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:
“In the vale of restless mind
I sought in mountain and in mead,
Trusting a true love for to find.”
—Unknown. Quia Amore Langueo (l. 1–3)
“In the middle of the night, as indeed each time that we lay on the shore of a lake, we heard the voice of the loon, loud and distinct, from far over the lake. It is a very wild sound, quite in keeping with the place and the circumstances of the traveler, and very unlike the voice of a bird. I could lie awake for hours listening to it, it is so thrilling.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“This land is your land, this land is my land, From California to the New York Island. From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters This land was made for you and me.”
—Woody Guthrie (1912–1967)