The Debar Mountain Wild Forest is a 122,100-acre (494 km2) tract designated as Wild Forest by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in the northeastern Adirondack Park, just north of Paul Smiths, in Franklin County. The area includes 61,500 acres (249 km2) of State land and 60,600 acres (245 km2) of conservation easement land. The area is served by State Routes NY-3, NY-30 and NY-458.
Activities supported include hiking, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, horse back riding, mountain biking, snowmobiling, hunting, fishing, canoeing and boating. Debar Mountain, at 3,305 feet (1,007 m), offers a broad distant view of the Adirondack High Peaks to the south; Azure Mountain and Debar Meadows are other popular destinations. There are 22 miles (35 km) of mountain bike trails, 16 miles (26 km) of snowmobile trails, 13 miles (21 km) of cross country ski trails, 8 miles (13 km) of horseback riding trails, and two miles (3 km) of canoe carry trails.
Car camping is available at Meacham Lake and Buck Pond Campgrounds. There are also 21 remote campsites and four lean-tos. Other bodies of water include the St. Regis River, Osgood Pond, Jones Pond, Deer River Flow, Mountain Pond, and Lake Kushaqua.
Famous quotes containing the words mountain, wild and/or forest:
“We are wearied of our huts
And the smoky smell of our garments.
We are sick with desire of the sun
And the grass on the mountains.”
—Unknown. The Grass on the Mountain (l. 11–14)
“This wild night, gathering the washing as if it were flowers
animal vines twisting over the line and
slapping my face lightly, soundless merriment
in the gesticulations of shirtsleeves ...”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
“I was struck by this universal spring upward of the forest evergreens.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)