Kayaking North South Lake

I used to spend more time at North South Lake than I do now. When my kids were younger, we would go there for weekend camping trips or just to use the lake and beach for a day. It’s a great place to introduce kids to camping.

In addition to swimming and hiking and canoeing at North Lake, there are all the other great things the Catskills offer in the surrounding area. Hunter Mountain is right up the road.

The trailhead to Kaaterskill Falls is right there and just a little further south is Esopus Creek where you can rent tubes and spend the afternoon floating downstream.

Readers of this blog might remember that I’ve previously written about seeing an enormous snapping turtle in North South Lake. Let’s just say I’ve got some history with the place. I don’t really expect to ever see that giant turtle again but I keep my camera handy in case I do.

My wife and I had a day free this week so we decided to make a return trip. I could bring a kayak and paddle around a bit and she would sit on the beach, soak in some sun and read a book. We got an early start and arrived just before ten in the morning. It was a beautiful day for kayaking and for enjoying a good book on the beach. We both got our gear in order (a kayak and a beach chair) and set out on our respective missions.

North South Lake isn’t very big. It was two lakes until the 1970s when the state dug out the earthen dam between the two sections and built a new dam at South Lake’s outlet, raising the water level. My agenda was to get some miles in, see how fast I could get my kayak going on perfectly calm water, practice leaning it over in a turn and maybe acquire photographic proof of a massive, previously unverified invasive species. Normal stuff.

I started out with a lap of the northern section, formerly know as North Lake, following the shoreline and checking out the local wildlife. This time it was mostly geese and ducks sharing the water with me, with a few small turtles here and there. As always, I took a peek at the campsites and campers along the water.

The only rig of note was a gleaming airstream trailer — a small one, maybe 13 feet. Then I made my way into the larger southern section of the lake, formerly known as South Lake. I took my time with a leisurely exploration of the shoreline. Once I’d completed a full circuit, including some time to circle a few little islands with beaver lodges on them, I made my way back to the North Lake beach.

“Did you see the turtle?” My wife asked. Nope. She was still pretty contented reading her book so I kept paddling. I practiced my paddle strokes and turns, did a couple of sprints down the middle of the lake, all the way to the far south end and then just tooled around for a bit. North South Lake isn’t big enough to really hold your interest for very long but the scenery is nice. I quit paddling at a little shy of two hours. It was enough.

We grabbed a picnic table and ate a light lunch, watching the geese swim by and enjoying the breeze coming off the lake. After lunch I put my kayak back on top of my car and we went for a short walk on some of the easy trails surrounding the picnic area and campground.

Nothing big, just a stroll through the woods to see Alligator Rock and the short uphill to the site of the Catskill House and it’s expansive view of the Hudson Valley. Then some more wandering to find another overlook we remembered from the old days, hidden in the trees behind the picnic grounds and playground.

Once we’d had enough, we went back to the car and started for home, making a stop at the general store a mile or so down the road from the gate. It’s one of those places that caters to campers who forgot some key piece of gear but also sells ice cream, local products and all kinds of little knickknacks. It was a nice day and reminded us why we had come back to North South Lake so many times in the old days.