Northeast Wild

  Paddling: Saratoga County Flatwater by Rich Macha Kayakers, canoeists, and paddleboarders can find quite a variety of waterbodies on which to paddle in Saratoga County. An overview of the county's streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes follows with, hopefully, just enough information for you to get out and explore and/or seek out more details on each of the bodies of water mentioned. Starting from the less-populated northwest corner of the county in the Adirondack Park, we will work our way east and south across the county, ending at the Hudson and Mohawk rivers which form the eastern and southern borders of the county.  The Great Sacandaga Lake is a large impoundment on the Sacandaga River. Its size and its many boat launches result in a very popular waterbody for motorboaters. Only the northeast arm of Great Sacandaga Lake is within Saratoga County. The 13-mile stretch between the Batchellerville Bridge and the Conklingville Dam can be accessed from a DEC boat launch on North S...

June 22, 2014 - SACANDAGA RIVER from Wells to Hope. Class II whitewater. Hope gage at 2.88' - hit many rocks, some really nice fun sections but one probably does not want to do this at lower levels. River L has some light development, river R mostly wild. Stopped for lunch at the Sacandaga State Campground. The 2 kayaks in our group ran the dam at the campground with some bumping, the 2 canoes carried around the dam. The W Branch enters below the campground & the added water helped. Some longer class II/II+ stretches after the confluence. Nice playspot on R ~7 miles in. Merganser family, vultures. No bad bugs. 8.6 miles, 4 hours. Dagger Katana kayak. Much daylight so drove over to Benson Rd & bushwhacked S lookout for any trace of new Northville-Placid Trail, no markers or flagging found after an hour, some mosquitoes. Jul 27, 2007 - SACANDAGA RIVER from Wells to Hope (DOT). Class 1 & 2 whitewater; not usually runnable in summer except after heavy rain...