The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
Canoeists delight in a trip on two branches of the Grass River By Phil Brown The Adirondacks is blessed with lovely waterfalls. A number of them can be found along the Grass River. And the best of those is Lampson Falls, which can be reached by a short walk or a longer paddle. On a…
Cliff overlooking the East Branch of the Sacandaga offers climbers of all abilities a delightful day on the rock. By Alan Wechsler I’ve been rock climbing in the Adirondack Park for two decades, but I never got to Shanty Cliff until Explorer Editor Phil Brown invited me to join him there last fall. Shanty is…
Backcountry skiers descend Lake George low peak without breaking any bones By Alan Wechsler It was a Monday when we hit Buck Mountain. It was in late March last year, a week after the biggest nor’easter of the winter, which dropped several feet of snow all over upstate New York. That means that any skier…
Each year, the Explorer’s editor heads up Mount Marcy on skis. This is his guide to the region’s premier backcountry tour. By Phil Brown The spring equinox occurred on March 20. The baseball season opened on April 2 (the Yankees lost). The Masters Tournament will begin in a few days. As far as I’m concerned,…
A North Country transplant relishes his first ski trip up the Whiteface toll road. By Jim Ormsbee I’d read about skiing the toll road. Listened to others tell their stories. But I never made the effort to ski to the top and back down. My brother and I would talk about it and concoct grand…
A Paul Smith’s College student finds tranquility while hiking the Ladies’ Mile in the Adirondack Mountain Reserve. By Autumn Rock I’ve never hiked in the Adirondacks.” This is something no North Country native would want to admit, but it was true of me until this past August, when I was assigned to do a story…
Skiers enjoy a gustatory reward after a nine-mile trek from the Paul Smith’s College VIC to Charlie’s Inn. By Phil Brown Several years ago, I asked Bill McKibben, the author and climate-change activist, to ski the entire Jackrabbit Trail and write a story for the Explorer. I expected him to start in Saranac Lake and…
The author’s young sons tromp through mud, marvel at dinosaurs, and take a dip below 300-foot cliffs known as Blue Ledges. By Leigh Hornbeck Mud is alluring, far too tempting for my boys to resist. I took my sons on a hike to Blue Ledges in late August. Thanks to regular rains and a downpour…
Even on a rainy day, a mother and her young boys enjoy the short hike up Sawyer Mountain near Indian Lake.
The hike up this airy perch in the Champlain Valley may be short, but the place is long in history. By David Thomas-Train Horse and buggy plunge off cliff! Husband shoots wife and self! Couple tumbles over precipice, stung by passion! Lurid is the lore of Coot Hill, and all these troubling exploits were told…