Featured in THE NEW YORK TIMES 'Escapes' section titled, 'HOUSES ON QUIET WATER: KAYAKS, CANOES AND TRANQUILITY,' we welcome you to one of the original guest houses of the Harrison G. Otis 'Beech Hill' Great Camp!
Built in the late 1920s, Camp Barkeater on Osgood Pond is a lakeside Adirondack retreat only 12 miles from Saranac Lake. The property of this former Great Camp is part of a friendly and small, year-round community. It's a perfect, old-timey setting for a romantic couple, outdoorsy family or friends vacationing together who wish to be on a low-trafficked pond where you can fish and swim from your own dock. Camp Barkeater is an old-fashioned housekeeping rental for those who choose to be on their own in the true Adirondack 'camp' tradition while enjoying some modern comforts.
Situated less than 100 ft. from the lake, the feeling of this lovely camp is airy and open. The lake view surrounds you while eating breakfast or reading on the screened porch. It follows you inside while you're preparing meals on a large kitchen island with family and friends under an old bead board cathedral ceiling. You're in a cook's kitchen, equipped with a full-size refrigerator, stove and oven and filled with all the extras needed for anything from baking and pizza making to BBQ.
Share an afternoon picnic by the water's edge, relax in comfortable Adirondack chairs, read in a hammock or paddle around in camp's complimentary canoes or kayak. When night falls, gather down by the lake for the celestial spectacle of the milky way and a star-filled sky unblemished by city light. Or, warm yourself by the fire burning in the living room's cobblestone fireplace and listen to the loon calls. Enjoy a wide selection of books, puzzles and games or pamper yourself with a warm bath in a large, claw foot tub before retiring to a queen-size, antique brass bed. On a rainy day, watch an old gem from a large, classic video collection. And, for your convenience, Camp Barkeater comes equipped with bedding, towels and beginning paper products for your stay.
Historic Osgood Pond, located near the St. Regis Canoe Area, is a soft-bottomed and shallow pond ideal for swimming. Osgood Pond is 16 feet deep making it warmer and more conducive to swimming than deeper, colder ponds. Go fishing from your dock -- especially nice for kids and beginner fisher persons -- or paddle your canoe and catch some warm-water fish (northern pike, large & small mouth bass, perch, sunfish and bullhead). You'll find easy access into Jones Pond or, more adventurously, into the legendary 'hand-dug' canals which flow into Little Osgood Pond and Church Pond. These canals were traveled by Osgood residents at the turn of the previous century to attend church on Sundays. Osgood Pond stretches almost 2 miles long and another 3 miles down the Osgood River where much of the shoreline is undeveloped state land.
If the woodlands call to you, walk the various trails or visit the Butterfly House at the Adirondack Visitors Center ('The VIC') just across the road. Nearby hikes include Jenkins, Debar, Floodwood, Azure and Blue Hill Mountains, all located within relative proximity to Osgood Pond. The trail head for St. Regis Mountain is roughly 3-1/2 miles down Keese Mill Road which is located just north of the entrance to Paul Smiths College. Closer to home, discover the secluded paths of the Red Dot Trail, walk the footpaths over the canals and join up with the Jack Rabbit Trail.
At the end of the day, head over to our neighborhood pub, The Shamrock, for a home-cooked meal and a Wednesday night music jam. At Paul Smiths College, choose dinner at the St. Regis Cafe or The Palm Restaurant where students in the Culinary and Hospitality program serve gourmet fare.
We hope you'll choose Camp Barkeater on Osgood Pond...it's everything you'll need to enjoy an Adirondack vacation you'll always remember!