Camping at Alger Island & Hiking Bald Mountain (Rondaxe) Firetower – 5.31.21
Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer. Of course, I had to plan a weekend camping trip. This time, I reserved a site at Alger Island Campground, a small island on Fourth Lake near Old Forge. This is an area of the Adirondacks that I haven’t explored much, so I was excited to try something new!
Alger Island is only accessible by boat. The sites have lean-tos, fireplaces, and grills. They were gorgeous! We loaded our kayaks with our camping gear and set off from the launch at the Alger Island Access Point, where we also checked in for our stay at the campground. Because we had so much camping gear, we borrowed a Kokopelli pack raft from our friend. Jordan towed it behind his sea kayak and it worked great as a mule for all of our gear!
I had originally planned to spend Sunday kayaking on Fourth Lake, but the weather didn’t cooperate. It was cold and rainy, so we spent the day hanging out at the camp site, exploring the small island and tending to the fire.
On Monday it was time to pack up the gear and head back to the launch. We then headed to Bald Mountain, a 15-ish minute drive from where we parked the car.
Bald is located right outside Old Forge and his a short, one mile hike one way with only about 415 ft of ascent to a Fire Tower. Climbing this little mountain while were in the Old Forge area was a no-brainer! The whole hike up took only about 30 minutes.
There are great views of the Fulton Chain of Lakes, including Fourth Lake and Alger Island where we had camped two nights previously.
I highly recommend this hike for beginners and those short on time that want great views for little effort.
Bald Mountain Firetower
Distance 1.8 mi RT
Ascent 431′
Time ~ 1 hour
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5 Comments
Sara
Is that a bear box in the lean-to? We canoe camped at Forked Lake this weekend and the bear box was SUCH a nice amenity! We canoed in a full size cooler and it easily fit along with plenty of room for other stuff. So handy.
I completely agree about Bald being the perfect starter hike. It was the first mountain my son hiked fully independently, at age 3, and a few years later when my nephew was 3, it was his first as well. With the exposed bedrock, scrambles, and amazing views, it gets them hooked. Both boys have gone on to hike bigger mountains, including a few high peaks.
If you’re back in the area again, consider hiking Rocky and Black Bear Mountains to complete the Fulton Chain Trifecta. You could easily do both the same day — they start from the same parking lot, and Rocky is only half a mile to the summit. Black Bear is a bit longer, especially if you do the loop (recommended!) but still pretty easy. Fantastic views from both.
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Jen
Hi Sara,
There was no bear box at the campsite on Alger Island…hopefully no bears on that tiny island! 😀
I did camp at Limekiln Lake Campground a few weeks ago, and all the sites had bear boxes. That was my first time camping at a campground that had them, it was a nice feature!
Rocky and Black Bear are defintely on my list for when I’m up in that area again! Can’t wait to explore more soon!
Mamunur Rashid
Thanks for your recommendation, I really enjoyed my first hike. I am thinking about how you climb into Bald in just 30 minutes. It took me almost 1 hour.
Mamunur Rashid
Thanks for your recommendation, I really enjoyed my first hike. I am thinking about how you climb into Bald in just 30 minutes. It took me almost 1 hour. Now I am waiting for my next hike.
Mamunur Rashid
I really enjoyed my first hike. I am thinking about how you climb into Bald in just 30 minutes. It took me almost 1 hour. Now I am waiting for my next hike. Thanks for your recommendation