Spectacle Ponds.
Spectacle Ponds — a pair of connected ponds totaling roughly 40 acres — sits in the working forest between the village of Saranac Lake and the Lower Saranac Lake shoreline, more often crossed by loggers and hunters than hikers looking for a destination. The ponds drain north toward the Saranac chain but remain tucked in second-growth timber without maintained trails or formal access points — this is private timberland interspersed with state easement parcels, not the kind of water you paddle to from a highway pull-off. No fish stocking records on file, and no particular reason to assume brook trout survived the logging era here. If you know the ponds, you either own land nearby or you've spent enough time in the Saranac Wild Forest to have earned the route in.
Spectacle Ponds has public access. Summits nearby include Saint Regis Mountain and Jenkins Mountain.
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.
- 01St. Regis Trail Head ParkingTrailhead0.7 miunpavedDirections →
- 02Osgood Boat Launch Parking Lot3.5 miunpavedDirections →
- 03Meadow Pond Trail Parking3.7 miunpavedDirections →
- 04Hays Brook Trail Parking Lot4.3 miunpavedDirections →
- 05Little Green Pond Parking Lot4.3 miunpavedDirections →
- 06Lake Clear Beach Parking4.4 miunpavedDirections →
- 07Mcdermitt Road Parking4.4 miunpavedDirections →
- 08Fish Pond Truck Trail Parking Lot4.6 miunpavedDirections →
+4 more on the map above
Getting in, staying over.
Camping.
On the water.
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 Restaurant5.1 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.
- Red Fox10.3 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.
- Our Plates10.6 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.
- China Jade10.7 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- Nori's Village Market10.6 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 Coffee10.7 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 Moon10.7 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.
- Saranac Juice11.2 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.
Sweet.
4- Mark Twain Maple Works9.9 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 Custard11.4 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 Cream13.4 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 Cream16.0 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 & Grille5.2 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.
- Bitters & Bones10.5 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 Beerworks10.6 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…
- Hex and Hop Brewing10.7 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.
Stay.
4- The St. Regis Suites5.0 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 & Resort5.1 mi
Wooded lakefront resort featuring homey rooms & cabins, local dining, a pub & outdoor recreation.
- The Point8.3 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 Campground8.6 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- Topridge0.4 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.
- White Pine Camp4.4 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.
- THE GREAT ADIRONDACK CORN MAZE6.2 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.
- Sail Adirondacks: Saranac Lake-Lake Placid10.3 mi
A crewed sailboat charter operation with bases in Saranac Lake and Port Henry on Lake Champlain, running learn-to-sail lessons and skippered cruises on a fleet of classic sailboats.
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Suggest an edit →Frequently asked.
- Where is Spectacle Ponds located?Spectacle Ponds is a pond in the Saranac Lake region of the Adirondack Park in northern New York State.
- How big is Spectacle Ponds?Spectacle Ponds has a surface area of approximately 40 acres, a smaller backcountry water.
- Is Spectacle Ponds open to the public?Yes, Spectacle Ponds 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 Spectacle Ponds?Within roughly seven miles of Spectacle Ponds: 222 designated campsites, 9 lean-tos or shelters. Permit and primitive-camping rules vary; check NYSDEC before you go.