Adirondack Nature Trails:
Lake Colby Railroad Tracks

The Lake Colby Railroad corridor is a popular birding site in Saranac Lake. It attracts area birders looking for migrating ducks and wetland birds, as well as birds found in mixed forest beyond the bog. The location of the site, on the outskirts of the village of Saranac Lake, makes it a convenient stop for Trilakes birders on their way to work or other locations.

History of the Lake Colby Rail Corridor

The Lake Colby Railroad corridor is part of a rail line built in 1892 by the Mohawk and Malone Railway.

• The line later became part of the Adirondack Division of the New York Central Railroad and provided passenger service between Utica and Montreal, via Lake Clear Junction.
• Passenger service out of Lake Clear Junction was terminated in 1965, and the tracks became dormant.
• In the 1990s, the Adirondack Scenic Railroad began running tourist excursions between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake. During this time, the Lake Colby corridor was used several times a year to bring trains from the Old Forge station.
• The Lake Colby section of the tracks has not been in use since 2016, because New York State, which owns the rail line, declined to issue the Adirondack Scenic Railroad with a permit for local operations between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, so equipment transport was not needed. 

The entire rail corridor, of which the Lake Colby tracks are just a small part, is now at the center of an ongoing and sometimes acrimonious legal controversy.

• Proponents of a rail-trail plan favor removing the tracks and turning the corridor into a multi-use recreational trail for walkers, runners, and cyclists in the warm weather months and cross-country skiers and snowmobiles in the winter.
• Railroad enthusiasts support retaining and repairing the tracks so that tourist rail excursions can be resumed.

In March 2020, the New York DEC issued a Proposed Final Amendment to the 1996 Remsen-Lake Placid Travel Corridor Unit Management Plan. DEC hopes to finalize the plan later in 2020. If and when implemented, the plan will involve tearing up the now deteriorating tracks along the Lake Colby causeway and constructing a 10-feet wide stone dust trail on the existing rail bed. An observation deck on the western end of the causeway between Lake Colby and Little Colby Pond will also be built.

Other changes affecting the Lake Colby rail corridor are afoot. The Saranac Lakes Wild Forest Unit Management Plan (April 2019) includes a provision to develop a series of nature trails on a fifty-acre parcel on the south east shore of Lake Colby. The parcel includes a Bald Eagle's nest.

• The Lake Colby Nature Trails will consist of 1.75 miles of pedestrian trails with interpretive signs
• Work on the trail system could begin as early as the summer of 2020 and will take several years.
• If landowner permission is granted, this trail system would be connected with the Lake Colby railroad corridor.

In theory, the proposed changes would enhance the Lake Colby rail corridor's value as a nature trail by improving footing on the trail. However, it remains to be seen whether the removal of the railroad tracks will encourage intrusion by ATVs, with associated noise, environmental destruction, and litter. Although ATVs will continue to be prohibited along the rail corridor, a similar prohibition has not prevented adverse impacts on another former rail right-of-way: the Bloomingdale Bog Trail.

Trail Overview

While the legal wrangles go on, the Lake Colby rail corridor continues to attract area birders. The corridor offers convenient access to a variety of wetland and upland ecological communities, providing opportunities to see plants and birds that flourish in these habitats. It also offers lovely views of Lake Colby and Little Colby Pond. 

The initial part of the trail runs through a mixed forest habitat. Within a quarter of a mile, the tracks pass through a marshy area, with Lake Colby (a 286-acre lake) on your right and Little Colby Pond (a 35.8 acre pond) on your left. Little Colby Pond was created when the railroad grade causeway was constructed in 1892, cutting off the former southern tip of Lake Colby.

• The New York State DEC Environmental Resource Mapper classifies the area bordering Little Colby Pond and the land adjacent to the railroad corridor further west along the trail as a Dwarf Shrub Bog.
• After passing Lake Colby and Little Colby (at a bit over half a mile), the trail enters a mixed forest as you leave the bog behind.

Most birders and nature enthusiasts turn around after a mile or so, but another two miles will take you through upland habitat and past several more wetland areas before skirting the southern shore of McCauley Pond, near the McMaster's Crossing on McMaster Road.

Birds along the Lake Colby Railroad Tracks

The marsh, bog, and open water along the rail corridor attract a wide variety of wetland birds, particularly in late fall and early spring, when migrating waterfowl congregate near the shores of Lake Colby. Sightings of Common Loons (which nest on the lake), Bald Eagles (which nest nearby), Great Blue Herons, and Palm Warblers are common. The mixed forest in the upland portions of the trail also hosts a variety of warblers.

Birds seen or heard along the Lake Colby Railroad corridor include:

Wildflowers & Flowering Shrubs on the Lake Colby Railroad Tracks

Wildflowers and flowering shrubs seen along the Lake Colby Railroad corridor include:

Directions to the Lake Colby Railroad Tracks

The bird list was generated from eBird checklists (Lake Colby Railroad Tracks) plus field trip notes and photographs from 2018 through 2021. The plant list was generated from field notes and photographs from 2018 through 2021.