Every named pond in the Adirondack Park — quiet waters, lean-to destinations, swimming holes. Browse by region or jump to a name.
Lake Bonaparte is one of the larger accessible lakes in the northwest Adirondacks — 1,260 acres of open water tucked between the working forest and the villages that feed into the Old Forge tourism corridor. The lake has a mixed-use character: private camps on portions of the shoreline, state land and public access elsewhere, and enough room that motorboats, paddlers, and anglers can all find their lane. Bonaparte sits outside the High Peaks orbit, which means it holds pike, bass, and panfish instead of the native brook trout ecosystems further east, and it sees more fishing pressure from locals than from through-hikers. Late spring and early fall are the windows — summer weekends bring the pontoon boats.
Lake Charlotte is an 8-acre pond in the Old Forge area — small enough that it rarely shows up on regional itineraries, but named waters in this part of the park often come with private access or are tucked into mid-density recreational areas where the big story is the proximity to snowmobile trails and logging roads rather than High Peaks drama. No fish stocking records on file, which usually means it's either too shallow to hold trout through summer or it's simply off the DEC management grid. Worth checking local intel at an Old Forge outfitter if you're planning a paddle — access and ownership details for the smaller named ponds in this township can be surprisingly specific.
Lake Easka is a 27-acre pond in the Old Forge area — small enough to paddle in an afternoon, large enough to feel like you've left the launch behind. No fish stocking records on file, which usually means it's either holding wild brookies that nobody's documenting or it's too shallow and warm for sustainable trout. The name carries a vaguely Iroquois or Algonquin ring, though the actual etymology is unclear — typical for the Fulton Chain watershed, where half the water names are contested or forgotten. Worth a look if you're working through the lesser-known put-ins around Old Forge, but call the local DEC office if you're serious about what's swimming below.
Lake Gay is a 9-acre pond in the Old Forge township — small enough that it doesn't appear on most recreational maps, and remote enough that local knowledge matters more than DEC signage. No fish stocking records on file, and no documented public access trail, which usually means private shoreline or a bushwhack approach through working forest. The name appears in historical tax maps and USGS surveys, but contemporary trip reports are thin — one of several dozen "forgotten" ponds in the Old Forge / Inlet corridor that saw more use in the logging era than they do now. If you know where it is, you probably grew up nearby.
Lake Kan-ac-to is an 11-acre pond tucked into the Old Forge wild—small enough that it doesn't pull crowds, large enough to paddle without circling twice in ten minutes. The name carries the Old Forge tradition of Iroquois-inflected place names (real or imagined), part of the nomenclature wave that swept through the central Adirondacks in the late 1800s when resort culture met romanticized indigeneity. No fish data on file, which usually means unmaintained, catch-what's-there brook trout or nothing at all. Access details are sparse; if you're heading out, confirm the route with the Old Forge Visitor Center or local outfitters before committing to the bushwhack.
Lake Margarite is a five-acre pond in the Old Forge area — small enough that the name "lake" feels generous, but part of the dense constellation of named waters that defines the western Adirondacks. No fish species on record, which in this region usually means it's either too shallow for reliable holdover or it's been off the stocking rotation long enough that institutional memory has faded. The pond sits in forest service land where access typically means either a carry-in from a seasonal road or a bushwhack from a better-known trail — worth confirming current access with the Old Forge Visitor Center before you load the canoe. If you're hunting quiet water within striking distance of Old Forge's services, Margarite is the kind of spot that rewards local knowledge and low expectations.
Lake Rondaxe is a 231-acre pond tucked into the woods south of Old Forge — larger than most of the ponds in the western Adirondacks but rarely mentioned in the same breath as the Fulton Chain lakes just north. The water is roadless and quiet, accessible by boat or bushwhack, and it sits in that transitional zone between the tourist corridor of Route 28 and the true backcountry of the Five Ponds Wilderness to the west. No fish species data on record, which usually means either light pressure or marginal habitat — or both. Worth a paddle if you're looking to leave the jet skis and pontoon boats behind.
Lake Tamarack is a five-acre pond in the Old Forge township — small enough that it reads more like a wide spot in a stream than a destination water, and tucked into the dense second-growth woods typical of the working forest west of the Fulton Chain. No fish stocking records and no formal access — this is the kind of water that shows up on the DeLorme but not on trail registers. If you're poking around Old Forge's backroads or paddling the watershed, you'll find it; otherwise, it's a map dot that stays a map dot. Locals who know it aren't posting coordinates.
Lake Te-Jec-Na is a 7-acre pond in the Old Forge area — small enough that it likely sits tucked in second- or third-growth forest, accessible by local road or private land rather than marked trail. The name suggests Iroquois origin, though whether it survives in common use or appears only on USGS quads is hard to say without boots on the ground. No fish data on record, which either means it hasn't been surveyed recently or it doesn't hold a sustainable population — shallow ponds this size in the Old Forge lowlands can winter-kill in hard years. If you're looking for it, start with the DEC's Old Forge road atlas and confirm access before you go.
Lake Tekeni is a 22-acre pond in the Old Forge area — a small, quiet water in a region better known for the Fulton Chain and the snowmobile corridor that runs through town. The name suggests Iroquois origins, though the pond itself sits well outside the documented territory of the Six Nations. No fish species on record with DEC, which usually means either limited access, minimal stocking history, or both. Worth a look on the DEC's boat launch inventory if you're working the Old Forge backcountry by canoe — ponds this size often connect to larger systems or sit on private inholdings with limited public easement.
Lanes Pond is a 24-acre water in the Old Forge corridor — small enough to stay off most radar, large enough to hold a canoe afternoon. No fish stocking records on file, which typically means it's either private, inaccessible, or both; many ponds in this size class near Old Forge sit tucked behind camps or logging roads that once served as access but no longer connect to maintained trail systems. If you're poking around the Old Forge / Thendara backroads with a topo map and find public access, it's worth the reconnaissance — but confirm land status before you paddle.
Lennon Ponds sits in the Old Forge corridor — a modest 9-acre water that appears on DEC maps but remains largely undocumented in trail guides and fishing reports. The lack of stocking records or angler data suggests either very limited access or a pond that simply doesn't hold fish, common among smaller Adirondack waters tucked between larger recreational destinations. Old Forge pulls most of the traffic toward the Fulton Chain, Inlet, and the bigger trout waters to the south and west. If you're hunting Lennon Ponds specifically, expect to work for it — and bring a topo map.
Lily Pond is a 16-acre pond in the Old Forge area — small enough to paddle in an hour, large enough to feel like you've left the main corridor behind. No fish data on record, which typically means overlooked by anglers and worth exploring for families or paddlers looking for quieter water away from the bigger lakes. Access details are scarce in the DEC database, so confirm put-in options with the Old Forge Visitor Center or local outfitters before loading the kayak. At 16 acres, it's the kind of pond that stays off most touring maps — which is either the problem or the point, depending on what you're after.
Little Birch Pond is an 8-acre pocket water in the Old Forge area — small enough that it doesn't show up on most regional fishing reports and quiet enough that it stays that way. No fish species data on record, which typically means either wild brook trout that nobody's officially surveyed or a pond that doesn't hold fish through the summer draw-down. The name suggests birch groves along the shoreline, common in mid-elevation Old Forge ponds that sit in second-growth forest rather than high-country bowls. Worth a look if you're working through the lesser-known Old Forge waters or scouting for a solo afternoon paddle where you won't see another boat.
Little Mouldy Pond is one of those ten-acre specks tucked into the Old Forge working forest — the kind of water that shows up on a topo map but rarely in trip reports. The name suggests beaver work and tannic water, and at this size it's more likely a bushwhack or snowshoe destination than a maintained trail objective. No fish stocking records, no DEC campsite designations — this is old-growth silence and maybe a moose track in the mud. If you're looking for it, you already know why.
Little Rock Pond is a 9-acre pocket water in the Old Forge area — small enough to canoe in an afternoon, quiet enough that most traffic stays on the bigger Fulton Chain lakes to the west. No fish species on record, which likely means it's been passed over for stocking in favor of deeper, better-access ponds in the region. The name suggests a glacial erratic or bedrock outcrop somewhere along the shoreline, but without maintained trails or DEC signage this one stays off most paddlers' radar. If you're poking around Old Forge back roads with a cartop boat and a taste for solitude, it's worth the scout — but confirm access and ownership before you launch.
Long Pond is a four-acre water in the Old Forge township — small enough that it likely sits off the main chain-of-lakes corridor that defines paddling in the Fulton Chain area. No fish species on record, which in this region usually means it's either a shallow wetland feeder pond or a backwater that doesn't see stocking pressure. Without established trail or boat-launch data, this is the kind of water that shows up on the DEC Lake Survey list but stays off most paddlers' rotation — a named dot on the map, not a destination. Worth a look if you're sorting through Old Forge's secondary ponds for a quiet put-in, but confirm access and conditions locally before committing the drive.
Long Pond sits in the Old Forge corridor — 145 acres of quiet water in a region better known for the Fulton Chain and high-season boat traffic. No fish species data on record, which usually means either nobody's reporting or nobody's asking — the kind of pond that gets passed over for the bigger-name waters a few miles west. Access details are thin, but in this part of the park that often means private shoreline or a forgotten DEC put-in off a seasonal road. Worth a call to the Old Forge visitor center if you're scouting flat water for a solo paddle or a mortgage-free afternoon.
Loon Hollow Pond is a 20-acre pocket water in the Old Forge township — part of the sprawl of small ponds and wetlands that fill the low terrain west of the Fulton Chain. No fish data on file with DEC, which usually means either sterile water or a pond that's simply too shallow and oxygen-poor to hold trout through summer. The name suggests historical loon activity, though loons tend to favor larger, deeper water with rocky shorelines and minimal human disturbance. Access details are sparse — likely a bushwhack or unmarked logging road approach rather than a maintained trail.
Lost Pond is a four-acre pocket water in the Old Forge region — small enough that it likely sees more moose than anglers, and remote enough that current fish survey data is nonexistent. The name suggests either an early surveyor's oversight or a backcountry locals' nickname that stuck on the map, and ponds like this one tend to function more as wildlife corridors than recreation destinations. No maintained campsites, no stocked fish, no trail register at the trailhead. Worth noting on a bushwhack route or a topo exercise, but not a paddling objective unless you're already headed that direction for other reasons.
Lost Pond is a 6-acre pocket water in the Old Forge township — one of dozens of small, unnamed-on-most-maps ponds scattered through the working forest and private parcels west of the Fulton Chain. No fish stocking records, no established public access, and no DEC trail leads to it — which means it lives up to its name for anyone without local beta or a landowner connection. In a region dense with accessible paddling (the Fulton Chain, North Lake, Moss Lake all within minutes), Lost Pond stays off the summer circuit by design. If you know how to reach it, you already know why it's worth the walk.
Lower Beech Ridge Pond is a 25-acre water in the Old Forge township — one of the smaller named ponds in a region dense with lakes, and one without publicly documented fish survey data or established trail references in the standard DEC literature. The name suggests it sits below higher terrain to the south or east, likely in second-growth hardwood transition forest typical of the southwestern Park, but access details and ownership status remain unclear in available records. For paddlers and anglers working the Old Forge area, this is a name on the map without a well-worn path to it — worth local inquiry at the town office or nearby outfitters before making assumptions about where to launch or whether it's open to public use.
Lower South Pond is a 44-acre water in the Old Forge township — one of several "South Ponds" scattered across the western Adirondacks, which means confirming you're at the right one before you launch. The pond sits in second-growth forest typical of the Old Forge corridor: logged hard in the railroad era, now thick with mixed hardwoods and pockets of spruce. No fish stocking records on file, which usually means brookies if anything, or nothing at all — worth a cast if you're already there, not worth the drive if fish are the mission. Access details are lean; local knowledge or a DeLorme will serve you better than the DEC website.
