Every named pond in the Adirondack Park — quiet waters, lean-to destinations, swimming holes. Browse by region or jump to a name.
Bassout Pond is a 25-acre water tucked into the Raquette Lake township — off the main lake circuits and far enough from the trailhead networks that it holds its quiet. No fish data on file with DEC, which usually means either private inholdings complicate access or it's simply too small and shallow to warrant stocking surveys. The name suggests old logging-era geography — "bassout" as corruption or mispronunciation, common in ponds named by surveyors or timber crews who moved through faster than they mapped. If you know how to reach it, it's yours; if you don't, start with the Raquette Lake town office or a USGS quad.
Bear Pond is a small six-acre water in the Raquette Lake township — one of dozens of named ponds scattered through the woods south and west of the main lake basin. No fish data on record, no trailhead in the immediate radius, and likely accessed by bushwhack or private inholding rather than marked trail. The name shows up on DEC and USGS maps but not in the recreational literature, which usually means either low-access or low-interest water hemmed in by wetland or blowdown. If you're serious about finding it, start with the quad map and a compass — this is scout-and-report territory, not a weekend stroll.
Bear Pond is a 28-acre water in the Raquette Lake region — small enough to paddle in an afternoon, large enough to feel like more than a stopping point. The pond sits in the network of lakes and channels that make the Raquette drainage a classic canoe-camping zone, though Bear itself sees less traffic than the headline waters nearby. No fish species data on record, which either means it's been overlooked by DEC survey crews or it's one of those ponds where the habitat doesn't hold much past early spring. Access is by paddle route; check the Raquette Lake launch points and plan your connections accordingly.
Beaverdam Pond sits west of Raquette Lake village in a quiet pocket of the Raquette Lake Wild Forest — 48 acres of shallow water with the kind of name that tells you what shaped it. Access is by water from Raquette Lake itself or from the network of logging roads and informal paths that thread through the area; this isn't a trailhead-and-sign destination, and local knowledge or a good topo map will save you time. The pond sees more use from anglers launching from Raquette than from foot traffic, and the shoreline holds the mix of alder, spruce, and blowdown common to beaver-maintained flowages. No fish data on file with DEC, but ponds like this in the Raquette drainage typically hold brook trout if they hold anything.
Big Deer Pond sits in the Raquette Lake wild forest — 57 acres, no formal fisheries data on record, and far enough off the main corridors that it doesn't show up on most weekend itineraries. Access details are thin, which usually means either unmaintained trail or private-land complications; confirm current status and landowner permission before heading in. The pond's name suggests historical hunting camps or deer-yarding habitat, common in this drainage between Raquette and Blue Mountain lakes. If you do get there, expect solitude — and bring a compass.
Big Five sits in the dense forest south of Raquette Lake village — a sixteen-acre pond with no formal public access and no fish stocking records in the DEC system. The name suggests either a surveyor's grid designation or an old hunting camp reference, but no historical marker survives in the record. Ponds this size in the Raquette drainage often hold wild brookies or perch that wandered in during high water, but without maintained trails or documented put-ins, Big Five stays off most paddlers' lists. Best known to locals with property access or hunters working the surrounding hardwood ridges in October.
Big Shallow sits in the Raquette Lake township — a nine-acre pond that delivers exactly what the name promises. No formal trail system, no DEC campsite inventory, no fish stocking records in the regional database. This is beaver-dam water in the mid-Adirondacks: flooded hardwood stands, shallow basin, the kind of place you find by studying the topo and bushwhacking in from a fire road or seasonal camp access. If you're after solitude and don't mind wet feet, Big Shallow qualifies — but leave the fly rod at home.
Buck Pond is a 10-acre pocket water in the Raquette Lake township — part of the broader constellation of ponds and wetlands that define the central Adirondacks' working forest landscape. No fish data on file, which usually means either unstocked headwater habitat or a seasonal wetland that doesn't hold trout through summer drawdown. The name suggests old hunting camp territory, and the acreage puts it in that useful middle ground: too small for most paddlers to seek out on purpose, but exactly the kind of water you stumble into when you're bushwhacking between better-known destinations or poking around old logging roads south of the Blue Line highway corridors.
Buck Pond is a 10-acre water in the Raquette Lake region — small enough that it rarely appears on recreational fishing or paddling lists, and remote enough that access details stay local. No fish species on state record, which usually means either limited stocking history or a pond that doesn't hold trout through summer. The name suggests old hunting camp or timber-era usage, common in this part of the park where ponds were named for function rather than scenic value. If you're heading out, confirm access and ownership with the local DEC office — many small ponds in this drainage sit on mixed public-private land.
