Contemplating the lake
On one of the shortest day of the year it seems fitting that I reminisce about the long days. Summer to my family means adventure; road travels and other. I especially love finding a place beautiful enough to be popular for the masses, but, for whatever reason, remains a more local treat. The Blue Mountain Lake region of the Adirondacks is such a place.
Sunset over Lake Durant
The Adirondacks is an interesting world. It is sometimes a wilderness, sometimes a crowded resort town, and sometimes a quaint getaway. The road from Utica (28) samples all of that on its slow ascent to the 28/30 intersection. Every few miles on the road provides another lake as well as a lodge, resteraunt, and gift shop. By the time you have reached the intersection of 28/30 there are few lodges and less tourists. Blue Mountain Lake feels a lot like a small state park tucked into the mountains. Eating options are decidedly fewer and if you have no groceries you might find yourself, as my family did, dining on gas station pizza and potato chips.
The Adirondack Mountains
Our lodging choice is Lake Durant, a stone throw from Blue Mountain Lake. Lake Durant has one of the best swimming beaches we know. Canoes are also available (a truck pulling a trailer full of canoes drives through the camping loop each morning) and fishing is good. Lake Durant has one camping area with sites on both sides of a gravel road. Not surprisingly the lake side sites fill up first. Several repeat campers indicated to us that the campground only fills up completely a few summer weekends. Nearby Blue Mountain Lake is larger and colder (the beach is bigger too but the colder water makes for worse swimming) and also offers canoe rentals. Many years ago my wfie and I took our first canoe trip on this lake. We also fell into a lake for the first time ever which led to our first canoe related lesson (how to successfully put a canoe into a lake).
A well deserved rest
Blue Mountain is there for the climbing. I have done so twice. The first time I was in my late 20s and I remember it being a pretty easy hike with a great view on top and even better views from the fire tower. The second time I was in my late 30s and hiking with my wife and almost seven year old daughter. My daughter did fine but was sort of pushed up the last half mile or so. I worked harder to get up that mountain than I care to admit. The last chunk of the hike is straight up (no switch backs here) and I collapsed in a heap at the base of the fire tower. There we met a mountain hermit or, actually, a young college student living at a cabin just behind the fire tower for the summer. He was eager for conversation and told how a black bear walked past his cabin a few nights past. We stayed awhile on top of the mountain. Some places deserve lingering.
Lakes viewed from above
Bottom Line: Blue Mountain Lake is a gem of an area with plenty of fishing, boating, camping, and hiking. There are some cabins in the area as well as a lodge, but eating options are limited. We especially enjoy camping at Lake Durant. From Utica it is approximately a two hour drive in season.
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