Canoe and Kayak Rentals

The cabins do not come with canoes or kayaks, and renting one is easy. The full outfitters closest to the cabins are in Saranac Lake, about 43 road miles south, a little under an hour, and both send you off with a boat, paddles, life jackets and the gear to tie it to your roof. Tupper Lake and Lake Placid have rental counters too, and three state campgrounds between here and there rent boats right at the water. This guide covers who rents what, the posted rates, who delivers to which lakes, and the rules that come with a paddle.

Rentals at a glance

Each place below lists boat rentals on its own website or on the state's campground pages, checked in October 2026. Rates are per day before tax, as posted on those pages; they change from year to year, so confirm the price when you book.

St. Regis Canoe Outfitters in Saranac Lake

St. Regis Canoe Outfitters works from its Saranac River base at 73 Dorsey Street in downtown Saranac Lake. It is open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and you can book a boat online on its website or by calling (518) 891-1838. The shop runs all year: canoes, kayaks and camping gear in the warm months, then snowshoes, microspikes and hot tents in winter.

The fleet leans toward light boats, and the website lists every model with its length and weight. The posted rates by type, for one day, then per day for three or four days and for five or more:

• Tandem canoes in T-Formex, 59 to 74 pounds: $62, $56 and $52.
• Ultralight Kevlar tandem canoes, 37 to 44 pounds: $75, $68 and $64.
• Three-seat Kevlar canoes, 49 to 55 pounds: $88, $80 and $74.
• Solo canoes with a single-blade paddle, 30 to 33 pounds: $65, $62 and $60. A 12-foot solo at 45 pounds is $54.
• Pack canoes paddled with a double blade, 20 to 30 pounds: $58 for one day in the Wenonah Wee Lassie or Fusion, $85 in the Placid Boatworks Spitfire or Rapidfire.
• Polyethylene kayaks from Old Town and Current Designs, 46 to 57 pounds, one with a rudder: $56, $52 and $50. The 79-pound tandem kayak is $75.

Every rental comes with paddles, life jackets, a bailer and car-top gear: foam blocks, straps and ropes. The deposit is non-refundable and non-transferable, and each person in the party signs a release of liability before the boats go out.

Transport and delivery

The shop also drives boats, and paddlers, to launches across the region. Rates are one way and depend on the zone, with one price for up to three people or boats and a higher one for four or more:

Transport runs as booked, on a firm schedule and with a limited number of vehicles, so call with your drop-off and pickup times in mind. For a stay at the cabins the useful line is the Paul Smith's zone, since Meacham Lake, about 21 road miles from the cabins, and Lake Kushaqua, about 40, are both closer than Saranac Lake: a one-way run with up to three boats is $95. Ask about the return trip when you book.

The shop also teaches. In June 2026 its Celebrate Paddling series included a solo canoe class, a moving-water class for flatwater paddlers and an afternoon class on canoe and kayak rescues, each $60, and a free cleanup of the Saranac River. Watch its events page for the next round.

Adirondack Lakes and Trails Outfitters in Saranac Lake

Adirondack Lakes and Trails Outfitters is at 8 Church Street, across the street from Lake Flower, about 43 road miles from the cabins. Its current hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, and the phone is (518) 891-7450. The fleet runs to more than 90 boats and boards, and canoes, kayaks and paddleboards can be booked online. The posted rates per calendar day:

• Recreational plastic kayak: $50 solo, $55 tandem. Touring kayak: $60. Lightweight composite kayak: $75. Kids kayak: $45.
• Recreational plastic canoe: $50 solo, $55 tandem. Lightweight composite canoe: $65 solo, $68 tandem.
• Pack canoe, a light solo boat with a low seat and a double-blade paddle: $65.
• Wenonah Minnesota 3, a large, light three-seat canoe for experienced paddlers only: $80, reserved by phone.
• Recreational paddleboard: $50, with a leash.

Life jackets, paddles and tie-down gear come with every boat. New York sales tax of 8 percent and a 3 percent booking fee are added to the posted price, payment is in full before the boats go out, and every paddler signs a waiver. Five or more boats, or five or more days, earn 10 percent off. There are no hourly rentals; the boats come back by closing time.

There are three ways to reach the water from this shop. Staff will carry your boat across the street and set it in Lake Flower. You can tie it on your own car, with their gear and a lesson in how. Or their van can take you: popular trips have fixed prices, and anything else is billed at $20 per 15 minutes of driving, round trip. The van seats ten and carries up to ten canoes on its roof and trailer.

The shop also delivers canoes, kayaks and paddleboards to vacation rental properties in its area, leaves them for the length of the stay and picks them up at the end. The cabins are about an hour's drive from Church Street, so ask whether they fall inside that area and what the delivery would cost before you plan on it.

Its list of guided and self-guided trips includes the Seven Carries and the Nine Carries; the Saint Regis Canoe Area guide covers those routes and both Saranac Lake shops in more detail. The shop starts renting in May, once the water has warmed a little. July and August are the busy months, and the staff recommend booking ahead then.

Raquette River Outfitters in Tupper Lake

Raquette River Outfitters has rented boats since 1983, and in 2026 it is marking 43 years. The shop is at 1754 State Route 30 in Tupper Lake, by the Route 30 bridge, about 60 road miles from the cabins, roughly an hour and a quarter. It lists hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. Reservations are by phone at (518) 359-3228 or by email, and a trip is not booked until the shop confirms it.

Rates are per calendar day, with discounts for a week:

• Ultralight Kevlar canoes: $68 tandem, $85 for three, $110 for four. Solo Kevlar canoe: $60.
• Pack canoes: $60 for the recreational and IXP models, $65 for the performance model.
• Royalex canoes, about 64 pounds for a tandem: $55 tandem, $68 for three, $48 solo.
• Kayaks: touring $45, sea touring with rudder and hatches $48, lightweight $60, tandem recreational $58, tandem sea touring $65, sit-on-top fishing kayak $65.
• Paddleboards: $35 recreational, $45 touring.
• Kevlar Adirondack guideboat: $110.

The boats are from Wenonah, Swift, Northstar and Old Town, the kayaks from Eddyline, Old Town, Current Designs, Necky and Ocean Kayak, and the boards from Bic, SIC, Ocean Kayak and Tahe. Every rental includes paddles, life jackets and the gear to carry the boat on your car. Small dry bags rent for $4 and portage wheels for $12.

The shop delivers and picks up boats for a price quoted on request, and it runs shuttles: it will drop your boats at the put-in and drive your car to the take-out, so it is waiting at the end. There are separate waivers for adults, for children and for the car shuttle; print and sign them and send them ahead, or bring them along. Staff also help plan routes, with route descriptions and suggested campsites and fishing spots. The fishing kayak suits anyone planning a day on the water with a rod; the fishing trips page has the waters and the license. A small launch across from the shop puts you straight onto the Raquette River, and the Wild Center is a short drive away for the rest of the day.

Upper Saranac Marina at Fish Creek

Upper Saranac Marina, at 4548 NY 30 next to the Fish Creek Pond state campground, is about 48 road miles from the cabins. It rents pontoons and fishing boats, and canoes and kayaks at a posted flat rate of $35 a day: Old Town canoes from 14 to 17 feet, sturdy 16-foot aluminum canoes, and solo and tandem kayaks. Paddles and life jackets are included. The rental day runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the kayaks and aluminum canoes go out for full days only, and a late return costs $15 an hour. Cash brings a 3 percent discount, and the person who signs the rental agreement is responsible for the boat and for any damage. Cancel at least seven days ahead and there is no charge; inside seven days the charge is half the rental, and on the day itself it is the full rental. The phone is (518) 891-0480.

These boats launch at the marina, so there is nothing to tie on the car. From the dock you can paddle the Fish Creek ponds, Rollins Pond, Follensby Clear Pond, Square Pond and Upper Saranac Lake. That water is a separate system from Middle and Lower Saranac, which are reached from Saranac Lake.

Lake Placid and Mirror Lake

High Peaks Cyclery, at 2733 Main Street in Lake Placid, rents paddleboards, kayaks and canoes alongside its bikes. It is about 52 road miles from the cabins, roughly an hour and ten minutes, and it is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Mirror Lake is within walking distance of the store's back entrance, and the carry down to the beach is short enough for most people. Full-day rentals run up to eight hours, multi-day rentals go by the 24 hours, and some boats come in half-day blocks of up to four hours. The shop can usually deliver. It does not post paddling prices, so call (518) 523-3764 for a quote.

Mirror Lake suits a first paddle. It covers 128 acres and is about a mile long, and gas motors are not allowed on it; electric motors are. There are two carry-in launches: the park by the public beach at the south end, which has a pier and a launch for canoes and kayaks, and the state dock on the north shore. Expect to carry the boat at least 50 yards, and expect the parking near the beach to be tight. The lake closes to boats on the day of the Ironman triathlon, when it holds the swim. The Lake Placid and Whiteface day trip fills in the rest of a day in town.

State campgrounds that rent boats

The Department of Environmental Conservation runs campgrounds where you can rent a boat at the water and launch it a few steps away. Call the campground before you go to confirm that the rental is running that day and that day visitors can use it.

Meacham Lake, about 21 road miles from the cabins, is the nearest; the campground lists canoe and rowboat rentals, and the Meacham Lake guide covers the lake, the launches and the booth.

Buck Pond, about 40 road miles away near Onchiota, sits on the western shore of 130-acre Buck Pond. The campground's brochure lists rowboat, canoe and kayak rentals, and some listings add paddleboards; ask what is on the rack. The Buck Pond launch is a carry-in launch for electric motors and paddle craft only, and a hard-surface launch in the same day-use area serves Lake Kushaqua. The 2026 season ran from May 15 to September 7; the campground phone is (518) 891-3449.

Rollins Pond, about 51 road miles away, is reached through the Fish Creek Pond campground. DEC lists rentals at the livery by the boat launch, and the state's 2024 management plan describes a concession there that rents canoes and rowboats and is expected to continue as long as a vendor is willing to run it, so call (518) 891-3239 first. Boats launched from the campground are limited to 25 horsepower, and in one state survey only about one boat in ten launched there was a motorboat on a trailer; the rest were carried to the water. The season runs from mid-May into September. Fish Creek Pond itself is open to motorboats, and its staff usually send paddlers to the Rollins Pond area or the St. Regis Canoe Area.

Long Lake and the lakes near Malone

Long Lake is about 79 road miles from the cabins, an hour and three quarters, so it is a long day. The hamlet's town beach is on Route 30, and the lake is part of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, whose second section runs about 42 miles from Long Lake down the Raquette River and through the Saranac lakes. For a one-way trip toward Tupper Lake or Saranac Lake, the easiest plan is a rental from Tupper Lake or Saranac Lake with transport: St. Regis Canoe Outfitters lists Long Lake in its Whitney Wilderness zone at $160 for up to three boats, one way, and Raquette River Outfitters drops boats at the put-in and moves your car.

Closer to the cabins, no rental livery could be confirmed for 2026 on Lake Titus, Mountain View Lake, Indian Lake or the Chateaugay Lakes, or in Malone itself. These lakes are good paddling with a boat of your own; the guide to Lake Titus, Indian Lake and Mountain View and the Chateaugay Lakes guide have the launches. Without a boat, the nearest rentals are at Meacham Lake.

Choosing a boat

A kayak is a popular choice for a new paddler. The Church Street shop describes kayaks as a little more stable and easier to steer than a canoe, with some protection from wind and spray, and a tandem kayak puts two people in one boat. A canoe is easy to get in and out of and has open room for a cooler, a fishing rod or camping gear; you sit higher and switch sides with your strokes to hold a course. A pack canoe is a light solo boat with a low seat, paddled with a double blade like a kayak, and it suits the small ponds and carries of this country. A paddleboard gives a different view of the water and a workout for your core, and it is easy to learn on a calm morning.

Weight matters more than most people expect, because you lift the boat onto the car, off the car and down to the water. At St. Regis Canoe Outfitters an ultralight Kevlar tandem canoe weighs 37 to 44 pounds, a T-Formex tandem 59 to 74 pounds, a plastic solo kayak 46 to 57 pounds and the tandem kayak 79 pounds. The lightest pack canoes weigh 20 to 30 pounds. The Kevlar boats cost more per day and are much easier to carry; for any route with a carry, they are worth the difference.

Each cabin sleeps four, and a party of four splits well into two tandem canoes or two tandem kayaks, or a three-seat canoe and a solo boat. Remember the roof: the Church Street shop sends one boat, or two paddleboards, per car unless your car has a rack suitable for more. With two boats and one car, rent where the boats launch at the counter, as at Lake Flower, the Fish Creek marina or a campground, or book the outfitter's transport.

Car-topping a rental

You do not need a roof rack. Both Saranac Lake shops and the Tupper Lake shop include the gear to carry a boat on a car with every rental. The Church Street shop shows you how to load it, with foam blocks under the boat, cam straps over it and lines from the bow and stern down to the front and back of the car. You do need to be comfortable lifting the boat over your head and onto the roof, which is one more reason to pick a light boat. A car is essential at the cabins anyway, so the vehicle you arrive in is the one that carries the boat.

A few habits help on the drive. Center the boat on the blocks before you tighten anything, tighten the straps until the boat cannot shift, and tie off the loose ends so they do not flap. Take NY 30 at an easy speed, pull over after the first few miles to check the straps, and check them again at every stop.

Life jackets and the November to May rule

New York requires a Coast Guard approved life jacket for each person on board every boat, and that includes canoes, kayaks and paddleboards. The rentals above all include life jackets, so ask for one that fits snugly, and wear it buckled. Children under 12 must wear theirs at all times. From November 1 through May 1, everyone aboard a pleasure boat under 21 feet long must wear a life jacket, and the state names canoes and kayaks in that rule. Paddle craft must also carry a horn or whistle and a white light, such as a waterproof flashlight. Add a motor of any kind to a canoe or kayak and it needs a registration from the DMV.

The November to May rule exists because cold water is the danger here. DEC warns that a fall into cold water can lower body temperature fast enough to take away the ability to move, then bring on hypothermia and drowning. In 2024 the Coast Guard counted 556 boating deaths across the country, the fewest in more than 50 years; about three in four of the victims drowned, and 87 percent of the drowning victims whose life jacket use was recorded were not wearing one. Paddleboard deaths rose from 11 in 2023 to 29 in 2024.

The Church Street shop starts renting in May, once the water has warmed a little, and early and late in the season the lakes stay cold even on a warm afternoon. Dress for the water temperature, stay near the shore, and keep the paddle short on a windy day. DEC's advice for the big lakes is to check the wind forecast before setting out, point the bow into large waves and motorboat wakes, keep to the shore where motorboats run, and head for land at the first thunder.

Boat inspection and invasive species

State law requires every boat, rented canoes and kayaks included, to be clean, drained and dry, or treated, before it goes into a public lake or river. In practice that means checking the hull and the cockpit for weeds and mud before you launch, tipping out every bit of water before you leave the launch, and letting the boat dry before it touches another lake. DEC recommends five to seven days of warm, dry weather between waters; when that is not possible, water at 140 degrees or hotter disinfects a boat, and some launches have a decontamination station. A rental boat that moves from lake to lake on your roof is covered by the same rule as your own.

The Adirondack certificate is for motorboats only. Since June 2022, anyone launching a motorized boat in the Adirondack Park or within ten miles of it needs a clean-drain-dry certificate, issued by a steward after a free inspection or filled out by the owner on DEC's form. Paddlers need no certificate. Stewards in blue vests work many of the busier launches and offer free inspections; in 2026 they were posted at more than 220 launches and decontamination stations around the state from May 22. In 2025 they made more than 220,000 inspections and stopped 8,717 invasive plants and animals from getting into a new lake.

Waters for a first paddle

The easiest start is Lake Flower, right across the street from the Church Street shop, where the staff carry the boat over and put it in the water for you; the shop suggests it for new paddlers. Lower Saranac Lake is the next step up once you know how the boat handles. Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, with no gas motors, is another good choice close to a rental counter.

At the campgrounds, Buck Pond, where only electric motors and paddles are allowed, is a good place to learn, and most boats on Rollins Pond are launched without a trailer. Meacham Lake is bigger and more open, so it is best on a calm morning, and the Meacham Lake guide names the Deer River Flow for windy days.

With a delivered or car-topped boat, Little Clear Pond at the edge of the Saint Regis Canoe Area is a fine first wilderness paddle, about 41 road miles from the cabins and closed to motors; the canoe area guide has a day plan from the cabins. The Saranac lakes themselves are bigger water, with motorboats and more wind, so save them for a calm day once you know the boat.

The drive from the cabins

All of the outfitters lie south of the cabins. From the cabins, local roads and County Route 25 lead west to Fayette Road, which meets NY 30 about seven road miles from the cabins; turn south on NY 30, past Meacham Lake to Paul Smiths. For Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, take NY 86 at Paul Smiths through Gabriels into Saranac Lake, and stay on NY 86 for Lake Placid. For Fish Creek, Rollins Pond and Tupper Lake, stay on NY 30 past Lake Clear. The getting to the cabins guide covers the local roads between the cabins and County Route 25.

With a boat on the roof, add a few minutes for a slower pace and a strap check. The Saranac Lake and Paul Smiths guide has lunch, groceries and coffee for the trip.

What to bring

• A card for the deposit or payment, and cash for the marina at Fish Creek, where it earns a discount.
• The signed waivers, if the shop posts them online. Raquette River Outfitters asks paddlers to print, sign and send theirs, or bring them along.
• Water, lunch and snacks in a small cooler or dry bag, plus a dry bag for phones and car keys.
• Sun protection, a hat, and a rain shell or a warm layer, since the wind on open water is cooler than on shore.
• Clothes that can get wet and shoes that can stand in the shallows, plus a full change of dry clothes left in the car.
• A map. The Church Street shop loans a waterproof map with its self-guided trips, and the canoe area guide lists the paper maps that cover these waters.
• A whistle, if the life jacket does not have one, and a flashlight if you might be out near dark.
• A head net and repellent in late May and June; the bug guide has what works.

After a paddling day, each of the cabins has a washer and dryer for wet clothes and a private hot tub for tired shoulders.

Booking and timing

Most of the shops rent by the day and all of them open at 9 a.m., so an early start gets the most out of the rate. Leave the cabins about 8 to be at a Saranac Lake counter when it opens, and plan to have the boat back by 5. At the Fish Creek marina a late boat costs $15 an hour. Book ahead for July and August weekends, the peak months at the Church Street shop, and expect St. Regis Canoe Outfitters to take a deposit when you book.

The paddling season starts in May and runs into the fall. The state campground rentals close with the campgrounds: Buck Pond on September 7 in 2026, Rollins Pond in September, and Meacham Lake on Columbus Day weekend. The Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake shops keep going into the fall, so call ahead late in the season, and spring and fall bring quieter water and, in autumn, the foliage; see fall at the cabins and summer at the cabins. In the cold months, remember the life jacket rule above.

Questions

Sources

Facts on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. Hours, fees and schedules change; confirm before you go.

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