woods are days beyond time"--Paul Jamieson

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            • #7
              Look up the recent ADK Explorer article about the challenge of finding the inlet that leads up the flow (cannot find a link right now). Plan time for that.

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              • #8
                So I did the Cedar River Flow last year with my Toyota minivan, not exactly an off road beast. Nice paddling. I was able to watch the seagrass under the water to check for current to find the flow. Got pretty far back over a couple of beaver dams (in a sail/oar boat!)

                Little Tupper and Rock Pond was great as well - but there is a short carry/portage.
                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                Eyes on the Forest, not on the Trees

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                • #9
                  Deleted duplicate post
                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                  Eyes on the Forest, not on the Trees

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                  • #10
                    Haha, class III/IV? There's actually a beautiful 20-foot waterfall leading into a gorge in that section, so at least one pitch is class VI. I was up there last week. The road to the flow is in good shape. You will have no trouble driving in.
                    Exploring the US one mountain at a time.

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                    • #11
                      Hi all, thanks again for the insider info here.. i posted a (lengthy) report in the Trip Reports section. Thanks!

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                      • #12
                        Anyone going to the CRF this weekend? A trip report would be appreciated. Happy paddling!
                        "Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing."
                        - Henry David Thoreau

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                        • #13
                          Trip to the Cedar River Flow

                          Recently I took a 4-day trip to the Cedar River Flow in the central Adirondacks. Access was by the Cedar River Road (Indian Lake, NY) to the put-in at Wakely Dam. It was a short paddle to campsite #4 where I camped for 3 nights. My days were spent paddling, fishing, swimming, taking photos, shooting video and making field (sound) recordings. The highlight was a paddle up the Cedar River as far as the Carry leanto. The weather was fantastic the entire time - days were warm and sunny in the upper 80's and nights were comfortable in the upper 60's. Here are some links to photos:

                          Cedar River Flow

                          Cedar River Paddle

                          Cedar River Campsite
                          "Everyone must believe in something. I believe I'll go canoeing."
                          - Henry David Thoreau

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Bark Eater Too View Post
                            There's actually a beautiful 20-foot waterfall leading into a gorge in that section...
                            Could you possibly be a little more specific about where I could find this? I'd like to take a gander.

                            Is it about 1 or 2 tenths of a mile downstream from where the road crosses the little bridge next to Wakely Pond, sort of opposite Water Barrel Mountain?
                            Last edited by IndLk_Brett; 07-19-2020, 03:21 PM.

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by IndLk_Brett View Post
                              Could you possibly be a little more specific about where I could find this? I'd like to take a gander.
                              Hi Brett. It's close to two miles below the dam at the flow. Easiest to find driving away from the flow. Going downstream, look for a small, grassy pullout on the right side of the road. Big enough to park a car or two max. It looks like the start of an old road but just stops. There is a blazed DEC trail from that spot down to the river. It's probably only a tenth of a mile to the river, but drops a bit in elevation. It's a beautiful spot!
                              Exploring the US one mountain at a time.

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