Every named pond in the Adirondack Park — quiet waters, lean-to destinations, swimming holes. Browse by region or jump to a name.
Figure Eight Pond sits in the Saranac Lake region — a 15-acre water whose name suggests the shape but whose access and use patterns remain undocumented in the standard trail registers and DEC records. No fish stocking data on file, which typically means either private holdings on the shoreline or a pond that's seen enough natural acidification or winter oxygen depletion to discourage both stocking efforts and angling pressure. The Saranac Lake region holds dozens of these smaller named waters tucked between the more trafficked routes — ponds that appear on the topo maps but rarely in the trip reports. Worth checking local outfitters or the town clerk's office for access details if you're prospecting new water.
First Pond — 51 acres, Saranac Lake region — sits in that mid-size category where a pond is big enough to paddle but small enough that most boats never bother. The name tells the story: it's almost certainly the first in a chain or cluster, though the state records don't clarify what comes second. No fish species data on file, which usually means either it winters out hard or no one's bothered to net it in recent surveys. If you're sorting through Saranac-area ponds by map, this is one to confirm access and ownership before you commit to the drive.
Fish Creek Pond covers 270 acres and anchors the state's busiest paddle-camping campground south of Upper Saranac Lake. Motor access allowed; 51 waterfront tent sites fill early on summer weekends.
Fish Pond is a 175-acre backcountry water in the St. Regis Canoe Area, reached only by paddle-and-portage from Hoel Pond or Long Pond. One lean-to and primitive sites; native brook trout and no motors.
Fishhole Pond is a 24-acre water in the Saranac Lake region — small enough to stay off most radar but large enough to hold fish, though current DEC records don't list what's swimming under the surface. The name suggests local fishing history, the kind of pond that shows up on hand-drawn maps and in conversations at the hardware store but not in guidebooks. No known formal access or maintained trails tie it to the public trail system, which typically means either private land surrounds it or it's reached by informal routes known to locals. Worth asking at a Saranac Lake fly shop or the DEC office in Ray Brook if you're serious about finding it.
Fishpole Pond is a five-acre water tucked into the Saranac Lake region — small enough that it rarely shows up on recreational checklists, which is often the point. The name suggests angling history, but there's no current fish species data on record, and no formal DEC stocking reports in recent years. These off-the-radar ponds tend to be either walk-in access with minimal signage or surrounded by private land with informal local use — worth confirming access before you bushwhack. If it's open water, expect shallow depth, warm summer temps, and the kind of quiet that comes from being too small to paddle and too obscure to promote.
Floodwood Pond is a 200-acre pond off Floodwood Road, the put-in for the historic Seven Carries route into the St. Regis Canoe Area. Smallmouth bass and pike; accessible by car, making it a steady choice for family paddles and shoreline anglers.
Follensby Junior Pond — 193 acres tucked into the working forest south of Upper Saranac Lake — sits in that category of mid-sized Adirondack ponds with limited public information: privately held or encumbered land, minimal state access, no formal trail system in the DEC inventory. The name suggests a relationship to Follensby Clear Pond to the west, part of the old Follensby Pond Club territory that included some of the earliest preserved wilderness parcels in the Park. Without documented access or fish survey data, this one stays in the "map notation" file until access conditions change. Worth watching if you track state land acquisitions in the Saranac Lake Wild Forest.
