The Indian River & Lakes

Water that brings life

The Indian River Lakes system, located on the St. Lawrence River plain in Jefferson and St. Lawrence Counties consists of 18 natural lakes.

These lakes range from shallow, highly productive warm water lakes to deep, cold-water lakes. The region takes its name from the Indian River, a picturesque mostly slow-moving river that begins as a small stream at Indian River Village and flows almost 100 miles to Black Lake.

Seventy-five miles of the river is readily canoeable, and fishing is good through its length, making it an extremely appealing area to the serious, as well as the casual outdoor enthusiast.

Trails Water Access Map1
Sunset on a local lake

The Indian River region is underlain by the Frontenac Axis, a band of Precambrian metamorphic marble, gneiss, and granite, extending from Canada to the Adirondacks. Above are found remnant outliers of sandstone and sandy dolomite which survived glacial erosion.

The varied geology greatly contributes to the diversity of species found throughout the woodlands, wetlands, and numerous lakes of the area. This geologically remarkable area is also a key segment of North American wildlife corridor known as the Algonquin to Adirondacks region, or the A2A.