Find the top rated hiking trails in Massena, whether you're looking for an easy short hiking trail or a long hiking trail, you'll find what you're looking for. Click on a hiking trail below to find trail descriptions, trail maps, photos, and reviews.
Beautiful scenery from Tupper Lake to Lake Clear. Last couple of miles if going east towards Lake Placid is a deceiving uphill with not much shade. Overall a great trail.
The part between Saranac and about 3 miles south of Floodwood (where the lakes begin/end) is the best. I thought Saranac to Placid was comparatively boring, although Placid is a must-see tourist town if in the area. The climb up to Placid at the end is worth noting. I did out and back, for reference.
This trail is finally completed and is one of the best rail-trails I have ever ridden. It connects the communities of Tupper Lake, Lake Clear, Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. It's extremely popular, taking you through remote wooded areas with lake vistas, and just enough community connections for you to pick up a coffee, beer or sandwich along the way. It's still a work in progress with more signs, benches, tables and rest areas yet to be completed, but it's a diamond in the rough, and sure to be in the Rails to Trails "Hall of Fame" in the future!
This trail ROCKS! We rode from Saranac to Floodwood Outpost maybe 20 miles. The section we rode is not on the TrailLink map (yet). The Adirondack Rail Trail group has an excellent map of all the trail, from Lake Placid to Tupper Lake, well worth getting if you plan to ride this.
As we rode past Rat Pond, we encountered a moose swimming across the pond being chased by two angry loons. And as we found out latter, seeing a moose in the Adirondacks is a rare event.
The trail surface is gravel and well maintained on a nice gentle grade. Around wet or marshy areas there are wooden fencing in place. And at the trail access points there are porta-potties (clean!). All in all, this is a great trail.
We walked from the parking lot on 86 into Saranac lake Depo. What a wonderful walk. The trail is wide enough for everyone to enjoy. They were planting lots of new trees along the path. There were no bugs¿¿¿¿
X-county skied the trail. Found it was it was heavily used by snowmobiling which was ok 85% of the time because they shared the trail respectfully. The other 15% maintained high rates of speed when passing, enough so we found it best to stop and stand to the side when they passed. One in particular proved a point passing within 10” of us. Would not recommend for mixed use.
The newly opened section is about 15 miles between Saranac Lake Depot and Floodwood Rd. This section is very scenic, passing along the shores of numerous lakes and ponds. Charlie’s Inn at Lake Clear and Floodwood Outpost at Floodwood Rd are good spots to rest and refuel, in addition to numerous spots in Saranac Lake. Can’t wait for the third section to open next year.
Rode the Saranac Lake to Lake Placid section. Great access on both ends. Trail is very well maintained. Beautiful scenery. Can’t wait for the other two sections to open.
This trail is relatively new. The trail is in great condition with part of it covered with crushed stone and part covered with asphalt. It is pretty much flat with slight up and down grades. The bridges and railings are all in excellent condition. There are numerous parking areas with access to the trail. I started in Lake Placid and could not find any signage indicating where the trail started or where the parking was.
Just rode this trail 7/26/16 from Route 86 - nice trail - from about 2.3 - 2.6 miles, there are a lot of roots across the trail making for a bumpy and slow ride - at about 4.5 miles, the trail begins to get sandy and the pedaling gets tougher - the trail was dry and did not appear to be impacted by any beavers - in the open areas, there are great views of the bog and some lower mountains - even this late in July, there were a few black flies that hovered and swarmed when stopped - overall a nice ride to spend about 1-2 hours on
Not sure why the map shows the trail going where it goes. That's not the route of the Maple City Trail. Look instead on the opposite side of the Oswegatchie River where you will see a trail marked "Maple City Trail". That's the rail-trail. What you see on the map may or may not be a trail, but it's definitely not a trail-trail.
Anyway, all that aside, the trail follows the route of the DeKalb Branch of the New York York Central. It came off the current CSX line in a wye, and headed straight up to Heuvelton where it curved through the town, then straight up to Ogdensburg. Parts of the railbed are kept open by private landowners, some of whom don't post the property.
The rail-trail itself is marked, paved, and goes from the middle of the city to the first bridge over the Oswegatchie. It's a nice bicycle ride, if rather short. It's more appropriate for walkers, which it sees plenty of. There are a few park benches along the way to enjoy a view of the river.
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