Trip report after a few nights on Lows Lake last week:
After countless trips to Lake Lila, Little Tupper, Rock Pond and Round Lake my brother and I finally made it out to the Bog River/Lows Lake area. We set out Monday morning under great conditions with any one of a half dozen or so sites on Lows Lake as our hopeful destination. To our initial dismay each site we had hoped to land was occupied and we were faced with what we figured was a rather common dilemma on this lake: keep heading further in or backtrack to a spot that was open on our first pass. We decided to keep paddling further out into Lows and ultimately landed at site #27, a really nice home base with plenty of room to set up camp and an awesome view of the lake looking south/southeast. All in we spent about 4-1/2 hours paddling from the put-in at the Lower Dam to the site, taking in the varying landscapes as you paddle through the Bog River, Hitchens Pond and Lows Lake. One quick note in case anyone is planning on this trip in the near future: while I’m sure it varies depending on water levels there was no way for us to get past the floating bog just past the put-in at the Upper Dam. We had to first take out on the south side of the bog and walk our canoe about 25 feet before putting back in to the water, then another few hundred feet up had to get out on the north side of the bog due to shallow water. From there it was relatively easy paddling except for one very shallow area to the south of site # 18.
Back at camp, once we had everything set up it was time to check out the surrounding area and see what kind of luck we’d have fishing, catching some decent large-mouth bass along the way. It didn’t take too long to decide it was time to head back to site # 27 considering we were pretty shot after the long trip out. Back at camp we settled in for what was a picture perfect, totally clear night on the lake.
We woke up early Tuesday morning to set out for sunrise, fishing along the large bog on the south side of the lake. As the early morning fog lifted we were treated to an awesome sunrise, all the while listening to the loons calling from what seemed to be everywhere around us. After a stop back at the site for breakfast we hit the water again to make our way towards site # 25 so we could hike Grass Pond mountain. Taking advice from some prior posts on here we found a spot to get out in the bay around the site and then hit the dirt road until we found the well-worn “bushwhack” trail leading up the mountain. The views from up top of Grass Pond Mountain did not disappoint and certainly helped give some perspective on how large an area Lows Lake covers. After some lunch up on the rocks we headed back down so we could paddle into Grass Pond to explore that area. Once again another awesome site to see as you catch a glimpse of the huge rock ledges from the pond. By this point the typical ADK afternoon winds had picked up and we decided it was time to navigate our way back to our site for some R&R. Following a bit of rest we hit the water once again to fish the bog area before sunset, then made our way back to settle in for another clear and quiet night.
Wednesday morning we woke up to some overcast conditions with rain in the forecast. Fortunately all we dealt with was a brief heavy rain shower early on with cool and cloudy conditions throughout the rest of the day. Besides a few periods of drizzle it pretty much stayed dry; much better than the on-and-off rain and t-storms the original forecast was calling for, allowing us to further explore the lake without any issues. We spent the day checking out the southwest side of the bog, then making our way into Moose Pond with a stop at Moose Pond Landing for lunch. We eventually paddled our way to the entrance to the Bog River, checking out site #37 for a break before heading back to our site to relax for the remainder of the afternoon. Before we got back to camp the sun had poked through with the sky clearing before turning into yet another picturesque night on the lake.
The final day on this annual trip of ours was the typical all business day: packing up and cleaning up camp, making sure we left no trace behind before we started the trip back to NJ. We took a slow paddle out through some dense fog, fishing where we could and checking out parts of the lake we were unable to explore over the prior three days. Well before we hit the upper dam the sun burned off all of the fog and another great day appeared to be in store for this area.
On this trip we were treated to the usual sites we see pretty much every year: bald eagles, loons, blue herons, falcons, etc.. We did hear coyotes howling overnight Monday into Tuesday with some owls interrupting the still/quiet evening alongside our site on Tuesday. Outside of that no unique wildlife sightings, however upon taking out at the lower dam we were told we missed a large moose passing through the upper dam area by just a few minutes. Still holding out hope we’ll catch a glimpse on one of these trips.
Compared to some of the other spots we’ve visited over the years it was noticeably busier than we were used to, at least from the put-in at the lower dam until you get past the upper dam. Once into Lows we were pleased to see things quiet down and we had our usual ADK experience – very little interaction with anyone else and lots of peace and quiet with just the call of the loons breaking the silence throughout the day. All in all a great first trip to this lake, one we plan on coming back to in the future. Here are a few quick videos from this trip with the sounds of the loons calling, with a few pictures to come. Until next year…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57My4UhE3Hg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD5AgJNf6Wk
After countless trips to Lake Lila, Little Tupper, Rock Pond and Round Lake my brother and I finally made it out to the Bog River/Lows Lake area. We set out Monday morning under great conditions with any one of a half dozen or so sites on Lows Lake as our hopeful destination. To our initial dismay each site we had hoped to land was occupied and we were faced with what we figured was a rather common dilemma on this lake: keep heading further in or backtrack to a spot that was open on our first pass. We decided to keep paddling further out into Lows and ultimately landed at site #27, a really nice home base with plenty of room to set up camp and an awesome view of the lake looking south/southeast. All in we spent about 4-1/2 hours paddling from the put-in at the Lower Dam to the site, taking in the varying landscapes as you paddle through the Bog River, Hitchens Pond and Lows Lake. One quick note in case anyone is planning on this trip in the near future: while I’m sure it varies depending on water levels there was no way for us to get past the floating bog just past the put-in at the Upper Dam. We had to first take out on the south side of the bog and walk our canoe about 25 feet before putting back in to the water, then another few hundred feet up had to get out on the north side of the bog due to shallow water. From there it was relatively easy paddling except for one very shallow area to the south of site # 18.
Back at camp, once we had everything set up it was time to check out the surrounding area and see what kind of luck we’d have fishing, catching some decent large-mouth bass along the way. It didn’t take too long to decide it was time to head back to site # 27 considering we were pretty shot after the long trip out. Back at camp we settled in for what was a picture perfect, totally clear night on the lake.
We woke up early Tuesday morning to set out for sunrise, fishing along the large bog on the south side of the lake. As the early morning fog lifted we were treated to an awesome sunrise, all the while listening to the loons calling from what seemed to be everywhere around us. After a stop back at the site for breakfast we hit the water again to make our way towards site # 25 so we could hike Grass Pond mountain. Taking advice from some prior posts on here we found a spot to get out in the bay around the site and then hit the dirt road until we found the well-worn “bushwhack” trail leading up the mountain. The views from up top of Grass Pond Mountain did not disappoint and certainly helped give some perspective on how large an area Lows Lake covers. After some lunch up on the rocks we headed back down so we could paddle into Grass Pond to explore that area. Once again another awesome site to see as you catch a glimpse of the huge rock ledges from the pond. By this point the typical ADK afternoon winds had picked up and we decided it was time to navigate our way back to our site for some R&R. Following a bit of rest we hit the water once again to fish the bog area before sunset, then made our way back to settle in for another clear and quiet night.
Wednesday morning we woke up to some overcast conditions with rain in the forecast. Fortunately all we dealt with was a brief heavy rain shower early on with cool and cloudy conditions throughout the rest of the day. Besides a few periods of drizzle it pretty much stayed dry; much better than the on-and-off rain and t-storms the original forecast was calling for, allowing us to further explore the lake without any issues. We spent the day checking out the southwest side of the bog, then making our way into Moose Pond with a stop at Moose Pond Landing for lunch. We eventually paddled our way to the entrance to the Bog River, checking out site #37 for a break before heading back to our site to relax for the remainder of the afternoon. Before we got back to camp the sun had poked through with the sky clearing before turning into yet another picturesque night on the lake.
The final day on this annual trip of ours was the typical all business day: packing up and cleaning up camp, making sure we left no trace behind before we started the trip back to NJ. We took a slow paddle out through some dense fog, fishing where we could and checking out parts of the lake we were unable to explore over the prior three days. Well before we hit the upper dam the sun burned off all of the fog and another great day appeared to be in store for this area.
On this trip we were treated to the usual sites we see pretty much every year: bald eagles, loons, blue herons, falcons, etc.. We did hear coyotes howling overnight Monday into Tuesday with some owls interrupting the still/quiet evening alongside our site on Tuesday. Outside of that no unique wildlife sightings, however upon taking out at the lower dam we were told we missed a large moose passing through the upper dam area by just a few minutes. Still holding out hope we’ll catch a glimpse on one of these trips.
Compared to some of the other spots we’ve visited over the years it was noticeably busier than we were used to, at least from the put-in at the lower dam until you get past the upper dam. Once into Lows we were pleased to see things quiet down and we had our usual ADK experience – very little interaction with anyone else and lots of peace and quiet with just the call of the loons breaking the silence throughout the day. All in all a great first trip to this lake, one we plan on coming back to in the future. Here are a few quick videos from this trip with the sounds of the loons calling, with a few pictures to come. Until next year…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57My4UhE3Hg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD5AgJNf6Wk
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