Raquette Lake

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Raquette Lake is the source of the Raquette River in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State, USA. It is near the community of Raquette Lake, New York. Raquette is the largest natural lake in the Adirondack Park. It has 99 miles of shoreline with pines and mountains bordering the lake.

Named for found snowshoes left after the French and Indian War, Raquette Lake developed into one of the most prestigious summer getaways for the elite in the 19th century. Most notably, the Durant family started what would turn into the first of the "Great Camps." Some of the great camps on Raquette Lake include North Point, Pine Knot and Bluff Point. Bluff Point is still a private camp and run much as it was over 100 years ago. The camps were built by William W. Durant who was the son of Thomas C. Durant. Thomas was most famous for the building of the Eastern half of the Transcontinental Railroad. The first of these "Great Camps" was Camp Pine Knot. This camp was used by w.w.Durant as a showcase, as he wined and dined railroad tycoons and sold them on the idea of him building a camp for each of them. The camp was eventually turned over to Collis P. Huntington (Builder of the Western half of the Transcontinental Railroad) His family sold the camp to SUNY Cortland for $1 to be used for education and not to ever be turned over to the state.

Nowadays, Raquette Lake is still a popular destination, especially during the summer months. It has wonderful wildlife, breathtaking scenery and all types of sporting, both aquatic and terrestrial. Additionally, there are several children summer camps including Raquette Lake Boys Camp and Raquette Lake Girls Camp. In the winter months, huge amounts of snowfall turn the area into a winter wonderland for snowmobiling.

For further information check out raquettelake.org