Canoeing & Kayaking near Percy Lodge

The Northern Forest Canoe Trail  is a 700-mile water trail from Old  Forge, New York to Fort Kent, Maine, that goes through private and  public lands. The trail follows traditional travel routes used by Native  American, settlers and guides. It is the longest inland water trail in  the nation.  Over 1/2 mile of the Upper Ammonoosuc River runs near the lodge at an neighboring campground providing  our guests with multiple locations for canoeing and kayaking.

Christine Lake is a 1-mile long x 1/4-mile wide lake located just 1/2-mile away from Percy Lodge and Campground.  It was purchased by a group of friends in the late 1800's to be a privately controlled club. For many years, there was no public access.  But later on after legal action established that Christine Lake and other ponds over 10 acres in size in New  Hampshire are public waters, a public beach was built on the lake.  There are only seven Adirondack-style lodges at the west end of the lake and these were originally accessed via a steam-powered launch that picked up residents at the east end of the lake and  took them to the west end.  Eventually a road was built to access these lodges.  Today it is a great place to canoe or kayak, but watch out for north or west winds!  The lake can very rough when it is blowing from that direction.  

Directions:

Take Percy Road west for 500 feet.

Take a right on Christine Lake Road and go about 1/3 mile to a Y intersection.

Take the left fork and park in the lot to access the lake.

South Pond is actually two bodies of water connected by a canal located within the White Mountain National Forest.  North Pond is the smaller of the two lakes and it has 45 houses sprinkled around its shoreline.  South Pond is the larger lake with only 4 houses and a National Forest recreation area on its shores.  The remaining shoreline is undeveloped.  Even in windy conditions you can usually paddle along the shores of these two lakes because they are both surrounded by small mountains.  There is a private boat ramp on North Pond that you can use for launching,  but there is no parking at the ramp so you must park at a few spaces located north of the ramp.  You can also launch at the South Pond Recreation Area but that is only open from Father's Day to Labor Day.

Directions:

Take Percy Road east for 1.6 miles to Bell Hill Road.

Take a right on Bell Hill Road and go 1/4 mile to Rt. 110.

Take a left on Rt. 110 and go 1/3 mile to South Pond Road.

- For the recreation area, take a right on South Pond Road, go .8 miles then take a right on the paved road and follow to the end   -OR-

- For the private boat ramp, take a right on South Pond Road, go 1 mile to the Y intersection, take the right fork onto Normand Road and go past 4 houses to the boat ramp.  Remember no parking at the boat ramp - use spaces on the left before the houses.