Sacandaga River - River Course

River Course

The Sacandaga River’s headwaters north of Sacandaga Lake begin in the town of Lake Pleasant, New York. From Sacandaga Lake, the river follows a short moving course or path known as the Sacandaga Outlet (under New York Route 8) into Lake Pleasant. The Sacandaga River drains Lake Pleasant at a location next to the public beach in the village of Speculator. The river then follows a winding path through some wetlands and various ecosystems through the county. In Speculator the Sacandaga River Community Park, built by local volunteers, has a number of boardwalks and pathways that follow the course of the river.

Near the town boundary between Wells and Lake Pleasant, the river flows into a series of ponds. The Sacandaga River course takes a steep path flowing over a series of cataracts including Christine Falls and Auger Falls.

The East Branch joins the trunk stream in the town of Wells. After flowing through Wells, the river enters Lake Algonquin, a manmade impoundment constructed in the 1920s to stimulate the community’s tourist industry. The East Branch goes through Johnsburg in Warren County and flows parallel to, in part, NY Route 8, passing the communities of Oregon in Johnsburg and Griffin in the town of Wells.

The Sacandaga flows out of Lake Algonquin into a hydro-electric plant and follows a course of rapids to Great Sacandaga Lake through the towns of Hope and Benson.