The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
Tracy Ormsbee is publisher of the Adirondack Explorer. When she’s not working – and it’s not black fly season – you can find her outdoors hiking, running, paddle boarding or reading a book on an Adirondack chair somewhere.
By Tracy Ormsbee
A parade of boat-topped cars traveled from Blue Mountain Lake to Indian Lake and North Creek Wednesday, Dec. 30, before reaching Newcomb Overlook Park in an outpouring of admiration for boatbuilder Pete Hornbeck, who died Saturday. His family: wife Ann Hornbeck, daughter Leigh and son-in-law Josh Trombley were there to greet the crowd. Thank you…
By Tracy Ormsbee
For almost 50 years, Peter Hornbeck ran Hornbeck Boats, a business he started in his garage in 1971, from a shop on his property in Olmstedville alongside wife, Ann. On any given weekend, you could find him holding court with customers who came from all over the country and world to his pond to try out…
By Tracy Ormsbee
By Tracy Ormsbee Peter “Pete” Hornbeck, the schoolteacher turned iconic Adirondack boatbuilder whose canoes topped cars from Lake Placid to Florida, California and overseas, died Saturday of an apparent heart attack after a walk with his family on his property. He was 77. For almost 50 years, he ran Hornbeck Boats, a business he started…
By Tracy Ormsbee
A conversation around race and diversity was elevated in the Adirondacks--and throughout the country--in 2020.
By Tracy Ormsbee
Wendy and her husband Steve have turned their concern for animals into the Adirondack Wildlife Refuge in Wilmington
By Tracy Ormsbee
One day Long Lake Parks & Rec Director Alex Roalsvig might be closing facilities for the season and winterizing, on another, getting geese off the ball field, and on another, writing grants. And in a pandemic year, she's also tasked with keeping people safe.
By Tracy Ormsbee
We know Joanne Kennedy from her photos featuring Adirondack wildlife and landscapes published in the Adirondack Mountain Club’s Adirondac magazine, her monthly column in the Plattsburgh Press-Republican, “Navigating Nature,” and her book, “Leave Only Footprints: A Walk on the Wild Side–Adirondack Style.” I
By Tracy Ormsbee
Editor’s note: This story first appeared in 2017 in Adirondack Explorer’s magazine. Storytelling—stories about Native American history as told by the people who lived it and not the abridged school textbook version—is part of Dave Kanietakeron Fadden’s makeup, his DNA. He is Mohawk. Though he’d never in his life addressed a group, Fadden went ahead…
By Tracy Ormsbee
In 1976, as guest curator for the Albany Institute of History and Art’s bicentennial exhibit, Caroline Welsh undertook a survey of 200-year-old artwork found in private collections from ten counties around that city. Her tools for documenting, one by one, more than 1,000 pieces of art were index cards and a Polaroid camera. The tools…
By Tracy Ormsbee
A talk about New York State's use of road salt in the Adirondack Park.