Property Description
This totally wooded parcel, located within the western fringe of the Adirondack State Park, offers a wide range of recreational opportunities both on the property and nearby. The property is accessed from the northwest via a private, seasonal extension of the Auctor Road, at a roadside opening known locally as ‘Auctor’s Clearing’, as well as through neighboring owners to the south over a deeded woods road from the Number Four Road. Road maintenance from both directions is on a volunteer basis by property owners that use the roads to access their properties.
The traditional use of the property for more than 70 years has been hunting. The long-ago retired hunting camp, still just barely standing in an opening close to the properties center, is evidence of how an older generation enjoyed their free time and/or put food on the family table. There was no indoor plumbing, however a nearby spring may have been the closest source of fresh water. It is a great location with a view where one might choose to build a seasonal cabin, warmed by a cozy wood stove and ‘electrified’ by your favorite choice of off-grid energy sources as roadside utilities are over a mile away. Non-hunting owners may be interested in a hunting lease arrangement with an adjacent owner that would help pay the taxes. Currently, there are no signed lease agreements for the upcoming big-game season.
The predominant tree species found on the property and native to this area include; sugar and red maple, cherry, beech, birch, ash, aspen, hemlock, spruce, fir and pine. The forest has been thinned over the last 25 years starting after a microburst struck the region in ‘95. The intensity of previous timber harvesting varies throughout the property, with some areas still heavily treed and valuable timber present. Harvesting in other areas has resulted in a flush of seedlings and berry bushes that provide food and mast, attracting deer, bear, turkey, grouse, snowshoe rabbits, an assortment of songbirds and other critters to the area. A variety of waterfowl are likely to be seen in and around the beaver meadow and pond that intersects the northern boundary. The pond is fed by the waters of the North Branch of Black Creek, a beautiful cold-water, year ‘round stream, noted for native brook trout. Gently rolling best describes the terrain with numerous large boulders and bedrock outcrops a common part of the landscape. Several open areas on the property, if cultivated, may serve nicely as wildlife food plots.
There is an extensive maze of trails on the property, most of which were established for timber harvesting, that are now well suited for hunting, mountain biking, hiking, snow shoeing and cross-country skiing as well as ATV and snowmobile use. Public ATV trails are absent in the Town of Watson but numerous roads are open in the adjacent Town of New Bremen. The Number Four and Auctor Roads are plowed snowmobile roads and from the property you are only minutes from the Main Corridor Snowmobile Trail C8.
Lewis County is renowned for its recreational attributes as well as maple syrup production and this property is found in the heart of it all. Just minutes away are the Adirondack Parks ~76,000-acre Independence River Wild Forest to the south and further east the Pepperbox and Five Ponds Wilderness Areas. Other popular destinations nearby include: a short drive to Stillwater and Soft Maple Reservoirs along the Beaver River, famous for fishing, boating, camping, swimming and hiking, the Otter Creek Horse Trails are but 15 minutes south and a 30-minute hike (from the Big Moose Road) to the Stillwater Fire Tower is a must, especially in the fall of the year. Grocery and department stores in Lowville are but 20 minutes away. As a Number Four resident myself, I don’t know of a better ‘outdoor’ place to experience so much!
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