Lincoln Pond Campground is a popular destination for lovers of boating. There are canoes, kayaks, and rowboats available for rent. The campground itself has both primitive and developed site camping options. You can pick whether you want to be isolated in nature, or have close access to hot showers and flush toilets. The campground is smaller than many in the area, meaning it is an ideal destination if you are looking for a peaceful getaway from busy city life. It has the additional benefit of being truly waterfront, giving visitors a waterside experience in the stunning New York Forests.
The campground is completely dry and can house RVs up to 30 feet in length. All sites are non-electric and offer no hookups, although generators are allowed to be used. There are 34 campsites available in total, seven of which are remote water sites not accessible by vehicle and three are only accessible by boat. Nine other campsites offer waterfront camping where you can pull in directly with your campervan or RV rig.
There are trees that separate individual campsites allowing for campers to have privacy on their holiday. If you want even more privacy, there are several off water sites which are truly hidden away from the main campground. Due to the road grade and smaller size, these are better suited for tents and smaller trailers. While it can get quite windy in at Lincoln Pond, the campground was designed in a way to shelter campers from the worst of the wind.
The campground has a bathing beach where campers can swim or lower their canoe, kayaks or rowboats into the water. Some of the most popular activities among visitors include swimming, boating, fishing, and nature viewing. The lake is the perfect size for paddling fun with the family, but sometimes the waves do get a little rough.
Lincoln Pond Campground is located near Elizabethtown, which is a ten minute drive away. There you can buy any supplies you need along with refilling your fuel. The campground itself includes a large range of campsites with some being easily accessible by the biggest RV rigs. The inland ones better suited for smaller trailers while three are exclusively reserved for boat access. The off-water sites also have a steeper grade and less space for maneuvering so it is encouraged to choose these with smaller vehicles. There is an abundant amount of parking available, however the maximum size RV or campervan length is 30 feet so be mindful if you have a particularly long set up. There are also a boat launch site and space to park trailers for fishermen and boaters.
Lincoln Pond Campground offers a variety of camping experiences, ranging from the fully wild off-water sites to more developed camping with flush toilets and hot showers. In the remote, isolated sites there are no flush or water, so campers will be required to walk back to the main area if they wish to use the facilities. For all campsites, garbage must be collected and taken to the central recycling area in clear plastic bags.
At campsites located closer to the main facilities, campers can enjoy setting up their campervan or RV near hot showers and flush toilets. There are also three 'island' campsites available which can only be reached by boat. There is plenty of space to park your car and trailers; however, certain parts of the road do get quite steep. If you are concerned about the road, stick to the outer campsites near the water which are all on relatively flat ground.
Generator use is permitted for a maximum of five hours during certain times of the day. All campsites allow a maximum of two vehicles and all pets must have proof of rabies vaccination and be kept on a six-foot leash.
During the winter months, Lincoln Pond freezes over and provides excellent ice fishing opportunities. It is a 721-acre pond where you have a great change of catching tiger muskies and a range of other fish.
With ice fishing, you can expect to potentially catch bluegill, large mouth bass, northern pike, pumpkin seed sunfish, rock bass, small mouth bass, yellow perch, or bullhead. You can practice ice fishing with lines and fishhooks after opening up a whole on the frozen pond.
It does get very cold this far north so bring warm clothing since there are no warm houses or amenities open at the campground during the winter months. All you need is your ice saw or auger to chisel a circular hole in the ice, and size it accordingly to what size of fish you wish to catch. Here an eight-inch diameter hole will suffice for majority of the fish species you can catch.
Another favorite activity in the Adirondack Park Preserve is bird watching so make sure you get those binoculars out of the camping trailer. The area contains a fantastic mixture of deciduous forests and coniferous forests interspersed with lakes and streams. This keeps a large range of bird species in the surrounding trees and can provide quite the bucket list experience for avid bird watchers.
Some of the birds you can spot include common yellow throats, chestnut warblers, alder flycatchers, woodpeckers, common loons, and swamp sparrows. If you walk around in the forest surrounding the campground and listen, you will be able to hear the songs or wood pecks of many species of birds.
There are large amount of warblers around and the pond draws in mallards, ducks and occasionally even geese. So pack your binoculars and your bird guide book and enjoy the enormous amount of birds flying around overhead.
During any time of the year, but in particular during fall when the surrounding trees are dropping their leaves and producing exquisite displays of color, Lincoln Pond is a fantastic backdrop for a picnic with the family, so don't forget to pack that picnic basket in your camper.
There is a picnic pavilion available where you can sit at picnic tables sheltered from the sun and wind and enjoy your meal. The many waterfront sites are also a beautiful spot to sit down and picnic, since Lincoln Pond provides stunning scenery. The area is quite heavily wooded however there are some open spaces with picnic tables and fire pits where you can sit down for a meal. Enjoy the sunsets, chirping birds and private locations at the campground!
While the pond is quite shallow and weedy, during the hot summer months the bathing beach is a welcome site at the campground. Here children can splash around in the water safely.
There is also a bath house located next to the bathing beach, where you can rinse off after your swim with a hot shower. The bathhouse features changing rooms and places where you can stash your clothes during your swimming adventure.
Swimming is only allowed in the supervised bathing areas during hours where a lifeguard is on duty. There are only some swimming areas in the campground, therefore contact the campground directly if you are interested in picking a campsite near by to the swimming location.
If you are an avid fisherman, you can paddle or motor out into the center of the lake and try your luck in catching tiger muskie, large mouth bass, small mouth bass, yellow perch, and bullhead. The campground offers a boat launch for motor or paddle boats, so you can easily get your water craft into the water. Even if you do not have a boat, you can fish directly from the shore!
The pond has a healthy population of these fish making the expedition worthwhile for any level of angler. However keep in mind if the wind is high that fishing in a kayak on the northern side of the lake can be a little tricky with big waves. The southern basin tends to have smaller waves but it also has smaller populations of fish therefore a worse fishing experience.
In the very shallow and weedy sections of the pond, this is where you are most likely to catch large mouth bass. In the rockier sections small mouth bass and muskies enjoy hanging out. For your best change, opt for spinner baits, surface lures and plastic lures to minimize entanglement in the weeds.
Paddlers with kayaks, canoes, and row boats are all welcome on the lake and are available for rent. There are also standup paddle boards available to rent, which are a great work out along with an easy and fast way to get around calm waters on the pond. The large amount of waterfront campsites means you can lower the boat into the water directly from your temporary home and explore the lake. Otherwise, there is also a boat launch with trailer parking available where you can drive your boats into the water. The campground is located in the middle of Lincoln Pond and during strong winds, the northern park of the pond can get quite rough. During these times, it is advisable to take your paddling boats on the southern side of the road where the water is generally calmer.
