Inlet: Fern Park, Winter Trails and Activities at Fourth Lake

Inlet offers activities for different seasons and interests: Fern Park has loop trails and winter sports, Arrowhead Park is on Fourth Lake, and golf, fishing, and local history are also among the options. When looking for a hotel in Inlet, it helps to first decide when to travel and which activities you want to enjoy. You can then choose what to do during your stay, whether you want to explore the trails, spend time by the water, or learn about the town’s history.

Loop Trails and Winter Sports at Fern Park

Fern Park has more than 14 miles of loop trails for hiking and mountain biking. Their designated difficulty levels range from easy to challenging. So if you’re planning your trip around a particular activity, you’ll find both hiking and mountain biking trails here, with options for different skill levels rather than just a single route.

In winter, the park offers groomed areas for sledding, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. There is also a covered ice rink. In addition, 0.6 miles of illuminated, groomed winter trails are available for nighttime cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. This distance is a specific option for those two nighttime activities, while the more than 14 miles of loop trails are for hiking and mountain biking.

Arrowhead Park on Fourth Lake

Arrowhead Park is a free public park on Fourth Lake in Inlet. Its amenities include a lifeguarded swimming beach. This makes the park a place to enjoy the lake as well as a designated swimming area. If you’re planning your visit around fishing, you can use the boardwalk at Arrowhead Park, where fishing is permitted.

Public fishing is also permitted in Inlet from state and municipal land. The locations mentioned include the boat launches on Fourth Lake and Seventh Lake, as well as DEC campgrounds. This gives you several types of fishing spots to choose from: boat launches, the boardwalk area, and campgrounds. Permission to fish from the boardwalk specifically applies to Arrowhead Park.

Local History and Golf

The Inlet Historical Society collects, catalogs, preserves, and displays historical artifacts, pictures, documents, books, and other historic items from Inlet and the surrounding Adirondack communities. In summer, it regularly hosts free programs for the public. If you’d like to learn about the town’s history as well as enjoy outdoor activities, you can include the public historical exhibits and these seasonal programs in your travel plans.

Golf is another activity: Inlet Golf Club is a public golf course, originally designed in the 1920s. Its current description as a public course and the history of its original design offer two different points of interest: the opportunity to play golf and the club’s longer history.

Snowmobile Trails and a June Event

The Town of Inlet snowmobile trail system connects to the Town of Webb trail system. The well-marked, groomed trails wind through forests, around lakes, and along mountains. For a snowmobile trip, the connection between the two trail systems is a useful point of reference, and the landscapes described also vary along the trails.

The Black Fly Challenge is scheduled to take place in 2027. The 40-mile gravel bike race is held annually on the second Saturday in June. If you’d like to include it in your travel plans, check the dates for the relevant year. Alongside the options at Fern Park and by the water, the June event offers another side of Inlet: in addition to trails for individual activities, there is also an annual bike race.

Discover more destinations: Lake Pleasant.

For the county-wide travel overview: Hamilton County.