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Saranac Lake 6ers guide

(This story originally appeared in the September/October 2013 issue of the Adirondack Explorer.) By Explorer Staff Jessica Seem brought her two sons to the Adirondacks for vacation this summer after reading on the Internet about the Saranac Lake 6er challenge. They drove 260 miles from central Massachusetts and spent the next several days climbing six smallish mountains near the village of Saranac Lake. Thanks to a tourism initiative begun by the village in May (of 2013), hikers who climb all si...
Read more

Biking the Barns in the Champlain Valley

Cyclists eat well and exercise well on Bike the Barns tour through the Champlain Valley.   By Alan Wechsler Photos by Nancie Battaglia The Champlain Valley sometimes seems like a forgotten part of the Adirondack Park. Instead of big mountains and valleys, it offers rolling vistas of farms, fields, and forests stretching to the shores of Lake Champlain. There’s no denying the beauty of the bucolic scenery, but outdoor recreationists such as hikers, paddlers, and backcountry skiers tend to g...
Read more

The wild is near to their hearts

Bucking the region’s aging demographic, young adults who love wilderness choose to settle in the Park. By Mike Lynch In 2015, Old Forge native Tyler Socash decided to take the money he had been saving for a car and spend it on something more experiential: three long-distance hiking trips. Starting in August, he ended up hiking seven thousand miles as he finished the Pacific Crest Trail, Te-araroa (Long Pathway) in New Zealand, and the Appalachian Trail. After the yearlong trip, the thirty-year-o...
Read more

Big plans for North Hudson

State wants to replace moldering Frontier Town at Exit 29 with $32 million Gateway to the Adirondacks By Rick Karlin   Since its closure in 1998, Frontier Town could be more accurately described as a ghost town, but parts of the moldering theme park would be granted new life in a $32 million plan by the state to establish a Gateway to the Adirondacks at Exit 29 on the Northway. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the plan in his State of the State Message in January and filled in some of the de...
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Boreas dam drives debate

APA’s proposals for classifying Boreas Ponds Tract all assume the state will need motor-vehicle access to maintain a concrete spillway built in the 1990s. By PHIL BROWN The Adirondack Park Agency held public hearings on Boreas Ponds at eight different locations around the state in November and December. Hundreds of people spoke, offering a potpourri of opinions. But one constant was a sea of green T-shirts bearing the slogan “I Want Wilderness.” BeWildNY, a coalition of eight environmental group...
Read more

Beds at Boreas Ponds?

Environmental groups vow to fight state proposal to establish lodging facilities deep inside 20,758-acre tract By Phil Brown Environmental groups are alarmed by a conceptual proposal floated by the Cuomo administration to establish lodging facilities near Boreas Ponds—in an area they believe should be classified as “untrammeled” Wilderness. The groups say they would fight any such proposal vigorously, contending that it would violate both the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan and Article 14...
Read more

The master trail builder

Retired Forest Ranger Steve Ovitt aims to connect North Creek with the wild lands around the community. By BILL MCKIBBEN To really understand this story, you have to bear in mind two distinctive things about North Creek. One, it butts up against the mountains much tighter than most Adirondack communities. Start on the path that runs beside Town Hall (within sight of the Hudson), and within minutes you’re climbing steeply up Gore Mountain, entering one of the largest wilderness complexes in the P...
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Recent

Outdoor Recreation

Reserve A Spot In An Adirondack Campground

I grew up down the road from one of the state’s premier Adirondack campgrounds, Lake Eaton, and spent time there… >>More

Natural History

DEC Urges New Yorkers: If You Care, Leave It There

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has cautioned visitors to natural areas against interacting with newborn fawns and… >>More

Environment

Fight Brewing Over High Peaks Lodging Facilities

Environmental groups are alarmed by a conceptual proposal floated by the Cuomo administration to establish lodging facilities near Boreas Ponds… >>More

History & Culture

¡Naturalmente! Summer Program Combines Nature and Spanish

Cultural and natural sustainability will come together in a weeklong program for youth at the Adirondack Interpretive Center in Newcomb.… >>More

The Video Room

Skiing The Whiteface Highway

We made this on one of our last skis of the season (4/8/17). There was still plenty of snow. That’s… >>More

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The Adirondack Explorer brings you exciting excursions, fascinating wildlife and vital news about the Adirondack Park.
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Each issue of the Adirondack Explorer contains reviews of the non-fiction books that matter most to our readers. The subjects include Adirondack history, outdoor recreation, wildlife, natural history, and public policy. Most of the past reviews are now available online.

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One mission of the Adirondack Explorer is to show people how to enjoy New York State’s great wilderness. Every issue includes accounts of hiking, paddling, cross-country skiing, rock climbing, bicycling, and other outdoor pursuits. Subscribers get unlimited access to our Adventure Planner, an online archive of hundreds of recreational stories.

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Biking the Barns in the Champlain Valley

Cyclists eat well and exercise well on Bike the Barns tour through the Champlain Valley.   By Alan Wechsler Photos by Nancie Battaglia The Champlain Valley sometimes seems like a forgotten part of the Adirondack Park. Instead of big mountains and valleys, it offers rolling vistas of farms, fields, and forests stretching to the shores of Lake Champlain. There’s no denying the beauty of the bucolic scenery, but outdoor recreationists such as hikers, paddlers, and backcountry skiers tend to g...
Read more

Beds at Boreas Ponds?

Environmental groups vow to fight state proposal to establish lodging facilities deep inside 20,758-acre tract By Phil Brown Environmental groups are alarmed by a conceptual proposal floated by the Cuomo administration to establish lodging facilities near Boreas Ponds—in an area they believe should be classified as “untrammeled” Wilderness. The groups say they would fight any such proposal vigorously, contending that it would violate both the Adirondack Park State Land Master Plan and Article 14...
Read more

The wild is near to their hearts

Bucking the region’s aging demographic, young adults who love wilderness choose to settle in the Park. By Mike Lynch In 2015, Old Forge native Tyler Socash decided to take the money he had been saving for a car and spend it on something more experiential: three long-distance hiking trips. Starting in August, he ended up hiking seven thousand miles as he finished the Pacific Crest Trail, Te-araroa (Long Pathway) in New Zealand, and the Appalachian Trail. After the yearlong trip, the thirty-year-o...
Read more

The master trail builder

Retired Forest Ranger Steve Ovitt aims to connect North Creek with the wild lands around the community. By BILL MCKIBBEN To really understand this story, you have to bear in mind two distinctive things about North Creek. One, it butts up against the mountains much tighter than most Adirondack communities. Start on the path that runs beside Town Hall (within sight of the Hudson), and within minutes you’re climbing steeply up Gore Mountain, entering one of the largest wilderness complexes in the P...
Read more

Big plans for North Hudson

State wants to replace moldering Frontier Town at Exit 29 with $32 million Gateway to the Adirondacks By Rick Karlin   Since its closure in 1998, Frontier Town could be more accurately described as a ghost town, but parts of the moldering theme park would be granted new life in a $32 million plan by the state to establish a Gateway to the Adirondacks at Exit 29 on the Northway. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the plan in his State of the State Message in January and filled in some of the de...
Read more

Boreas dam drives debate

APA’s proposals for classifying Boreas Ponds Tract all assume the state will need motor-vehicle access to maintain a concrete spillway built in the 1990s. By PHIL BROWN The Adirondack Park Agency held public hearings on Boreas Ponds at eight different locations around the state in November and December. Hundreds of people spoke, offering a potpourri of opinions. But one constant was a sea of green T-shirts bearing the slogan “I Want Wilderness.” BeWildNY, a coalition of eight environmental group...
Read more

Saranac Lake 6ers guide

(This story originally appeared in the September/October 2013 issue of the Adirondack Explorer.) By Explorer Staff Jessica Seem brought her two sons to the Adirondacks for vacation this summer after reading on the Internet about the Saranac Lake 6er challenge. They drove 260 miles from central Massachusetts and spent the next several days climbing six smallish mountains near the village of Saranac Lake. Thanks to a tourism initiative begun by the village in May (of 2013), hikers who climb all si...
Read more