Clear Lake.
Clear Lake — 31 acres just outside Saranac Lake village limits — occupies a quiet middle ground between the mapped public waters of the High Peaks corridor and the private shoreline character of the Tri-Lakes developed zone. No official fish stocking records and no documented public access trail, which typically signals mixed ownership or landlocked status; local anglers may know a put-in, but this isn't a DEC-signed trailhead water. The name shows up on USGS quads and older maps, often confused with nearby Clear Pond (which has different acreage and a different shoreline shape). Worth a phone call to the Region 5 DEC office in Ray Brook if you're planning a visit — they'll confirm current access status and whether a cartop launch exists.
Clear Lake reaches a maximum depth of 25 feet, with a mean depth of 11 feet. Clear Lake has public access. Summits nearby include Rice Mountain and Cherry Hill.
The water, surveyed.
Seasonal pattern for this lake · live closures appear above
12 parking areas
Closest parking lots within range, ranked by walking distance. Accessibility flags come from Google verified-data and NYSDEC records; surface and capacity from NYSDEC and OpenStreetMap. Confirm hours and seasonal closures before you go.
- 01Hays Brook Trail Parking LotTrailhead1.5 miunpavedDirections →
- 02Madawaska Flow Parking Lot3.9 miunpavedDirections →
- 03Meacham Lake Outlet4.1 miunpavedDirections →
- 04St. Regis Trail Head Parking4.3 miunpavedDirections →
- 05Osgood Boat Launch Parking Lot4.8 miunpavedDirections →
- 06Saint Regis River Parking5.9 miunpavedDirections →
- 07Mcdermitt Road Parking6.0 miunpavedDirections →
- 08Rainbow Lake To Jones Canoe Carry Parking Lot6.3 miunpavedDirections →
+4 more on the map above
Getting in, staying over.
Camping.
What the lake is doing today.
What rings this water.
The peaks.
The waters.
The trails.
Read before you launch.
Make a weekend of it.
Closest editorial picks for a meal, a scoop, a pint, a bed, and a sight worth your time.
Eat.
4- Hohmeyer's Adirondack Alps Restaurant9.6 mi
A family-owned restaurant in the Adirondacks offering seasonal, 100-mile-focused fusion cuisine, a 1920s Speakeasy, and a hidden Beer and Wine Cellar.
- Our Plates14.4 mi
Our Plates offers Caribbean and Southern-inspired cuisine for pickup at 7 Broadway. Enjoy dishes like Empanadas Locas, Dominican Chimi Burgers, Bistec Encebollado, and Tres Leches cake.
- Red Fox14.4 mi
The Red Fox Restaurant is a longtime Saranac Lake landmark known for its Steak, Seafood, and Italian dishes, offered in a spacious Adirondack-style setting.
- China Jade14.4 mi
A long-running Chinese restaurant on Saranac Lake's Main Street, doing classic American-Chinese standards for dine-in and takeout, Tuesday through Saturday.
Sip.
4- Saranac Juice13.2 mi
Cold-pressed juices, cleanses, protein elixirs, and nut mylks from Saranac River Ranch in Bloomingdale, made from organic produce grown on the farm or sourced from local Adirondack growers.
- Nori's Village Market14.4 mi
Nori's Village Market and Riverside Cafe offers a market with organic and local produce, bulk foods, coffee, and teas, alongside a cafe serving natural, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and local meat options.
- Origin Coffee14.4 mi
Origin Coffee Co is a specialty coffee shop with locations in Lake Placid and Saranac Lake serving a chef-driven breakfast and lunch menu.
- Blue Moon14.4 mi
Blue Moon Café in Saranac Lake offers dine-in, pick-up, and curbside delivery services. Guests can enjoy weekly specials, restaurant menus, baked goods, coffee, grocery items, and adult beverages.
Sweet.
4- Mark Twain Maple Works14.0 mi
Mark Twain Maple Works produces New York State maple syrup on the shore of Saranac Lake in the Adirondack Park. They have been making syrup since 2013, expanding their operation and offering various grades.
- Mountain Mist Custard15.3 mi
A summer fixture on the shore of Lake Flower in Saranac Lake, with picnic tables and a dock you can tie a boat to. Frozen custard and soft serve with weekly-rotating flavors, shakes, and sundaes.
- Donnelly's Soft Ice Cream17.1 mi
A fourth-generation Saranac Lake institution on a former dairy farm, serving exactly one rotating soft-serve flavor each day — twisted with vanilla on the same 1953 machine. Cash only; check the daily flavor. Memorial Day to Labor Day.
- Skyline Ice Cream20.4 mi
A roadside soft-serve stand on Route 30 in Tupper Lake since 1985 — vanilla and black-raspberry twists, gelato, Dole Whip, and Michigans, now with an expanded burger-and-fries menu.
Drink.
4- The 1892 Bar & Grille9.6 mi
The 1892 Bar & Grille is a locally owned rustic bar and restaurant in Lake Clear, NY, offering homemade food. Recently under new ownership, it brings fresh energy and an updated menu to its patrons.
- Hex and Hop Brewing12.4 mi
Hex and Hop Brewing is a craft brewery and meadery in Bloomingdale, New York, making full-flavored, locally sourced beer and mead. They prioritize community and craft, using fresh, local ingredients.
- Bitters & Bones14.3 mi
Saranac Lake's only downtown brewery, restaurant, and bar, Bitters & Bones offers craft beer brewed upstairs, fresh local cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and craft cocktails. It features rooftop decks and unique private event spa…
- RiverTrail Beerworks14.4 mi
RiverTrail Beerworks is Saranac Lake’s only riverfront brewpub, located on the Saranac Lake River Walk and Rail Trail. It features a heated patio, firepits, two golf simulators, and serves lunch and dinner daily with house-brewed beers and…
Stay.
4- The St. Regis Suites6.5 mi
Five well-appointed suites of various sizes, between Saranac Lake and Paul Smith's College in Gabriels, NY. Renovated by Cedar Circle LLC with green building techniques. Stays from three days to three months.
- Hohmeyer's Lake Clear Lodge & Resort9.6 mi
Wooded lakefront resort featuring homey rooms & cabins, local dining, a pub & outdoor recreation.
- The Point13.2 mi
An all-inclusive Great Camp on Upper Saranac Lake, built by William Avery Rockefeller II a century ago. The first Relais & Chateaux property in North America and the only Forbes Five Star property in Upstate New York. Adults-only, communal dining.
- Fish Creek Pond Campground13.4 mi
This expansive campground offers 355 sites with direct water access to Fish Creek and Square Ponds, providing ample opportunities for boating, fishing, and swimming from May to October.
See.
4- White Pine Camp4.6 mi
The 1907 Great Camp on Osgood Pond that served as Calvin Coolidge's Summer White House in the summer of 1926. Seasonal guided tours, and several cottages rent by the week.
- Topridge5.3 mi
The sprawling Gilded Age estate Marjorie Merriweather Post built on Upper St. Regis Lake — later New York State's, now privately held. Best seen from the St. Regis lakes.
- THE GREAT ADIRONDACK CORN MAZE8.2 mi
The Great Adirondack Corn Maze at Tucker Farms in Gabriels offers a new maze design each year, providing a fun experience of getting lost in the cornfield.
- Adirondack Carousel14.2 mi
A community-built carousel on Depot Street in Saranac Lake, with hand-carved Adirondack animals (bear, loon, deer, otter) instead of horses. Year-round, indoors, and the best rainy-day move in town for kids under 8.
Add to the record.
Free, takes thirty seconds. Yours forever.
Every page on this site gets better when readers contribute. Mark a peak you’ve climbed, drop a photo, file a field note, or flag a correction — every addition makes the next visitor’s page better.
Add a shot.
Sunrise on the dock, a cairn at the summit, a bend on the trail. Your camera roll, our archive.
Add a photo →File a report.
Trail conditions, water level, bug pressure, blowdown. The kind of detail that helps the next person plan.
Write a field note →Spot something off?
Wrong elevation, outdated access notes, a coordinate that's drifted. We'd rather hear it than miss it.
Suggest an edit →Frequently asked.
- Where is Clear Lake located?Clear Lake is a lake in the Saranac Lake region of the Adirondack Park in northern New York State.
- How big is Clear Lake?Clear Lake has a surface area of approximately 31 acres, a smaller backcountry water.
- How deep is Clear Lake?Clear Lake has a maximum depth of 25 feet, with a mean depth of 10.8 feet.
- Is Clear Lake open to the public?Yes, Clear Lake has public access. See the listing page for current trailhead, parking, and boat-launch details, and check active DEC advisories before visiting.
- Can you camp at Clear Lake?Within roughly seven miles of Clear Lake: 45 designated campsites, 5 lean-tos or shelters. Permit and primitive-camping rules vary; check NYSDEC before you go.