The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
The Adirondack Explorer is a nonprofit magazine covering the Adirondack Park's environment, recreation and communities.
By Adirondack Explorer
Birdsongs welcome hikers on a jaunt in Keene Valley in May. By Tom Woodman Following a disappointing winter for skiing, I came into May looking forward to the next season of outdoor enjoyment. But spring turned out as contrary as winter, with the first days of warming sun followed by spells of bone-chilling cold. So…
By Adirondack Explorer
Guidebook author discovers Snowy Mountain is much more enjoyable without black flies, fog, and rain. By Lisa Densmore Ballard I first climbed Snowy Mountain in 2008 while doing the field work for my guidebook Hiking the Adirondacks. Originally named “Squaw Bonnet,” Snowy Mountain (3,898 feet), near Indian Lake, is the tallest peak south of the…
By Adirondack Explorer
Starting at Boreas Ponds, our editor journeys to a lovely backcountry pond and the headwater of a wild river. By Phil Brown Boreas Ponds is a gorgeous place to paddle, but not everyone owns a canoe and not everyone who does want to carry it seven miles, or three miles, or even a half-mile to…
By Adirondack Explorer
Hurricane Mountain’s refurbished fire tower affords a panoramic vista from Lake Champlain to the High Peaks
By Adirondack Explorer
Thanks to volunteers, Stillwater Mountain’s 47-foot edifice is open to the public again. By John Pitarresi Cathy Percy stands in the cabin of the Stillwater Mountain Fire Tower. She and her visitors are forty-seven feet above the footings set into the bedrock at the top of the mountain. The peak itself is a modest 2,264…
By Adirondack Explorer
A coterie of climbers tames the cliffs at one of the wildest, remotest, and most sublime locales in the High Peaks By Alan Wechsler Four and a half hours after our 4:30 a.m. departure from the Garden trailhead in Keene Valley, my two climbing partners and I dropped our packs and looked around. We were…
By Adirondack Explorer
Though on private timberlands, County Line Flow and Fishing Brook are open to the public as a result of Nature Conservancy deal. By Phil Brown The Adirondack Park has its share of uninspired names for lakes and ponds. Think of all the Mud Ponds, Grass Ponds, Deer Ponds, and Moose Ponds scattered over our topo…
By Adirondack Explorer
Though on private timberlands, County Line Flow and Fishing Brook are open to the public as a result of Nature Conservancy deal. By PHIL BROWN The Adirondack Park has its share of uninspired names for lakes and ponds. Think of all the Mud Ponds, Grass Ponds, Deer Ponds, and Moose Ponds scattered over our topo…
By Adirondack Explorer
By Phil Brown Dix Mountain is a slide climber’s playground. In all, it boasts a dozen slides worthy of climbing. The problem is choosing one. R.L. and Karen Stolz, the owners of Alpine Adventures in Keene, recommend Index Finger, one of the longest of the Finger Slides on the north face. Last fall, my girlfriend…
By Adirondack Explorer
Our editor finds himself paddling alone on the crown jewel of the former Finch, Pruyn lands, surrounded by high mountains, many miles from the highway. By PHIL BROWN In early June, I enjoyed one of my most memorable canoe trips in the Adirondacks: I spent the morning paddling around lovely Boreas Ponds, taking in breathtaking…