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

Elevation: 1473 ft

Ascent: 513 ft

Distance: 3.8 miles

Location: Creek Rd north of Hope Falls via County Route 7 off of County Route 15 off of NY Route 30 north of Northville.

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.  From the trailhead near Hope Falls the trail passes near Bennett and Middle Lakes and at 3.8 miles it is the shorter trail to the lean-to on Murphy Lake.

This trail doubles as a snowmobile trail, and can be very wet in places, especially near the up hill start.  After about a mile, a side trail which leads down to Bennett Lake is reached.  It is marked by a large pile of rocks but no sign.   Of the three lakes, Bennett is the least impressive.   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.  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.  Consider this outing to be more of an extended woods/nature walk as opposed to a mountain climb.

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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