The Fulton Chain Of Lakes, New York

[FusionFrank]

After reading about many of the places other boaters go, I want to share my boating haven. We boat on the Fulton Chain of Lakes in upstate NY, in the Adirondack Mountains. The lakes run from the town of Old Forge NY to the town of Inlet NY. The chain (starting in Old Forge) is made up of "The Old Forge Pond" which is actually a large pond that is in the heart of Old Forge. In the pond there are public docks, where you can dock your boat for free (but not leave it for an extended period of time) and go visit the many shops & stores of Old Forge, eat at any of the many awesome restaurants or spend the day at "The Enchamted Forest" a very nice water park that has heated water for the rides. From the pond (which is really larger than it sounds) you will travel through "The Narrows" basically a channel that is anywhere from 100 feet to 300 feet wide and is about 2 miles long and averages about 10 feet in depth. This is a no-wake zone but a very enjoyable ride taking in the many very high dollar water front homes - some are just amazing! After the Narrows, you will enter "1st Lake" this is a great lake to anchor & relax or do some water sports. Next you will enter "2nd Lake" which is very similar to 1st Lake - calm, relaxing & beautiful. Next comes, you guessed it, "3rd Lake" this is where we do our tubing - peaceful, not much traffic and the water is usaully pretty smooth. From 3rd Lake, you will travel another channel, not as long as the Narrows but very similar. After the channel you will enter the grand daddy of all the lakes "4th Lake" this is the biggest lake in the chain and has the most water front restaurants. All the restaurants have free docks for the customers and all serve great food and cocktails. A must stop is Daikers - great munchy type food, great drinks and breath taking views from the outside bar / deck / outdoor tables. Also on 4th Lake are several Hotels and resorts that let you dock your boat for free if you stay with them. There is also a 5th, 6th, 7th and finally an 8th Lake, But these you can't get to with a motor boat, even a canoe has to be taken out and walked some between a couple of lakes.

All in all the Chain of Lakes (The Pond to 4th Lake) is 14 miles from one end to the other. There is no limit to the boat size or engine size, however the majority of boats are in the 25' and under range with an occasional 28' or 30 footer. There is a public launch in Inlet (on 4th Lake) and also 3 or 4 marinas that will also put your boat in for you for a modest fee. The marinas will also rent slips on a daily, weekly or seasonal rate. The marinas will also rent boats (ski and pontoon) and Jet Skis for various rates.

There is also excellent white water rafting and kayaking around Old Forge most notably on the Moose River. Here is Old Forge's official website that details all there is to do there. Check it out:

http://www.oldforgeny.com/index.html#anchor38373

My family and I started snowmobiling there about 10 years ago and just fell in love with the area, so we bought a vacation house there or "camp" as everyone up there calls their places. Now we snowmobile in the winter and boat in the summer.​

 

[rndn]

Re: The Fulton Chain Of Lakes, New York

How is the fishing in the lakes? Are the names of the lake actually 1st, 2nd, ans so on? Any decent places to rent a cottage for a week that you know of?

 

[FusionFrank]

Re: The Fulton Chain Of Lakes, New York

How is the fishing in the lakes? Are the names of the lake actually 1st, 2nd, ans so on? Any decent places to rent a cottage for a week that you know of?

I haven't gone fishing in the lakes yet, but there are always people out there fishing. They fish for bass, pike, trout & pan fish. At the dock one day, I saw a guy come in with a real big fish that had very large & sharp teeth (a pike?) Yes, the lakes are actually named 1st Lake, 2nd Lake etc. but together they make up The Fulton Chain of Lakes. There are quite a few places that have cottages. I am assuming you want waterfront being you are a boater - here are some waterfront ones & their web sites:

Roach's Cottages - (nicer than it sounds)
http://www.roachsallseasoncottages.com/cottages.htm

Turner Camps -
http://www.theturnercamps.com/

Old Forge Camping Resort - not waterfront but close
http://www.oldforgecamping.com/

Eagle Bay Village -
http://www.eaglebayvillage.com/

Check out the link in my first post that details all the places to stay & everything else about Old Forge and the surrounding communities.​

 

[rndn]

Re: The Fulton Chain Of Lakes, New York

I haven't gone fishing in the lakes yet, but there are always people out there fishing. They fish for bass, pike, trout & pan fish. At the dock one day, I saw a guy come in with a real big fish that had very large & sharp teeth (a pike?) Yes, the lakes are actually named 1st Lake, 2nd Lake etc. but together they make up The Fulton Chain of Lakes. There are quite a few places that have cottages. I am assuming you want waterfront being you are a boater - here are some waterfront ones & their web sites:

Roach's Cottages - (nicer than it sounds)
http://www.roachsallseasoncottages.com/cottages.htm

Turner Camps -
http://www.theturnercamps.com/

Old Forge Camping Resort - not waterfront but close
http://www.oldforgecamping.com/

Eagle Bay Village -
http://www.eaglebayvillage.com/

Check out the link in my first post that details all the places to stay & everything else about Old Forge and the surrounding communities.​

Thank you very much for the information.

 

[Steve Mahler]

Re: The Fulton Chain Of Lakes, New York

BTW this is my favorite small boat stomping ground, and you can get into 5th lake as well via a small canal. Approx 3ft of clearance, very clear water and sandy bottom to keep you away from stumps. Best fishing (bass pike perch) is in 5th lake.

I highly recommend this region for small boating, there is even a large island owned by the state parks that you can camp on for free -have to sign up - so you can have a 100% boat vacation.

 

[Liopleurodon]

Re: The Fulton Chain Of Lakes, New York

I've seen them from the road and am greatly looking forward to boating on them. This is part of what drove me to acquire a boat.

Question - Is a PA registration sufficient for the public launch, or is something else needed? I'm accustomed to PA where for motorboats the registration is good anywhere, and there's reciprocity for other states. I just read up on Lake George and apparently they have their own registration requirements.

 

[CPTom21]

Re: The Fulton Chain Of Lakes, New York

I've seen them from the road and am greatly looking forward to boating on them. This is part of what drove me to acquire a boat.

Question - Is a PA registration sufficient for the public launch, or is something else needed? I'm accustomed to PA where for motorboats the registration is good anywhere, and there's reciprocity for other states. I just read up on Lake George and apparently they have their own registration requirements.

You should be able to use ANY DEC launch in NYS with a PA reg. People from VT, and PA are always on Lake George, using the public launches. (This information comes from the DEC and NYS Police).