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Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Originally Posted by lrfox
I think I generally agree with this, particularly with regards to "accessible" lakes. And I also prefer the Adirondack lakes to VT, NH, and Southern ME (though Willoughby is gorgeous and Winnie will always hold a place in my heart due to the time I've spent there). But in terms of pure, unspoiled natural beauty, it's really hard to beat the lakes of Northern ME (and some of the farther out there Western Maine lakes such as Flagstaff, Rangely, Richardson, Aziscohos, etc.). Mooshead's probably my favorite out of all of the New England states and New York with it's combination of quaint lake town charm (Greenville) massive size, and largely unspoiled, undeveloped surroundings. Maine also has a number of large and small lakes between Baxter SP and the Canadian border which are some 50 (over 100 in some directions) miles from the nearest inhabited area. The Allagash Wilderness is the wildest, most remote area in the U.S. east of the Rockies. It's spectacular, but of course, it's not the easy to get to (which helps keep it so remote).
Yeah, I haven't been to any lakes further north than Waterville or Bangor, mostly Sebago Lake which is nice. I would love to see Moosehead, that does seem like the prime lake in Northeast for wild and remote lake recreation. I'm aware of the Allagash (also a brew that that I dig), but yes accessibility to it is challenging.
Willoughby is the best in Vermont and is indeed a gem wedged between the two mountains like a fjord. The secret is out though, it gets pretty crowded there on weekends. Unfortunately Lake Champlain has had some issues with cynobacteria/blue algae and lots of beaches were closed to swimming this summer.
Last weekend was the first I got past Lake Placid and actually went deep into the Adirondacks. So when we saw the chain of lakes on the other side of the ranges, I was delighted to explore and find an abundance of recreation opportunity that I didn't really know was there and close enough to where I live to make an easy weekend out of it.
Maine, NH, & VT as well as Upstate NY all have an abundance of natural freshwater lakes. There are excellent lakes for recreation in all of them. However, something about the lakes in the Adirondacks of NY stand out as the very best ones for me. I love the scenic drive between Tupper Lake, Long Lake, and Old Forge. There is a continuous chain of multiple lakes, one after another then another. Some lakes have restrictions on motorized boats which make them perfect for paddling. Many are remote, you can hike in to access some of them and paddle out to remote campsites. Just a real clean, pristine, and uncrowded area, and an ideal lake recreation environment. DH & I took a ride over last weekend and spent the night. We were really impressed with what we saw.
Yes, those are the lakes we saw! We also stopped at Lake Clear, Saranac, Tupper, and Raquette Lakes. They were awesome. Wish I didn't wait until so late in the summer to get out there now that's it's starting to cool off quote a bit. But will definitely get put that way again next summer for paddling, swimming, and hiking. For towns in the area we liked Tupper Lake and Inlet the best
Last weekend was the first I got past Lake Placid and actually went deep into the Adirondacks. So when we saw the chain of lakes on the other side of the ranges, I was delighted to explore and find an abundance of recreation opportunity that I didn't really know was there and close enough to where I live to make an easy weekend out of it.
You saw the good stuff. My girlfriend's grandmother lives in Lake Placed (the rest of the family is Mad River Valley, VT). Before her I had never been out that way and the first few trips I only really saw Lake Placid and Mirror Lake (and passed Upper/Lower Cascade on the way in - very pretty). Lake Placid is beautiful, but very busy. It wasn't until recently that we got out where you're talking about. Beautiful and I agree it beats almost anything in Northern New England apart from remote Maine, but it has the benefit of being.. well... not remote.
Too bad about Champlain though. It's certainly beautiful, but it's a shame if you can't swim there.
Also, for those interested, this is a series on some Upstate NY TV stations that offer some suggestions in terms of places to visit: https://www.localsyr.com/destination-ny/
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