Eighth Lake CCC Camp & Campground – Inlet NY

Description

Eighth Lake is one of the Fulton chain of lakes in the southwestern portion of the Adirondack Park in  upstate New York.  State route 28 passes along the lakes as it crosses the park.  The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established a camp between 7th and 8th Lakes in 1933 – named Eighth Lake camp (S-58), and started on forest clearance and navigation improvement projects between the lakes.

The CCC ‘boys’ also started work on the 8th Lake Campground (which abuts 7th Lake, in fact) in 1933; but they had to leave for less harsh climes as winter set in. The next year the New York Conservation Department did more work on the campground and it opened in 1935. In 1939, CCC boys from another camp at Indian Lake did further work at 8th Lake Campground, adding 34 campsites with table and fireplaces and a better water supply.

8th Lake campground is a large area with many campsites and restrooms, and it has been improved over the years since the New Deal.  Visiting the site after it had closed for the season, it was hard to tell which structures are CCC-built among the many camp stoves and several buildings — and there was no one to ask.  The Ranger’s house at the park entrance looks to be CCC, as does one of the comfort stations pictured here.