Upper and Lower Sargent Ponds are probably the most visited destinations in the Sargent Ponds Wild Forest, especially for fishing. You can choose whether to visit one or the other pond, or do a loop hike visiting both ponds as well as a road walk along the paved North Point Road. There is a lean to located at Lower Sargent Pond.

There are two trailheads located along North Point Road, one for Upper Sargent Pond Trail and the other for Lower Sargent Pond Trail. It is a 1.4 mile hike on the Upper Sargent Pond Trail to reach the pond. There is a primitive campsite located at the end of the trail on the shore of the pond. The 1.5 mile Upper-Lower Pond Trail connects the two ponds. There is no official trail to Middle Sargent Pond and we have never found any herd paths that lead to that remote pond.

To reach Lower Sargent Pond you can either use the Upper-Lower connector or the main Lower Sargent Pond Trail from the second trailhead on North Point Road, although parts of this trail can be extremely wet at times. Eventually the trail meets the Tioga Point Trail and the trail to Lower Pond Trail turns left. You will find numerous herd paths in the vicinity of the pond. The main path on the north shore of the pond travels to the Lower Sargent Pond Lean To.

A herd path circles around most of the pond, as well as many informal campsites. There is also a trail that starts on the southern shore of the pond that leads to the Marion River. We have included a map below that shows the new trail from the Marion River courtesy of a fellow hiker/kayaker, as well as a picture. The new trail/landing is east of the tree on the opposite shore (see picture below). The old trail that is on our map no longer exists. There is also a fish barrier dam located near the Tioga Point Trail junction. You'll hear the sounds of a waterfall as you approach the unmarked side trail. Look below for directions, a trail map and video of this great hiking adventure.

Directions: Take NY 30 & NY28N out of Blue Mountain Lake toward Long Lake. North of South Pond, at a sharp curve in the road, turn left on North Point Road. Follow this winding road, past the popular Buttermilk Falls trailhead and Forked Lake State Campground, for 6.2 miles (from NY 30) to the Upper Sargent Pond Trail trailhead. There is parking along the shoulder. The trailhead for the Lower Sargent Pond Trail is 1.5 miles further west along the road. There is shoulder parking here as well. The GPS coordinates for the Upper Sargent Pond Trail trailhead is N43 52.953 W74 32.847 and N43 52.997 W74 34.622 for the Lower Sargent Pond trailhead for those who have a GPS devise in their vehicle.

Campsite on Upper Sargent Pond

Tree on the Marion River where new trail begins (courtesy of Ryan Schreppel)

Lower Sargent Pond Lean To (Sept 2014)

Above map courtesy of Ryan Schreppel