A Paddle on Thirteenth Lake
By Dan Forbush
My first experience of Thirteenth Lake was on snowshoes. We started at the lake's northern end and followed the Peaked Mountain Trail for about a mile before ascending to Peaked Mountain Pond, where we admired the imposing summit.
To reach the top would have required a steep 600-foot ascent in face of a near-zero wind chill. Instead, we quickly consumed our sandwiches and headed back down, completing the final leg to our cars on the lake's snow-covered surface.
It was a much different scene when I recently joined friends for a Thirteenth Lake paddle, made possible by kayaks delivered to the boat launch by Beaver Brook Outfitters. (Adirondack All Seasons Outfitters provides the same service.) From the lake’s northern end, about 200 yards from the parking lot, we looked southwest toward the County Line Mountain, that long ridge on the horizon.
If you plan to lunch along the way, your best strategy is to paddle counter-clockwise, following the western shore while keeping an eye out for a tent site at which to park. Thirteen numbered sites are dispersed around the lake.
The Beaver Brook rep who delivered our boats recommended Tent Site 6. We would have stopped there had it not been occupied. Instead, we kept going until we reached Site 5, which was fine. Having reached the lake’s far end, we could look back toward where we had started. Way in the distance, that’s Dix Mountain.
To circle the entire lake is a three-hour proposition. If you start early enough, you're likely to have time to explore other attractions. Consider:
Balm of Gilead Mountain. At 2,450 feet, this is a substantial peak that offers all the vistas you'd expect of a mountain of such elevation. But because you'll start near the top of Garnet Hill -- which you'll have just driven up -- you'll ascend just 450 feet in under a mile. That makes this one of the Adirondacks' most family-friendly hikes.
View of Thirteenth Lake from the summit
Hooper Garnet Mine. Also starting on Garnet Hill, this short hike -- just .7 miles round-trip -- offers views that rival those on Balm of Gilead Mountain. Fred Hooper opened this mine in 1898 but soon closed it when he realized he couldn't compete with the nearby Barton Mine.
View from the Hooper Mine overlook
Garnet Hill Lodge. Built in 1937 in the style of an Adirondack Great Camp, the Log House at Garnet Hill Lodge was built for Hooper’s son-in-law as a guest house and restaurant. Today the Log House Restaurant offers American dishes with an Adirondack twist.
The Warren County Recreation Mapper will help plan your trip. For directions to Thirteenth Lake, click here.
