Onteora Scout Reservation:
Alder Lake

If you took the virtual tour of Onteora, you might remember reading about hikes to another Nassau County Council camp, Alder Lake. Although the official name was Alder Lake Scout Reservation, this property was actually an off-shoot of the main operation at Onteora. It offered a number of camping experiences not found at the main camp, and was one of the main destinations for Scouts interested in overnight hikes.

As the road sign above indicates, Alder Lake Scout Reservation was located near Turnwood, NY. The map shows the camp location, with Onteora itself located just to the southwest of the area shown. In addition, here are some topographical maps of interest:

• Hiking route from Onteora
• Alder Lake property

Alder Lake, which is man-made, was once owned by Samuel D. Coykendall, a railroad and canal shipping tycoon. He had a dam built to form the 45-acre lake, and, around the turn of the century, like many of his peers, built a vacation home on the shore. To put it mildly, the place was impressive. More about the house below!

Coykendall developed the property in 1899, building the lodge and the dam that forms the lake. There had earlier been a natural pond that had been drained to create a hay farm, but the new dam was added to increase the size of the lake for sporting purposes. The Coykendall family eventually sold the property in 1945 to a trout fishing club based in nearby Liberty, NY. Nassau County Council later bought Alder Lake in 1960.

As mentioned, the main purpose of the Scout camp at Alder Lake was to provide a destination for overnight hikes for troops staying at Onteora. As such, there weren't any permanent campsites, with troops having to bring in their tents, cooking gear and other material needed for a stay. Some troop leaders made it easier for the boys by driving the stuff over to Alder Lake, which seemed like cheating to me even as I was carrying a pack over there myself as a Scout.

	For most of the years the camp operated there were two counselors stationed at Alder Lake, along with a caretaker. Unlike most of us at Onteora, these counselors didn't have to rough it in a tent all summer. No sir, they stayed in the Alder Lake trading post, which was located on a hill overlooking the lake. To make up for a roof over their heads, though, they also had to cook all of their own meals. This is a distant view of the trading post as seen from out on the lake. This set of four pictures is from 1969.
Besides their main duties of checking in visiting troops and helping them out during their stays, the counselors ran the trading post. The main business there was selling cooking supplies, along with a limited supply of candy and soft drinks. The trading post was a very popular place during rainstorms, for it was the only dry place in camp. It was also just about the only place you could actually sit down and rest your aching feet after the hike over from Onteora. Here a lone fisherman enjoys a quiet moment out on the lake.
	This view was taken from a small bridge across the dam that forms Alder Lake. As you can see, the trading post was a good-sized structure, with a large fireplace at one side. From the grassy rise seen in the picture you could get a wonderful view of the lake itself.
Heading down from the Trading Post, the road across the bridge led back up to the main manor house, passing by a small beach used for swimming and boating. I never saw many Scouts using the lake - I think everyone was too tired from the hike over. Instead, there were usually a number of Scouts to be found fishing from the bridge or along the shore. The lake, by the way, reaches a maximum depth of 22 feet.

At least one camper found inspiration at Alder Lake, as seen in this poem:

If you would like to turn the clock back, click here for a trail guide and history of Alder Lake from 1970. This interesting document provides some very interesting facts about camp's background, as well as a look at how the camp itself operated.

Shortly after this guide was issued, Alder Lake found itself promoted from a small-scale trail camp to a full-fledged summer camp. This included a much larger staff, a dock and other facilities. All of this was due to overflows from Onteora, which dictated the need for extra campsites. Sadly, though, this expanded operation would prove to be short-lived.

A visit back to Alder Lake in 1988 showed some dramatic and sad changes. The camp was closed, no longer the property of the Boy Scouts. A park ranger stopped by and told us that the council had given up the property a few years earlier, and it had reverted back to the state in 1980 as part of the state park system. While the road sign above still pointed the way to Alder Lake Scout Reservation, the camp was no more.

The lake and surroundings were quiet and completely deserted. The once magnificent manor home was in ruins, completely boarded up. While it still looked good from a distance, as in this picture, a closer look showed the true story.

This view is of the front of the house as it looked in 1988, showing the stonework used throughout the building. Almost every pane of glass was broken in the upper windows, and birds could be seen flying in and out of the building. The building looked structurally sound, but the ranger said it was a mess inside due to vandals and weather damage. He said the state estimated it would cost $1 million to restore it, with $50,000 needed just to repair the leaking roof. What a shame, for the building had been in pretty good condition when used by the council. Back in the 60s it had been used by Niles Fairbairn, the camp caretaker, who lived there with his family and their pet otter, who had appeared in Disney's "Flash, The Teenage Otter", a 1961 television episode. Scouts would gather at the house to watch the otter perform, and I remember going inside and being impressed by the place. Click here for an article about Fairbairn from the February 1965 edition of The Nassau Charger, the Council's newsletter.

Fairbairn, by the way, was honored by having a campsite named for him in Onteora's Buckskin Camp. Fame is fleeting, though, and the campsite has been lost to time. Fairbairn died on March 11, 1965, his 78th birthday.

This is a view of the house's kitchen area. One can only imagine life during the property's heyday, and the parties that would have required a kitchen of this size. Hopefully the state will someday find the money to restore the building, perhaps as a visitor center or even to rent it out for executive retreats. An e-mail from a visitor to this site indicates that the state does have plans to salvage the lodge. Until then, one can only hope the place survives the future ravages of weather and uninvited guests. There were plans to tear the place down, but happily a restraining order has given it a new leash on life, even if only temporarily. The lodge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on 1/11/02 but as of Dec. 2004 the State is still talking about tearing it down. For information on a group working to save the house, contact philpine@aol.com.

In 1997, the state added Alder Lake to a local hiking system, with a new lean-to built close to the lake to shelter hikers from the frequent storms experienced in the Catskills. The new lean-to is a good addition, for hikers can no longer take refuge in the trading post. The building is completely gone.  In 1988, all that remained was the concrete slab and fireplace seen here. The state had removed the building when the property became part of the Catskill Preserve, but I can't imagine why they would have let the slab remain. There were signs of a fire, though, and I would guess that the place actually had burned down several years earlier. Another shame, for it would have been a great value to the state park system. By 1998, the slab had gone as well.

Here's a description of the property from "The Catskill Adventure", a brochure from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation:

Although Alder Lake was only in operation as a stand-alone camp for a few years, a number of items were produced for sale at the Trading Post. Click here for a look at the ones found so far.

You can also click here for some photos of Alder Lake.

Otherwise, you can head back to the main Onteora page.