I still think Lake Lila is best enjoyed in a canoe. It's only 1/3 of a mile portage from the parking lot. You can rent a canoe at Raquette River Outfitters in Long Lake (they also have a location in Tupper Lake, but I've never rented from there). Actually, I think they'll deliver and pick up the canoe if for some reason you didn't want to pick it up.
https://raquetteriveroutfitters.com/
They'll strap the canoe or kayak right on your car, and show you how to tie it back up when you're done. It's probably a 45-minute drive from Long Lake to Lake Lila. Lake Lila is best visited during the week - the 22 campsites can get crowded on the weekend during season. Nevertheless, you don't have to camp in a campsite, but you're not allowed a fire except in campsites.
I've always been able to find a campsite (though it can take two or three hours to paddle around the entire lake checking them). My sons did not enjoy checking for campsites! It wore on their nerves.
My favorite campsites are Buck Island and Spruce Island - it's great to have an island to yourself. Snell Island is pretty nice too, but it's so close to the drop-in (maybe a mile) that it feels like cheating. Snell Island is also much smaller than Buck and Spruce, so there's not much room. And Snell Island is also pretty far from Frederica Mountain, which is a nice day-hike with excellent views of Lake Lila.
There's also Little Tupper Lake, which you'll pass on the way to Lake Lila. I've never camped there, though I often paddle through on the way to Rock Pond (much more secluded). Rock Pond is Adirondacks camping at its finest, and we've often stopped there before taking the 1.75 mile portage to Hardigan Pond and Little Salmon Lake (one or two campsites at both, first come first served). Back in 2014, my sons and a couple of friends paddled Little Tupper Lake to Lake Lila via Hardigan Pond, Little Salmon Lake, Lillypad Pond, Mud Pond, and Shingle Shanty Brook. It's about 22 miles and there are only five or six beaver dams one has to get over, but it's not a beginner paddle by any means (especially the 1.75 mile portage). Still, one of the best paddles I've had in the Adirondacks.
https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ight=lake+lila
https://www.hammockforums.net/forum/...ight=lake+lila
Bookmarks