Mountain Biking

Otter Creek and Pine Lake

A Really Great Ride Everyone Can Enjoy

by Gary Thomann

This trail is wonderful for mountain biking, indeed transcendental on the lovely August weekday that we did it. The temperature was 80 degrees, sky blue, no wind and not a single bug on the whole ride. It doesn’t get much better.

Getting There
The trail is in the Independence Wild Forest, starting from the end of Partridgeville Road in the town of Creig in Lewis County. North of Utica, where NY Routes 12 and 28 split, drive west onto Route 12 and continue north through Boonville. Then about 6 miles (mi) north of Port Leyden turn right (east) on Burdick Crossing Road, setting the odometer to 0.0 mi. At 1.4 mi, turn left on County Route 39/Lyons Falls Road and go north. At about 2.2 mi, turn right onto Brantingham Road. Then, at 5.9 mi, about 0.4 mi after crossing North South Road, turn left on Partridgeville Road and continue northeast. At 7.6 mi make a left turn to stay on Partridgeville Road; it changes to gravel at 8.1 mi. Continue to 13.7 mi and, just before crossing Otter Creek, turn right into the trailhead parking lot.

The Map
The accompanying map on page 6 shows the trail and surrounding area. The map grid is 0.62 mi (1-kilometer (km)) square; true north is straight up. If you want to take a GPS, the grid markings correspond to UTM NAD83 coordinates, distance and elevation in meters (m). The bold trail is the described ride. The shaded area is classified as Wild Forest land, which is mountain bike legal.

The Ride
Start bicycling east over the bridge past several buildings, where the road narrows to a 12-foot wide rocky turnpike – wonderful for mountain bikes! We hit our first big wet spot within a minute or two, 30 feet long and completely covering the road. It looked like it could be 4 feet deep. There was about $2,000 of equipment (digital cameras, a GPS and a digital voice recorder) strapped to me and my bike, so I looked for a way around the edge, but there wasn’t any. My fearless companion, Dick Gibbs from North Greenbush, aimed at the middle of the puddle and took off, splashing and bouncing all the way to dry land on the other end. Well, I had no choice, so I rode after him and emerged at the other end with soaking wet feet, but still on the bike and riding.

That set the tone, and off we went, dodging rocks and every couple minutes coming to another mud puddle that we either slid past on one side or the other (it is the dry season) or, if it completely covered the trail, just splashed on through. Usually the puddles had hard bottoms, but occasionally we hit deep bottomless, clinging, smelly, certified authentic Adirondack mud. The front wheel would disappear and the bike would stop. There was nothing to do but get off and drag the bike and yourself to dry ground, accompanied by sucking sounds as the mud reluctantly let loose. Is this fun or WHAT!?!

Ride the road to 2.95 mi (4.76 km) and the first crossing of Otter Creek. Although we didn’t use this crossing we stopped to take a look at it. The “bridge” across the creek is about 24 inches wide, a series of boards nailed to some wobbly stringers, not a thing to inspire confidence. I made Dick ride back and forth across it so I could take pictures, one of which is on the cover. You may be able to tell from the set of Dick’s shoulders that he’s a bit tense.

You are actually going to use the second crossing; continue riding east to 3.61 mi (5.82 km) and then turn right (south). This crossing has been damaged and has a small barricade at each end, but it is easy to step over and walk across. The trail on the other side is completely different from the road, about 3 or 4 feet wide with a soft grassy surface. Start riding west/southwest on this trail. At 3.70 mi (5.97 km) there is a junction and a trail to the left. For this leftward side trail a sign gives distances to Thendara, etc. The side trail goes into the Ha-de-ron-dah Wilderness Area and, being unwashed, you are not allowed to use it. Continue straight, there is a signboard stating distances to East Pine Pond etc.

As you ride along the trail improves, becoming a little rockier and hard surfaced. For a snowmobile trail it is in excellent shape. Although there are wet spots, it is almost completely rideable. There is very little blowdown; somebody must be taking care of the trail. Thank you, whoever it is. At 4.03 mi (6.5 km) there is a trail to the right; the connecter to the first crossing of Otter Creek. Ignore it and continue. The trail becomes rocky enough to be intermediate rated and a lot of fun. Every so often there is a short steep heart-stopping rocky drop. At 5.38 mi (8.67 km), just at the edge of Pine Lake, is a trail to the left to Lost Lake and Middle Settlement Lake. It goes into the wilderness area, so ignore it and continue.

At 5.55 mi (8.96 km) there is a trail to the right that goes to the lean-to (we did not ride up the trail to verify the existence of the lean-to). Again continue on. At 5.73 mi (9.23 km) there is another trail junction and at this point I made a mistake, at least using my original plan as a basis.

I meant to continue riding southeast to Spring Hill Junction and then return to the trailhead by riding north on the Pico Mountain Trail. To do this route might be inviting criticism. As you can see from the map, the trail past Pine Lake appears to leave the wild forest classified land and, for a trail distance of a little less than a mile edge into the wilderness classified land. My source for the classification boundaries is the Adirondack Park Association GIS data, which sometimes has errors. Also, I cannot actually see the trail on the aerial photography, so the trail might not actually be where I have drawn it. In any case, common sense would indicate that it is OK to ride the trail for a short distance to where it definitely goes back into the wild forest area as Spring Hill Junction is approached. However, I have noticed that common sense is not exactly rampant in our modern world. Hikers may get upset if you ride on southeast; use your own judgment.

In any case, for the described ride that turns out great, stay to the right at this junction and continue riding the nice snowmobile trail. On the day we rode, a short distance up the trail, I heard the sound of a crash behind me. Looking back I saw Dick emerging from a mudhole looking like the creature from the black lagoon, although smelling considerably worse. He wasn’t hurt so we giggled and continued on. At 7.5 mi (12.1 km) the trail from Spring Hill junction comes in from the south; ignore it and continue on. At 7.9 mi (12.75 km) make a right turn (north) onto the trail leading back to the trailhead. The last part of this trail drops sharply and includes some narrow bridges and rocks to test your skill. Bounce back into the parking area at 8.4 mi (13.5 km). Have fun!

Gary Thomann is an engineer who lives in Scotia. He enjoys mountain and road biking, working on trails, teaching riding skills and making maps. He is the author of Mountain Biking in the Adirondacks: 25 Great Trail Rides (Singletrack Publishing).

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