NOTE:  This information is based from the information gathered from the DEC plan available at the DEC website.  The info below is for just part of what will be the North Country Trail in the Adirondacks.

The North Country Trail will cross the blue line into Adirondack Park along North Lake Road.  There is a sign that welcomes you to the town of "Ohio" and to the park.  Further down the road on the left, there is a trailhead for the Stone Dam Trail with plenty of parking along the shoulder of the road.  It looks like the shoulder of the road was improved for the future increased use of this trail.

You are in Black River Wild Forest (BRWF).  The Black River Wild Forest is located in the south-western foothills of the Adirondack Park. This wild forest is comprised of over 121,000 acres of Forest Preserve lands in Herkimer, Lewis, Hamilton, and Oneida counties.

There is a trail register at the trailhead.  Currently there is no markings or signs for the North Country Trail.  This is still known as the Stone Dam Trail.  The trail leads 3.1 miles to Stone Dam Lake and 6.5 miles to Chub Pond.  The North Country Trail will use this trail and then turn right onto a future new connector trail somewhere between Stone Dam Lake and Chub Pond.

From here a connector trail will be built toward Little Woodhull Lake Trail.  This connector trail will cross Little Woodhull Creek near the south long arm of Little Woodhull Lake.  The North Country Trail will follow the Little Woodhull Lake Trail for about 1.6 miles to the junction of Sand Lake Falls Trail.

The North Country Trail will cross Sand Lake Falls Trail at this point and enter DEC easement lands on private property near North Lake.  The DEC plan includes using herd paths where possible in this area and bringing the North Country Trail toward the end of North Lake Road.  Their plan is to have the North Country Trail enter West Canada Lakes Wilderness on the southern slopes of Ice Cave Mountain.

Overall the DEC plan is to have 16.5 miles of the North Country Trail in Black River Wild Forest.  Of that, 5.1 miles of trail is already available.  We are featuring 3.2 miles of that "current available trail" below.  There will be the need to build a 2.5 mile connector trail plus 8.9 miles of "herd paths" to be built to DEC trail standards. 

Look below for a detailed description for the first "unofficial" 3.2 off road miles of the North Country Trail inside of Adirondack Park that is currently available to hike.  Follow the yellow DEC discs.  We have included pictures, a video (coming real soon), and maps of this future section of the North Country National Scenic Trail.

 

Future North Country National Scenic Trail

North Lake Road Trailhead to Stone Dam Lake

From the trailhead along North Lake Road, follow the yellow DEC discs along an old woods road.  At 0.4 miles cross "Mulchy Spring" Brook on a small footbridge.  At 0.9 miles reach the footbridge at the scenic crossing of Little Woodhull Creek.  A great spot of a picnic.  After crossing the creek, the trail becomes thinner and a bit harder to follow.

At one mile of hiking you'll start to notice large boulders randomly "tossed" in the area.  At 1.15 miles the trail passes by "Big Boulder".  In another 0.3 miles the trail passes a very wet section.  At 1.6 miles the trail is next to a small "ravine" and will eventually descend into this glacial anomaly.  At 1.9 miles the trail reaches a line of large boulders along a hillside and veers right.

From near this point, the trail was relocated closer to the side of Stone Dam Mountain, rather to closer to Stone Dam Creek (as its shown on most maps).  I read that this was done due to the wetness of the area and the new DEC trail standards to keep trails away from streams whenever possible.

At 2.2 miles the trail is ascending Stone Dam Mountain.  At just 1801 feet, this "mountain" is nothing more than a small hill.  The trail never reaches the "summit", but at 2.7 miles reach an elevation of 1768 feet and the highest point along the trail on the mountain.  You'll have winter views to the east and at 2.9 miles is your first view of Stone Dam Lake.

The trail never gets any closer than a couple hundred feet from the lake and we didn't notice any herd paths that lead to the shore.  The trail crosses a small stream at 3.2 miles and the end of this "unofficial" future section of the North Country Trail in the Adirondacks.  The North Country Trail will turn right on a future connector trail in about 0.3 miles.  The Stone Dam Trail continues another 3.3 miles to Chub Pond (from our "end" point). 

There is suppose to be an old "campsite" along the northern part of the lake.  From what I've been told it is nothing more than an old decrepit lean to with trees growing through it.  It was at one time a very nice lean to that you needed a permit to use.  We did not explore this area.  Maybe the DEC and NPS will redevelop this "campsite" to be used by through hikers of the NCT?

Directions:  From Alder Creek, take NY 28 north to just past the bridge over the Black River/Forestport Reservoir.  Turn right onto road toward Forestport, then right at bottom of ramp onto North Lake Road.  Take North Lake Road into Adirondack Park and there is a trailhead sign plus wide shoulders for parking along the road.

Pictures from along the future North Country Trail

Crossing the Blue Line on North Lake Road	Trailhead	Mileage sign	Small Footbridge	Bridge over Little Woodhull Creek
Little Woodhull Creek	Boulders along trail	Very wet section of trail	Ravine	Small stream and end of our hike
View of Stone Dam Lake	Stone Dam Mountain	Stone Dam Mountain	Tree coming out of a rock	Follow yellow discs
another wet area	trail passing uprooted tree	"Big Boulder"	The bridge over Little Woodhull Creek	Bridge over Little Woodhull Creek
Little Woodhull Creek	Little Woodhull Creek	Wide trail for first 0.9 miles	North Lake Road and shoulder parking	Trailhead