Adirondack Canoe Classic

Nearing the finish

The portage at Bartlett Carry day three. At the top of this long hill, a bagpiper has played for the racers for many years.

The Adirondack Canoe Classic, also known as the 90-miler, is a three-day, 90-mile canoe race from Old Forge to Saranac Lake. The race has drawn as many as 500 competitors from California to Florida, New Zealand and Canada paddling 250 canoes, kayaks and guideboats. ¹ Included in the ninety mile length is 5.25 miles of carries.

Held every fall since 1983, the race follows routes traveled by the region's early settlers and Adirondack guides, a chain of lakes, rivers and carries that is also the first leg of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail. The 29th Adirondack Canoe Classic will run from September 6 - 8 , 2013.

Entrants

The race is limited to 250 boats, and fills soon after applications are made available. While each year sees a substantial number of true racers, the largest classes are recreational paddlers. Many older paddlers participate well into their seventies, and C4 boats with four generations of a family are not unknown. Some participants have completed the race a dozen or more times; as of the 2011 race, one person had competed each of the 29 years of the event.

Classes include C1, C2, C4, K1, K2, War Canoe and Guideboats. ²

The route

Shore parking gets tight

Two-person guideboat

The original course followed the historic "Highway of the Adirondacks", a continuous route from Old Forge, via the Moose River through the Fulton Chain Lakes, to Raquette Lake, then via the Raquette River to Forked Lake, Long Lake and finally via the Stony Creek Ponds and the Indian Carry to Upper Saranac Lake . The route then proceeded via Bartlett's Carry to Middle Saranac Lake and Lower Saranac Lake, ending at the New York State Boat Launch on Lake Flower.

Over the years, the route has been adjusted to deal with the logistics of what has become a 250-boat race. The route is now broken into three discontinuous one-day segments— the endpoints are chosen with accommodations in mind. As a result, the first day's route now proceeds from Raquette Lake via the Marion River and the Eckford chain of Lakes to Blue Mountain Lake.

The second day's race starts near the bottom of Long Lake and proceeds via the Raquette River to the New York State boat launch on NY 3, five miles east of Tupper Lake.

The third day starts at the state campground on Fish Creek, off of Upper Saranac Lake and then proceeds via Bartlett Carry to Middle Saranac Lake, the Saranac River, Lower Saranac Lake, Oseetah Lake and Lake Flower, where the race ends at Prescott Park in the village of Saranac Lake. There are 5.25 miles of carries. ³

The race is hosted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Central Adirondack Association, and the Adirondack Watershed Alliance. In 2005 and 2006, the event was named race of the year by the New York Marathon Canoe Racing Association.

Footnotes

1. New York Times, "OUTDOORS; CANOE RACE TO FOLLOW TRAPPERS' ROUTE", September 6, 1985
2. macscanoe.com - Classes
3. Mac's Canoe (race organizer) Course Description

Joe Moore, repeat winner of the Men's Solo Rec

C4 is a popular class

Classes include one and two-man guideboats

The home stretch, third day

External links

• North Country Public Radio - "Adirondack Canoe Classic Underway from Old Forge to Saranac Lake"
• Mac's Cane - History of the Canoe Classic