William C. Whitney Wilderness Area

Within the William C. Whitney area, the opportunities offered by the Department to the public will include a variety of passive recreational activities within a "wilderness" setting. You can enjoy a number of recreational activities during your visit, including canoeing, fishing, hiking, camping, watching wildlife, hunting, trapping, cross-country skiing, and horseback riding, all within a setting of quiet and peaceful solitude. The Department plans to manage the Whitney Area in a manner that will offer unique and outstanding opportunities to all its visitors, including those with disabilities.

Parking: Please park only in the three parking areas provided for access to the Area. A parking area for the single approved waterway access site is located at the headquarters area. The parking area at the Burn Road Trailhead provides access to the marked hiking trails in the area. Vehicles with horse trailers may only park at the Sabattis Road facility.

Accessible facilities:

Accessible parking, a wooden dock overlooking Little Tupper Lake, and restrooms are available. See below for directions.

Full listing of DECs Accessible Recreation Destinations.

Canoeing: The Whitney Area contains an extensive and historic system of navigable lakes and streams which are readily accessible by canoe or non-motorized boat. The only approved location for waterway access is at the headquarters lot. This site is hand launch only, boats must be carried to the water. From the single put-in site you can explore Little Tupper Lake and, with a short carry on Rock Pond Outlet, easily paddle into Rock Pond. A canoe carry trail will be marked from the northern shoreline of Lilypad Pond to Shingle Shanty Brook for the more adventurous who may want to paddle into Lake Lila. You may have to carry around beaver dams along your way.

Round Lake and Round Lake outlet are on private land, as are Bog Stream and stretches of Salmon Lake Outlet, Mud Pond into Shingle Shanty Brook, Charley Pond Outlet, and Otter Pond Outlet. While recent court cases have established the public right to traverse private lands by boat on specific waters in other parts of the state, the question of the legal right of the public to navigate any of the waters that enter private lands from the William C. Whitney Area has not been resolved. Please respect the wishes of private property owners to enjoy their privacy, and realize that landowners may take legal action should you decide to proceed by boat beyond State land boundaries.

Hunting and Trapping: Hunting and trapping are permitted in accordance with DEC regulations. Licenses are available from town offices and many sporting goods stores. Trapping is not permitted in the headquarters lot.

Fishing: Special interim regulations are in effect and will be posted at the headquarters. A catch-and-release policy for Brook Trout will be enforced. Only artificial lures are permitted. No live bait or worms are allowed.

Camping: You may camp only at campsites marked with yellow "Camp Here" disks. These primitive tent sites will provide space for no more than three tents and will accommodate a maximum of eight people. Large groups are not allowed to camp in this area. In order to reduce the risk of forest fires, you may build campfires only at designated campsites in the fire rings provided. As campsites are designated, fire rings will be located on mineral soil to prevent the spread of campfires into forest litter. Please use only dead and down wood for fuel. The best way to protect camping areas is by using a portable stove instead of a campfire for cooking.

Horseback Riding: Horses are not permitted on marked foot trails. Because of the danger and conflict with truck traffic, for now horseback riding is not allowed on the Burn Road. A marked trail starts at the Sabbattis Road parking area located just east of the Whitney Area entrance road. Horseback riders will have to proceed along the shoulder of Sabattis Road and take a right on County Route 10A to the trail intersection with the Stony Pond Road/Southshore Trail.

Area Roads: The Whitney Area includes approximately 20 miles of relatively level, packed gravel roads. The road system is concentrated mainly in the northern and western portion of the area. During the interim management period, public use of motor vehicles, snowmobiles, and bicycles is not permitted.

Location and Description

The centerpiece of the William C. Whitney Area is Little Tupper Lake. Nearly six miles long and up to a mile wide, with 20 miles of shoreline, it is a broad avenue leading into the remote heart of the forest. Except for three private holdings, the entire lake is State-owned. Ten additional lakes and ponds within the area provide additional recreational opportunities.

The landscape surrounding the waters of the area is composed of low, forested hills with a few modest mountains. Elevations above sea level range from 1,717 feet at the surface of Little Tupper Lake to 2,297 feet at the summit of Antediluvian Mountain. Extensive wetlands stretch out from the ponds and streams.

The William C. Whitney Area lies in the ecological transition zone between the temperate deciduous forest and the boreal forest to the north. The main forest types are northern hardwoods (mostly beech, red maple, and yellow birch), mixed woods (hardwoods with hemlock, red spruce, and scattered white pine), and spruce flats. Logging activity prior to State ownership has left a young, open forest over much of the area. A narrow band of mature trees was preserved along shorelines to protect the view from the water and to reduce erosion into ponds and streams.

Directions and Access

The William C. Whitney Area is just west of the center of the Adirondack Park in the Town of Long Lake, Hamilton County. It is readily accessible from New York State Route 30, a designated Scenic Byway known as the Adirondack Trail. To reach the area, take Route 30 twelve miles south from the hamlet of Tupper Lake or seven miles north from the hamlet of Long Lake to the intersection with Hamilton County Route 10A (Circle Road). Turn west and proceed four miles to the Little Tupper Lake Headquarters Entrance Road. Here, at the former headquarters of Whitney Park, you will find the main parking area, an information station, and the only waterway access site on Little Tupper Lake.

Safety Information

When traveling to any backcountry area you should be properly prepared and equipped. You should be aware of special safety considerations and the rules for the proper use of New York State Public Lands.

Within the Whitney Area the relatively unvarying terrain and the complex system of roads on the property make it essential that visitors plan carefully and make use of a compass and good maps when traveling. Also be aware of the following:

The prevailing winds and shallowness of Little Tupper Lake often results in large waves. Winds do not have to be exceptionally strong to create whitecaps on Little Tupper Lake. During periods of rough weather, canoeists are advised to keep near shore. Woods roads on both sides of the lake provide emergency exit routes if necessary. Be prepared.

In case of emergency, contact:
Forest Fire, Search and Rescue (Forest Rangers): (518) 891-0235
Ray Brook Law Enforcement (Environmental Conservation Officer): (518) 897-1326

Area Maps and Information

To be properly prepared, you should supplement this web page and the property brochure with detailed maps, such as those available from the United States Geological Survey, which show topography, roads, streams, etc. The 7.5 x 15 minute topographic maps that cover this area are the Little Tupper Lake and Forked Lake quadrangles. They are available from many suppliers of outdoor recreational equipment, or by calling USGS directly at (800) USA-MAPS. In addition, separate brochures are available upon request from DEC for the adjacent Lake Lila Primitive Area and the nearby Bog River Flow.

For Additional Information Please Contact :

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
Forest Preserve Information, Box 458
Northville, NY 12134
(518) 863-4545

Fish and Wildlife

There are a number of residents of the Adirondack forest that you are likely to see or hear during your visit to the William C. Whitney Area. White-tailed deer live here, along with black bears; although you are less likely to see them. There is a chance you may catch a glimpse of a moose. Forest residents that usually escape detection include bobcat, fisher, and pine marten. Working mostly after the sun goes down, beaver have made their mark by damming many streams. Coyotes have become increasingly common in recent years. Other local animals include river otter, raccoon, red and gray fox, muskrat, striped skunk, porcupine and snowshoe hare.

These remote forests and wetlands are home to songbirds such as woodpeckers, flycatchers, wrens, thrushes, vireos, warblers, blackbirds, finches, grosbeaks and sparrows. Boreal birds like the spruce grouse, Wilson's warbler, Cape May warbler, bay-breasted warbler, three-toed woodpecker and yellow-bellied flycatcher breed in or near the area. These species generally are found in habitats associated with bogs, spruce swamps and other wetlands.

As you canoe these waters, look for common mergansers as they dive for fish. Another Adirondack fish eater you may encounter is the common loon. Great blue herons are often seen standing motionless in the shallows. Along with osprey, or "fish hawks," herons make their large stick nests in trees near water. At night, the wild call of the loon may be joined by the distinctive hoot of the barred owl.

Little Tupper Lake is the home of a genetically unique "heritage" strain of brook trout. Along with a variety of native minnows, the population of the "Little Tupper" strain are the direct descendants of the first trout to have reached the lake after glaciers receded about 12,000 years ago. The Whitney family successfully prevented the introduction of predatory and competing non-native fish species such as smallmouth bass, northern pike and yellow perch. Consequently, Little Tupper Lake is the largest lake in the eastern United States with its original strain of trout. Special fishing regulations are in effect to protect this priceless fish population.

Of a total of 12 waters in the Adirondacks known to harbor the Little Tupper strain, three are in the William C. Whitney Area: Little Tupper Lake, Rock Pond and Bum Pond. Lilypad Pond and Little Salmon Lake support brook trout, but not the Little Tupper Lake strain.

A catch-and-release policy for brook trout will be enforced to help protect the genetically unique heritage strain. This will provide DEC with an opportunity to fully assess the Little Tupper Lake fishery and to obtain data so that final management decisions can be based on sound science. Statewide regulations will be in place for all other species. Artificial lures only will be allowed; the use of bait fish or worms will be prohibited for all waterbodies within the area. This will protect the heritage strain of brook trout from accidental introduction of species such as bass and perch.

History

The area that became Whitney Park was the hub of a system of historic canoe routes used by Native Americans and early Adirondack explorers. Routes linking Tupper Lake, Long Lake, and Lake Lila were documented by E. R. Wallace in his 1887 Descriptive Guide to the Adirondacks and W. H. H. Murray's Adventures in the Wilderness.

From 1896 to 1898, William C. Whitney and his business partner Patrick Moynehan, an experienced lumberman, purchased a number of parcels totaling 68,000 acres of virgin forest land in northern Hamilton County. An ardent conservationist, Mr. Whitney invited forester Henry Graves, a protégé of Gifford Pinchot (later the first chief of the US Forest Service) to prepare a forest management plan for the property. Early timber harvesting was therefore conducted through one of the first applications of scientific forestry in the country.

The first logging operation began in 1898 and was completed by 1912. Only spruce ten inches or larger and pine were harvested. After the logging was done, the partners went their separate ways, and Mr. Whitney became the sole owner of the estate he then named Whitney Park. In the second logging operation, begun in 1934, balsam fir, hemlock and over-mature hardwoods left from the first cut were harvested. At this time the extensive road system was started to facilitate horse logging operations.

In both logging operations, spruce and pine logs were cut, skidded by horse, then dragged by sled to waterways for driving down to Tupper Lake. Hardwoods and hemlocks, because they were too dense to float, had to be transported by truck or by a branch line of the New York Central Railroad. The four mile section of railroad built into Whitney Park in 1936 was only used for three years but traces of the old railroad grade may still be seen today in the vicinity of Hardigan and Rock ponds.

Timber harvesting has not been the only agent of change in the forest. In the first decade of this century, a combination of intense drought and an abundance of logging debris set the stage for major forest fires across the Adirondacks. A great fire in 1908 burned much of the northwest quarter of the William C. Whitney Area. Plantations of white pine were established in the open areas created by the burn. The "Great Blowdown" of 1950 damaged trees in the vicinity of Antediluvian and Doctors ponds and a few areas south of Little Tupper Lake. The most powerful windstorm since that time was the microburst of July 15, 1995. Winds of over 100 miles per hour flattened much of the western part of the property. Salvage operations harvested some of the damaged trees along the heavily impacted western shore of Little Tupper Lake and in the vicinity of Hardigan and Bum ponds.

The many buildings at the Little Tupper Lake entrance have long been known as Whitney Headquarters. The large main building was constructed in 1923 to house lumberjacks and was later converted into an office for Whitney Industries. In 1946, several residences were built for employees. Other structures were built that served the management of the property including an electrical generation facility, boathouse, pumphouse, storage sheds, and a maintenance shop/garage.

Trails and Trailheads

Burn Road Trailhead - This trailhead is on Sabattis Road, 1.4 miles west of the headquarters entrance road, and provides access to points along the north shore of Little Tupper Lake and branches off to several interior waters, the largest being the 281-acre Rock Pond. A 13.5-mile foot trail system utilizes the existing logging roads.

Rock Pond Trail (blue markers, 2.8 miles) - This trail begins after walking 5.7 miles west of the Sabattis Road on the Lilypad Pond trail. The Rock Pond Trail proceeds in a southerly direction, passing by Frenchman's mine, continues southeasterly crossing over Rock Pond Outlet on a bridge and eventually ending on the eastern shore of Rock Pond.
Lilypad Pond Trail (red markers, 8.2 miles) - This trail begins at the Burn Road parking area on the Sabattis Road. The trail proceeds in a westerly direction paralleling the northern side of Little Tupper Lake eventually crossing Charley Pond Outlet and ending at Lilypad Pond.
Hardigan Pond Trail (yellow markers, 1.5 miles) - This spur trail begins on the Rock Pond Trail approximately 0.5 mile south of Frenchman's Mine. The trail proceeds southwesterly, turning onto an old railroad grade just before Hardigan Pond.
Camp Bliss Trail (yellow markers, 1.0 miles) - After purchase by the State and demolition of buildings, a trail will be marked that begins on Burn Road approximately 4.7 miles west of the Sabattis Road parking area. The trail proceeds in a southeasterly direction passing by the eastern edge of Bum Pond to a large cleared area on the western shore of Little Tupper Lake.

Stony Pond Road Trailhead - This trailhead with no parking facility is on Circle Road, .4 mile south of the Sabattis Road junction.

Southshore Trail (yellow horse markers, 4.0 miles) - This marked horse trail starts along this woods road heading west along the south shore of Little Tupper Lake and ends approximately four miles from the public highway at two separate camping areas.
Winter Activities: The trails and unplowed roads within the Whitney Area offer numerous opportunities for backcountry cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

Special Rules for the William C. Whitney Area

Please Remember - The William C. Whitney Area offers opportunities for recreational pleasure, appreciation of nature, and a rejuvenating escape from the urban world. In addition to the special rules applying to this area you should also be aware of the general rules for the use of New York State lands. These can be reached from the link in the box at the top of the page. Help care for our wildland environment and enhance the enjoyment of it for yourselves and those that follow by observing these regulations.

Except on access roads leading to parking areas, where motor vehicles and bicycles are permitted, don't use motor vehicles, float planes, snowmobiles, motor boats, or bicycles anywhere within the Whitney Area.
Users of this area are advised not to trespass on adjacent private lands. Camp Francis and Camp on the Point remain in private ownership.
Chainsaws or generators are prohibited in the area.
Park only in designated parking areas.
Park vehicles with horse trailers only in the parking area designated for their use.
Camp only at campsites designated with "Camp Here" disks.
No groups larger than eight people may camp in the area. You will need a camping permit from a forest ranger for stays of more than three nights at one location.
Build fires only at designated campsites in fire rings provided. Leave no fire unattended and make sure the fire is completely extinguished before you leave.
Use only dead and down wood to build campfires. Do not cut standing dead trees; they provide food and cover for wildlife. Do not strip bark or deface standing trees.
Don't ride horses on trails marked as foot trails. In accordance with Agriculture and Markets Rules and Regulations, Part 64, horse owners may be required to produce a current negative Coggins certificate. In addition, out-of-state horse owners may be required to produce a thirty-day certificate.
Launch boats only at the headquarters area.
Control your pet. To protect wildlife and respect other visitors, keep your dog close to you and under direct control at all times. In the headquarters area, dogs must be on a leash.
Trapping is not permitted in the headquarters area.
If you carry it in, carry it out. Leave the area as you would like to find it - clean! Burying of refuse is prohibited.