Archer Vly(Saratoga County-Southenrn Adirondacks)

With a limited amount of time this afternoon, I decided to pay a visit to Archer Vly in a quiet corner of Saratoga County, almost directly on the Adirondack blue line.  There is a new DEC access road and parking area off of Lake Desolation Road, just north of Lake Desolation itself.   The parking lot is sizable with room for about a dozen cars, and I was lucky enough to have the place to myself today.  The vly is technically not on state land, but is part of a conservation easement, so please(as always), be respectful if visiting.

The vly basically runs northeast to southwest with a marked trail following along the south shore, with soft pine needles underfoot.

The marked trail quickly runs out, but I continued on a decent herd path east/ northeast, with the water being my constant companion to my left.

Arriving at a clearing and fire pit.

A nice campsite on the water.

Reflections.

A look back to the west across the vly.

Wildflowers growing along the shore.

The far eastern end of the vly is much shallower and chock full of weeds.

Once all the way clear of the water, the foot path turns north and basically disappears.  I crossed over a tiny inlet and made my way through wide open woods, eventually picking up a rough herd path.

The northeastern end of the vly was easily the toughest to negotiate, with only rudimentary foot paths that came and went.  With the water visible to the left however, it is almost impossible to get lost.

From high ground, I spotted this nice look back at the eastern end of the vly.

A firepit at a designated campsite on the north shore.

After passing the designated campsite I began spotting yellow DEC trail markers again, which lead me back out to a snowmobile trail and eventually back to the parking area.

Hiked about 1.8 miles with only a little bit of ups and downs along the way.