The Moose River Plains Wild Forest is a tract in the

Adirondack Park The Adirondack Park is a part of New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure”, and for watershed protection. The park ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

and Herkimer counties in the state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

; it is designated as Wild Forest by the

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (informally referred to as NYSDEC, DEC, EnCon or NYSENCON) is a department of New York state government. The department guides and regulates the conservation, improvement, and protection ...

Geography

Moose River Plains Wild Forest is bounded on the north by the

Pigeon Lake Wilderness Area The Pigeon Lake Wilderness Area, an Adirondack Park unit of the forest preserve, lies in the town of Webb, Herkimer County, and the towns of Long Lake and Inlet in Hamilton County. It is bounded on the north by Stillwater Reservoir and large b ...

Raquette Lake Raquette Lake is the source of the Raquette River in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. It is near the community of Raquette Lake, New York. The lake has of shoreline with pines and mountains bordering the lake. It is located in the t ...

and the

Blue Ridge Wilderness Area The Blue Ridge Wilderness Area, a unit of New York's Forest Preserve in the Adirondack Park, is located in the towns of Arietta, Lake Pleasant and Indian Lake in Hamilton County. It is roughly bounded on the north by NY 28; on the east by Rout ...

, on the east and the south by the

West Canada Lake Wilderness Area The West Canada Lake Wilderness Area is an Adirondack Park Forest Preserve management unit in the State of New York, USA. The area contains 168 bodies of water covering , of foot trails, and 11 lean-tos. The Northville-Placid Trail travers ...

and the private lands of the Adirondack League Club, and on the west by the

Fulton Chain Lakes The Fulton Chain of Lakes is a string of eight lakes located in the Adirondack Park in upstate New York, United States. The chain is the dammed-up Moose River, and the dam which creates the chain holds back nearly of water. The lakes are locate ...

and

New York State Route 28 New York State Route 28 (NY 28) is a state highway extending for in the shape of a "C" between the Hudson Valley city of Kingston and southern Warren County in the U.S. state of New York. Along the way, it intersects several major r ...

. The "plains" of the Moose and Red Rivers are zones of

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

and

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

vegetation that contrast with the forest that covers much of the Adirondack Park. Streams within the forest include one of several Indian Rivers in the Adirondack park (originating at Brook Trout Lake in the West Canada Lake Wilderness), the Red River, Cobblestone Creek, Mountain Lake Outlet, Horn Lake Outlet, Ice Cave Mountain Outlet, Benedict Brook, Muskrat Creek, Silver Run, Otter Brook, Twin Lakes Outlet, the headwaters of the North Branch of the Black River (beginning over the hill behind Horn Lake), the South Branch of the Moose River and the

Cedar River Flow The Cedar River Flow is a remote 640-acre (2.6 km2) shallow lake, created by the Wakely Dam on the Cedar River, where there are a number of campsites accessible via a gravel road, 14 miles (23 km) from Indian Lake or 23 miles (37 km) ...

, as well as Mitchell Ponds, Lost Ponds, Twin Lakes, Icehouse and Helldiver Ponds, Beaver Lake, Indian Lake (referred to as Little Indian Lake locally), Squaw Lake, Balsam Lake, Stink Lake, Mountain Lake, Monument Lake, Snyder Lake, and furthest in, Horn Lake. This is the area in which the Adirondack Guide, French Louie, ran many of his traplines.

Recreation

The Moose River Plains Wild Forest has miles of marked trails for hiking, skiing, mountain biking, horseback riding, and snowmobiling, along with many lakes and ponds for canoeing and kayaking. Hunting, fishing and primitive camping are permitted during designated seasons. Some trails and campsites have been improved to allow greater access for those with disabilities.

Public access

This area is the largest block of remote lands in the Adirondacks readily accessible by motor vehicle. Entrances to the Plains are at the Limekiln Gate, near

Inlet An inlet is a (usually long and narrow) indentation of a shoreline, such as a small arm, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In marine geogra ...

, and the Cedar River Gate, near Indian Lake. The gates are connected by Limekiln Lake-Cedar River Road, a unpaved road. It functions as a snowmobile route during winter. In June the road comprises much of the course for the Black Fly Challenge, an annual cycle race.

References

External links

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation - Moose River Plains Complex
{{Protected areas of New York Adirondack Park Campgrounds in New York (state) Protected areas of Hamilton County, New York Protected areas of Herkimer County, New York Forests of New York (state)

Geography

Recreation

Public access

See also

References

External links