Ask John O'Donnell
New York vacant Adirondack land with streams, views, adjacent to State Forest Preserve, pond and secluded for sale. This is an opportunity to own a large Adirondack property just 2 miles outside the village of North Creek, known for skiing at Gore Mountain and whitewater rafting on the Upper Hudson River. The Collins Brook Buck Lands property has long-distance views, a year-round stream, and a beaver pond with an active heron rookery. The 245-acre property is located within several thousand wooded acres of private and public property. It is located off of River Road, a seasonally-maintained town road. From River Rd., access is via a deeded 50-ft. right-of-way, running approximately 4,500 ft. from River Rd. to a log landing. The current owner has spent a small fortune within the last year upgrading the road from a jeep trail to a road suitable for use by tractor-trailers. Because this property is situated at the end of the deeded right-of-way, no other entities have rights to pass through this property. The owner has also ensured the property line locations by blazing and painting the lines which are very visible while walking the property. Recent logging on the property has opened up the woods for long-distance hunting, and the logging trails are well-suited to ATV's and side-by-sides. The recent logging trails have opened up remote access of the property to develop food plots and site hunting blinds as well to site remote camp sites. The past logging activity will allow for a flush of ground-level vegetation that will benefit wildlife, and in 3-5 years there will be a large amount of browse for deer and black bear and habitat will improve for game birds. The log landing, which is about 3/4 acre in size, could easily accommodate several fifth-wheel trailers for long-term camping, or could be used to develop a permanent recreational camp. As well, the log landing is situated within a gravel bank, also making it ideal for recreational shooting, in a safe, secluded location which will not disturb any abutters. Collins Brook, a prominent water feature on the property, is a meandering, year-round stream with pools 2- and 3-feet deep, depending on the season, harboring a variety of small fish species and, on occasion, native brook trout. The current owner has left in place, a temporary bridge 8-feet wide by 16-feet long to span Collins Brook so that the new owner can easily get to the west side of the property. Waldron Pond, which straddles the western property boundary, is an important site for the nesting and rearing of Great Blue Herons. Below Waldron Pond, beavers have been busily extending the pond, expanding the water features on this property. This area would be an ideal place to situate a small cabin, lean-to, or primitive camping site. On the east side of the property, from a height of land on the lower slopes of Collins Mountain, there are views of Gore Mountain, ~3 miles away, as well as Morris Pond to the south. Other prominent views include Oven Mountain and Crane Mountain in Johnsburg and Thurman. A power transmission line bisects the property but there are several deeded right of way crossings over that line, allowing for secure legal access to the west side of the property. This property is under the Fisher 480 tax law which is the more favorable forest tax law than the available 480a. The Fisher Act allows for a reduced assessment and correspondingly lower taxes as long as the property is under forest use. When timber is harvested, a 6% tax on the timber value is provided to the town Assessor. There is no management plan requirement or necessity for forester involvement.This property is immediately adjacent to 443 acres of State Forest Preserve, which is open to the public for hiking, camping, and hunting. However, because this acreage is landlocked, surrounded by private property with no obvious public access, it does not suffer the public over-use that encumbers other State lands. Not much farther up River Road from the property, the Upper Hudson River is easily accessible through State Forest Preserve. This property is approximately one-hour from Saratoga Springs, 1.5 hours to Albany, and just over 4-hours to NYC. At only 2 miles from the village of North Creek, all the amenities necessary can be found; grocery and hardware store, dining, and an expanse of outdoor recreation opportunities locally and regionally.