Lows Lake (New York)

Lows Lake
Low's Lake, looking southwest from Grass Pond Mountain
Location	St. Lawrence / Hamilton counties, New York, US
Coordinates	44°06′31″N 74°40′21″W / 44.10861°N 74.67250°W / 44.10861; -74.67250Coordinates: 44°06′31″N 74°40′21″W / 44.10861°N 74.67250°W / 44.10861; -74.67250
Type	reservoir
Primary inflows	Bog River Flow
Primary outflows	Bog River Flow
Basin countries	United States
Surface elevation	1,762 ft (537 m)

Lows Lake is a reservoir in the Adirondack Park in northeastern New York. It is located in the Five Ponds Wilderness Area, 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Tupper Lake. The lake is part of the Bog River Flow. While it is largely surrounded by New York State Forest Preserve, the northeast shore is privately held, along with a few small parcels that border the lake. The lake lies within the towns of Colton, Clifton, and Long Lake.

The lake was named after Abbot Augustus Low, son of Abiel Abbot Low; Low owned 40,000 acres (160 km²) in this vicinity early in the 20th century. Low constructed two hydroelectric dams along the eastern portion of the Bog River Flow; the upper dam, where most of Low's main buildings were located, created Lows Lake. On the granite ledge above the second dam, there is a plaque commemorating the Low's memory. His ashes were spread from the ledge.

Sabattis Scout Reservation owns a portion of the lake with three islands and has a Boy Scout camp located near the mid-eastern and northern portion.

Grass Pond Mountain, 2,240 feet (680 m), lies directly north of the lake and has expansive views from its summit. Graves Mountain, 2,300 feet (700 m), is named after a 19th-century hunter from Tupper Lake; its southern flank was eroded after the forest fire of 1906, exposing a large granite face; a survey marker is located at its peak.

"Horsehead Island", actually a floating bog, was located at the western end of Lows Lake for many years. In the 1980s a large portion separated from the mass and now sits halfway easterly in the lake near a campsite known as Boone's landing. The bog is filled with an impressive number of large pitcher plants and other bog plant material.