Swimming near the Cabins

The nearest swim from the cabins is Malone's village pool, about ten road miles north, and the nearest lake beach is the state beach at Meacham Lake, about 21 road miles south on NY 30. Within about an hour you also have a town beach in St. Regis Falls, the long sand shore at Lake Clear, Buck Pond's campground beach and Saranac Lake's village beach on Lake Colby. Lake Placid's beach on Mirror Lake, Little Wolf Beach in Tupper Lake, the St. Lawrence at Massena and the Lake Champlain parks make full-day trips. Here they are nearest first, with who watches the water, what each place has and what to check before you go.

Where to swim, nearest first

Road miles are from the cabins. The seasons and fees are the latest each operator posted, mostly for 2026, and they change a little every year, so look up the current season before you load the car. "Unsupervised" means the beach is open for swimming with no lifeguard on the stand.

Malone's village pool

The closest swim is the outdoor pool the Village of Malone opened in 2025 at Malone Memorial Recreation Park, near the Duane Street entrance, about ten road miles and 20 minutes north of the cabins. It has lifeguards, and the village posts the season's pool calendar on the recreation page of its website; the Rec Park's Facebook page carries the day-to-day changes. Swimming at the park is in the pool, not in Rotary Lake. The Salmon River guide has the pool's size, the splash pad and the 2026 schedule in detail.

The park around the pool has public restrooms, picnic tables, a gazebo and pavilion, a paved walking loop and plenty of daytime parking. When the pool opened, the rec park asked that anyone under 16 have an adult with them, so teenagers who want to swim on their own should check the current rule. The pool suits a hot afternoon when nobody wants a long drive: a swim, then groceries in Malone on the way home. Groceries and supplies has the stores.

The beach at Meacham Lake

Meacham Lake Campground, about 21 road miles and 35 minutes south by County Route 25 and NY 30, is the closest public lake beach to the cabins. It is a state campground run by DEC, with a long sand beach on the north shore, a picnic area and a beach house; the Meacham Lake guide covers the beach, the launches and the rentals. In 2026 the campground opened on May 15 and closed on October 12, and day visitors paid $8 a car or $4 a motorcycle at the booth while it was open. The rules for swimming there are the same as at every DEC campground beach, below.

Meacham is the easy half-day. Leave after breakfast, swim and picnic, and you are back at the cabin by mid-afternoon with time for the hot tub before dinner.

How swimming works at the state campground beaches

Meacham, Buck Pond, Fish Creek Pond and Ausable Point are all DEC campgrounds, and their beaches follow one set of rules. Since the 2023 season DEC has run unsupervised swimming at its campground beaches: there are no lifeguards, campground staff maintain and patrol the beaches, and the beaches stay open all season. In earlier years DEC closed some beaches to swimming in mid-August, Meacham's among them in 2021, when the lifeguards went back to school. Older brochures and signs that say you may swim only when a lifeguard is on duty date from before the change. DEC kept lifeguards at two day-use areas used mainly for swimming, Million Dollar Beach on Lake George and Hinckley Reservoir.

The 2026 state camping guide and DEC's campground rules set the basics:

• Go into the water only from the designated beach area, and ask the campground staff if you are unsure where it is.
• No swimming from half an hour before sunset to half an hour after sunrise.
• No alcohol and no glass containers on the beach.
• Water toys, tubes and floats stay off the beach; a Coast Guard-approved life jacket is the exception.
• No ball games, beach balls, inflatables or underwater swimming gear at the beach.
• Change into or out of a swimsuit only in the bathhouse, a fully enclosed tent or a trailer.

The day-use fee is per car and is charged while the campground is open. If you plan several state beach days in one summer, the 2026 Empire Pass, $80 and good through December 31, 2026, covered vehicle entry at most DEC campground day-use areas and most State Parks. It does not cover camping or the separate swimming fees some parks charge, and it admits one car at a time.

Buck Pond and Fish Creek Pond

Buck Pond Campground, at 1339 County Route 60 in Onchiota, is about 40 road miles and an hour from the cabins. It sits on the western shore of 130-acre Buck Pond, and Lake Kushaqua and the Kushaqua Narrows form most of its western and northern edge. It has a sand beach with a bathhouse, a boat launch on Lake Kushaqua and a car-top launch on Buck Pond. In 2026 it was open from May 15 to September 7, and day use was $6 a car.

Fish Creek Pond Campground, at 4523 State Route 30 between Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake, is about 48 road miles and an hour and ten minutes away. It is built around a natural sand shoreline that joins Square Pond and Fish Creek Pond, with a beach, a picnic area, a playground and the Otter Hollow and Floodwood hiking loops starting in the campground. Motorboats and paddle boats both use the ponds, so swim inside the beach area. In 2026 it ran from May 8 to October 12 with a day-use fee of $8 a car. Both campgrounds follow the DEC rules above: no lifeguard, swim from the designated beach, and out of the water by half an hour before sunset.

The town beach in St. Regis Falls

The Town of Waverly runs a beach at 39 South River Road in the hamlet of St. Regis Falls, about 31 road miles and 50 minutes west of the cabins. The town's 2025 community profile lists a playground, a basketball court, a beach volleyball court, a beach house with restrooms, a skateboard park and a multi-use pavilion there, and four to five lifeguards for the beach. The last season the town posted on its beach page was 2023: the beach and playground were open seven days a week from June 24 to August 20, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Expect a similar late-June to late-August season, and check with the town for the current dates before you go.

The same town runs the St. Regis Falls Scenic Campsite at 19 Water Street, where day-use picnic areas with grills, fireplaces and tables overlook the St. Regis River, so a swim pairs well with lunch by the river. Azure Mountain's fire tower trail is in the same town; the Azure Mountain guide has the hike, which makes a good morning before an afternoon swim.

Lakes near the cabins with no public beach

The three lakes closest to the cabins, Lake Titus, Indian Lake and Mountain View Lake, have private shores and no public beach; the lakes guide explains how to swim from a boat there. The Chateaugay Lakes to the east are the same. Public access is a DEC boat launch on Route 374, five miles north of the hamlet of Merrill, in the Narrows between Upper and Lower Chateaugay Lake, with a hard-surface ramp and parking for 25 cars and trailers. Most of the shoreline is private cottages and camps, so a swim there means anchoring a boat well away from the camps' docks and swimming areas.

Saranac Lake's beaches

Saranac Lake is about 43 road miles and an hour from the cabins, by NY 30 south to Paul Smiths and NY 86 into the village. The area has a lifeguarded village beach, a long open beach at Lake Clear, a walk-in beach on Middle Saranac Lake and several spots you reach by canoe. The Saranac Lake guide covers the village, food and the drive.

Lake Colby Beach

The village's public beach is on Lake Colby, off NY 86 across from Adirondack Health's hospital, just north of downtown and about 42 road miles from the cabins, so you pass it on the way into the village. It has seasonal lifeguards, restrooms, picnic and shoreline access, and a sandy shore with shallow, warm water. A wheelchair-accessible path and a temporary accessible changing area were finished recently, and the village plans more accessibility work. Large motorboats are not allowed, and motors on the lake are limited to 10 horsepower, which keeps the water calm for swimmers and paddlers. Lake Colby covers about 272 acres, and the village dedicated the beach in 1983 as the William J. Wallace Memorial Municipal Beach, after a village police chief. In 2026 the beach opened on Memorial Day weekend with hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays only until June 29; the village describes it as open seven days a week, 10 to 6, in season. Check the village's beach page for the current dates.

Lake Clear Beach

Lake Clear Beach is a wide, sandy shore with a gentle grade into the water, a favorite with locals, about 37 road miles from the cabins. It is on NY 30 about a mile and a half north of the Route 186 junction; coming from the cabins, stay on NY 30 past Paul Smith's College and it is on your left before the junction. The sign may be missing, so look for a gravel road that leads to a very large parking lot. The beach is long, so a few cars in the lot does not mean a crowd. There are no lifeguards and no facilities, so bring water, food and everything else you need for the day.

Middle Saranac Lake Beach

For a beach with no road to it, drive about 8 miles west of Saranac Lake on Route 3 toward Tupper Lake to the parking lot on the right that Middle Saranac Lake Beach shares with the Ampersand Mountain trailhead; the Ampersand trail starts across the road. The beach trail leaves from the back left corner of the lot, drops over the embankment and runs just over half a mile, dry and mostly flat with roots, to a long sand beach on the lake's south shore. The water is very shallow, and you can wade out over the sandy bottom a long way. It is about 51 road miles from the cabins, and it is a good place to watch the sunset before the drive home.

Swimming from a canoe

A canoe or kayak opens up more swimming. Little Clear Pond, a motor-free pond in the St. Regis Canoe Area, allows swimming and has a sandy beach on its eastern shore, with a sign-in register at the launch. It is a state hatchery pond for landlocked salmon, so fishing and camping on its shore are not allowed; the St. Regis Canoe Area guide has the launch and the rules. Moose Pond, 140 acres near Bloomingdale, is reached by a trail of about a mile from Route 3 to its south end or by a state hand launch at the north end; it has views of Moose, McKenzie and Whiteface mountains and first-come campsites on the shore. On Lower Saranac Lake, Bluff Island is about 20 minutes of open-water paddling from the Saranac Lake Islands boat launch on Route 3, following the Saranac River into the lake; it has a 60-foot cliff and a slab that slopes gently into the water. Wear your life jacket in the boat, swim from the slab, and check the depth before anyone goes in from a rock. If you need a boat, marinas in Saranac Lake rent them, and the canoe and kayak rental guide lists the outfitters.

Lake Placid's public beach on Mirror Lake

Lake Placid Public Beach is at the south end of Mirror Lake on Parkside Drive, right downtown, about 53 road miles and an hour and a quarter from the cabins by NY 30 and NY 86 through Saranac Lake. The Town of North Elba Park District runs it and lists it as open from late June through Labor Day, with summer hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. The sandy beach has a pier and a launch for canoes and kayaks, and next to it are a changing building, tennis courts and a playground.

Mirror Lake is 128 acres and about a mile long. Gas motors are not allowed, electric motors are, and a 2.7-mile paved path circles the lake for walking, jogging and biking, which makes a good loop before or after a swim. Parking at the park by the beach is hard to find, so come early or park in the village and walk down. The beach is also a good place to watch the Independence Day fireworks in July.

IRONMAN Lake Placid takes over the lake once a year. The 2.4-mile swim crosses Mirror Lake and finishes at this beach, and the lake is off-limits to everyone else on race day. The next race is Sunday, July 25, 2027, with the swim start at 6:30 a.m. and road closures from 5 a.m., so plan your Lake Placid beach day for another day. The Lake Placid and Whiteface day trip and the Olympic sites guide fill the rest of the day.

Little Wolf Beach in Tupper Lake

Little Wolf Beach, at 105 Little Wolf Road in Tupper Lake, is a town-run beach and campground about 61 road miles and an hour and a half from the cabins, straight down NY 30. It has Red Cross-certified lifeguards and swimming lessons, a large swimming dock, a volleyball net on the sand, a snack shack, a playground and basketball courts, restrooms with changing rooms and showers, a boat launch, a shaded pavilion and picnic area, and campsites. Its season is short: in 2026 the beach closed for the year on August 23, so it is a July and early-August stop.

The Wild Center, with its Wild Walk of bridges and platforms up in the treetops, is in the same town. A morning there and an afternoon at the beach make a full day; the Wild Center guide has the tickets and the hours.

Robert Moses State Park on the St. Lawrence

For big water without the drive to Lake Champlain, Robert Moses State Park in Massena is about 48 road miles and an hour and a half from the cabins. The park is partly on the mainland and partly on Barnhart Island, and you reach it through a tunnel under the Eisenhower Lock on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Its address is 32 Beach Marina Road.

The park has a swimming beach with a picnic shelter you can reserve, a playground, a playing field, showers, hiking trails, a marina and boat rentals. In 2026 the swimming season ran from June 27 to August 29, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and car parking and beach use were free. The park's Nicandri Nature Center is open Memorial Day through Labor Day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Like every State Parks beach, it allows swimming only in the marked area while a lifeguard is on duty, so plan the visit inside those hours. The park sits beside the Eisenhower Lock, so a swim and a stop at the lock fit in one day.

Lake Champlain beaches

Plattsburgh City Beach, Cumberland Bay State Park and Point Au Roche State Park are about 63 road miles east; the Plattsburgh guide has their 2026 swim seasons, hours and fees. In 2026 the two state parks ran their lifeguarded swim seasons from June 27 to early September, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Two more beaches sit south of the city.

Macomb Reservation State Park

Macomb Reservation State Park, at 103 Campsite Road in Schuyler Falls, is about 67 road miles from the cabins, just outside the Adirondack Park along the Salmon River on its way to Lake Champlain. This is a different Salmon River from the one that runs through Malone. The park has a swimming beach, a playground and boat rentals, and non-motorized boats and fishing are allowed on Davis Pond and the Salmon River. It opens in mid-May and closes after Labor Day; in 2026 the toll booth was staffed from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. between May 22 and September 6, and a car paid $7. The park page does not post beach hours or say whether lifeguards are on duty, so check with the park before you plan a swim there.

Ausable Point Campground

Ausable Point Campground, at 3346 Lake Shore Road in Peru, is a DEC campground on a point that juts from Route 9 into Lake Champlain, about 71 road miles from the cabins. Its shore is natural sand with a gentle slope, and it borders a wildlife management area with a hiking trail and water access for canoes and sea kayaks. In 2026 it was open from May 15 to October 12 with a day-use fee of $8 a car. The DEC campground rules apply: no lifeguard, swim from the designated beach, and out of the water by half an hour before sunset.

Blue-green algae

Harmful algal blooms, or HABs, show up on some Adirondack and Champlain waters in late summer and fall. DEC's advice fits in three words: know it, avoid it, report it. A bloom can look like scattered green dots, long green streaks, pea soup or spilled green paint, or water tinted blue-green or white. Reports rise through the season and peak in August and September, and warm, calm fall days can bring a late bloom.

• Stay out of water that is discolored or has scum on the surface, and keep your dog out of it too. A bloom can be harmful whether or not tests have found toxins.
• If you touch bloom water, rinse off with clean water, and rinse the dog's coat. See a doctor for nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, a rash or trouble breathing; the health and safety page has the hospital in Malone.
• Never drink, cook with or make ice from untreated lake water, even when the water looks clear.
• Obey closed-beach signs. State rules require a regulated beach to close for swimming and wading when a bloom is seen in the swimming area, whether or not toxins are present. It reopens only after the bloom has been gone at least a day and a test shows microcystin at or below 4 micrograms per liter.
• Report a suspected bloom with the NYHABS form on DEC's website, which also keeps a map of current blooms.

DEC can close its own beaches, not a whole lake; State Parks, counties and local health departments close the other beaches. Blooms are being reported more often: the Adirondack Council counted just over half a dozen in the Adirondack Park in 2021 and well over 60 in 2023. Lake Colby, Lower Saranac Lake and Moose Pond had their first recorded blooms in the fall of 2022, and Mirror Lake had blooms in the fall of 2020 and 2022. Check the NYHABS map the morning of a late-summer beach day, and pick another beach if yours is listed.

Swimming safety and water temperature

Lakes up here stay frozen well into spring: Mirror Lake's ice goes out on April 21 in an average year, by a record kept since 1903. Water colder than 68 degrees cools the body four times faster than air at the same temperature, and swimming or thrashing can double that. A sudden plunge can bring cold shock, a gasp that pulls in water, along with a spike in heart rate and blood pressure; in cold water, hands, arms and legs can go numb and useless within minutes.

• Walk in slowly and let your breathing settle before you put your head under, especially in June.
• Swim along the shore inside the marked area, not across a lake, and get out when you start to shiver.
• Make sure everyone in your group can swim, and name one adult as the water watcher, whose only job is to keep eyes on the swimmers.
• Always swim sober. State Parks also suggest learning CPR before the season.
• At State Parks beaches, green flags usually mark the designated swimming area.
• Every canoe, kayak and rowboat in New York must carry a Coast Guard-approved life jacket for each person aboard, and from November 1 to May 1 everyone in a boat under 21 feet must wear one. Inflatable life jackets are not for non-swimmers or anyone under 16. Wear yours all season; cold water is the reason.

Pack for a lake day the way you would for a hike: water, sunscreen, a hat, a warm layer for the drive home and a towel for the dog. The packing guide has the full list. Black flies are out from mid-May into late June, mostly near moving water and in the morning and evening; the bug guide has what works.

Dogs at the beaches

All three cabins take pets for a fee, and a dog that loves the water can come along on a beach day as long as you know whose rules apply. They depend on who runs the beach:

• DEC campgrounds, including Meacham, Buck Pond, Fish Creek Pond and Ausable Point, do not allow pets on the beach, in day-use or picnic areas or in buildings. In the campground a dog needs proof of a current rabies shot, stays on a leash no longer than 6 feet and is never left alone.
• State Parks, including Robert Moses, Macomb Reservation, Cumberland Bay and Point Au Roche, allow up to two pets in day-use areas on a leash no longer than 6 feet, and no pets on guarded beaches, playgrounds, pools or buildings. Service animals are exempt.
• At Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, the sandy beach is off limits to dogs, and the grassy lakeside area by the beach is where dogs go in to splash.
• Keep dogs out of any water with scum or discoloration, and rinse a dog with clean water if it goes in.

The bringing your dog guide has the Malone park rules, the cabins' pet rules and the trails where dogs are welcome, and pet-friendly cabins covers the stay itself.

A summer beach day from the cabins

For an easy day, go to Meacham. Pack a lunch, leave the cabin around 10 and be on the sand by 10:45. Swim from the beach, eat at the picnic tables, walk the shore, and head home around 3, with time for the hot tub and the grill before dark. On a hot afternoon when nobody wants a long drive, the Malone pool is 20 minutes away.

For a bigger day, drive to Saranac Lake. Leave by 9, stop at Lake Clear Beach for a morning swim, and get to Lake Colby after lunch in town, while the village beach is open. In the late afternoon, walk the half mile into Middle Saranac Lake Beach for a last swim and the sunset, and you are back at the cabin about an hour and a quarter after you leave the trailhead. The summer guide has the month-by-month weather and what else is open.

For Lake Placid, aim for a weekday. Park in the village, swim at the Mirror Lake beach when it opens at 10, walk the 2.7-mile path around the lake, and eat on Main Street before the drive home. Whatever day you choose, check the NYHABS map before you leave and the beach's own page for the current hours, and the hot tub is waiting when you get back to the cabins.

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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