Mountain Biking - Fish Pond Truck Trail

I was up at my parents' lakehouse last weekend (well, I guess I should just start calling it their "house" because they're up there full time now), and I wanted to check out a new mountain bike spot. The New York State DEC has a bunch of Google Earth maps that are really useful, and the "Mountain Bike Trails" map contains something called the Fish Pond Truck Trail. I must have passed the entrance to this place 1,000 times on the way to my parents' place, but I never noticed the truck tracks going into the woods near the road to the Saranac Inn. Here's the route I took:

"Truck trails" in the Adirondacks vary from trails that a truck could actually navigate, to tight twisting singletrack that disappears intermittently. So I didn't really know what to expect from the trail.  I rode about 5 miles from the house to the trailhead, and dove in.

It was definitely a truck trail.

I came to Rat Pond first, not a bad little spot for a break.  I'm in training mode for SSUSA, though, so I didn't stop for too long.

I crossed the railroad between Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake on the way. Once again, I would love for this stretch to be converted into a rail trail. It would be so nice to be able to ride to all of these places on a mellow trail instead of a busy road with a tiny shoulder.

I was surprised to see the entrance to the truck trail proper had an actual gate. And even a registry: 

The trail continued on as a pretty mellow doubletrack (and sometimes tripletrack):

I was a little worried about the stream crossings, thinking they'd be wet or washed out, but they were great - nice grass over sturdy bridges.

There's a big (300') climb in the middle that has a lot of false tops (so it's pretty demoralizing). It was pretty difficult on the single speed.  Then there's a shorter (200') climb further down the trail that seemed a little easier. Really good for strength building - great for training. The trail eventually ends in a cul de sac.  

At Fish Pond:

I've paddled here before, and I remembered there were two lean-tos. Here's one of them:

View from the inside. Lots of litter (sad).

On the way back, I could have taken this other trail and checked out St. Regis Lake, but I had to get back because it was definitely time to drink beer on a boat. Overall, I got about 20 miles of riding in, a lot of good training for SSUSA, and a new route to ride near the house.  While the trail isn't technical at all (I barely even used my brakes), it's good for beginners, families, or anyone wanting to get a good morning spin in before an afternoon on the lake.