Bennett, Middle, and Murphy Lakes – Three for Price of One

These three lakes are located north (and slightly west) of Northville near the town of Hope Falls.   There are two trails which lead to Murphy Lake.   One trailhead is located near Hope Falls and the other on Pumpkin Hollow Road.   On a nice day in November 2005, Stu Delman, Syd Hochman , their two dogs, and I decided to hike in from the trailhead near Hope Falls.   This trail passes near Bennett and Middle Lakes and at 3.1 miles it is the shorter trail to the lean-to on Murphy Lake. This trail doubles as a snowmobile trail, and after the wet October, it was very wet in places, especially near the up hill start.   After about a mile, we reached a side trail, marked by a large pile of rocks but no sign, which leads down to Bennett Lake.   Of the three lakes, Bennett is the least impressive to me.   There is a large camping spot where the side trail reaches the lake where we rested briefly to take a few pictures.

From Bennett Lake the trail continues to ascend on generally drier trail, and the very picturesque Middle Lake is reached in about another mile and a quarter. The trail passes along length of the lake up on a hillside maybe 50 to 20 yards from the shore for a distance of almost 0.6 of a mile.

We stopped at the northwest end where the trail comes closest to the lake to admire its beauty and take a few pictures. There is a large partially submerged glacial erratic near the shoreline which provides a wonderful photo opportunity as it provides a rocky contrast to the placid lake waters. On other trips, I have left the main trail to bushwhack around to the other side of the lake to swim off the rocky shore.   It is by far the prettiest lake of the three.   A note of caution is necessary however. What I call “ground hornets” live in holes in the woods along this trail. During the hottest part of the summer if these hornets are disturbed, they will swarm out and sting anything they can find.   If you are aware of this hazard in the woods anywhere in the area, or if you see them even when you stay on the trail, I would advise staying on the trail and out of the woods near the trail.

The rest of the trail from Middle Lake to Murphy Lake is fairly short and the lean-to is reached when you first get to the lake. After a short rest on the rocky shore near the lean-to, Stu and Syd agreed to bushwhack up to cliffs on the side of a small mountain near the lake to get a view of the area.   There is valley heading north out of the north end of Murphy Lake.   The valley leads to another body of water called Murphy Vly.   On either side of this valley are two small mountains with cliffs that look out to the south.   I have climbed the one on the east side of the valley on several occasions.   The cliffs on the mountain on the other side of the valley also look very attractive. Since the hornet season was long gone, I though the added adventure would work out okay.   The toughest part of this addition to the itinerary was to cross the swampy area on a log just after continuing beyond the lean-to.   If the crossing is made, the trail follows around the east shore of the lake, but it is not nearly as obvious as the trail up to the lean-to.   After a little dodging around we reached the valley and started the ascent.   The route I lead was not the best one available. A better route would be to follow the stream in the valley up to the first tributary (small creek) coming in from the east (right).   One could follow up whichever bank (or banks) seems to be the most promising until you reach the upper part of the hill and then work to the right over to the area of the cliffs.   With a little exploring along the cliff face you should be able to find a good view point.  

By the time we reached our vantage point, the weather was clearing and the views were excellent. Cathead Mountain was visible in the moderate distance to the southwest. We did follow the above route back down remembering to turn left back to the lake as we neared the valley floor.   Our hike out from the lean-to was executed in just a little over and hour.

Consider this outing to be more of an extended woods/nature walk as opposed to a mountain climb. The TOPO program for the Southern Adirondacks estimates the total ascent of this walk to be approximately 600 feet. If you do the aforementioned bushwhack to the cliffs above Murphy Lake consider adding another 400 hundred feet to the estimated total ascent. This is a wonderful enjoyable day out amongst three remote and beautiful lakes in the southern Adirondacks.

NOTE: For a more complete description of the trail, please see ADK's GUIDE to ADIRONDACK TRAILS - Southern Region, pp 123-125 (and pp 119-122).

Have a great hike!
Bob Goodwin & Stu Delman