Rebirth of a fire tower
Stillwater’s tower was climbable for the adventurous the last three decades, but now it truly is in proper shape to welcome visitors, thanks to the Friends of Stillwater Fire Tower.
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From the Archives: An Interview with George Canon
Former Explorer Publisher Dick Beamish interviewed longtime Newcomb supervisor George Canon for the November/December 2007 issue. Canon died Sunday, June 18, at the age of 77.
Dannemora escape story reads like fiction
Writer Michael Benson tells the story of the 2015 prison breakout in the northern Adirondacks by inmates David Sweat and Richard Matt in his book, "Escape from Dannemora."
Biking the Barns in the Champlain Valley
Champlain Valley’s many quiet, country roads are ideal for cycling, so it’s no surprise that the Adirondack North Country Association chose the region for a new annual event called Bike the Barns.
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…
Explorer Launches Adirondack Photo Contest
By Phil Brown
I’ve never met an unhappy dog in the woods. And one of the happiest in these parts is Ella, the canine companion of Susan Bibeau, the Explorer’s designer. We’re showing you Ella’s photo to goad you into sending us photos of your favorite mutt in the Adirondacks. This is the idea of Tracy Ormsbee, our…
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…
Building on tradition
By Mike Lynch
Guideboat makers carry on a craft born in the Adirondacks in the mid-1800s. By MIKE LYNCH Building a traditional Adirondack guideboat is a complex task, with ribs carved from spruce-tree roots and with thin hull planks held in place with several thousand tiny tacks. It can take many weeks to complete one. “I grew up working with…
Park Perspectives: A community rebuilds
This January morning in Wanakena couldn’t be more different from the day two years ago when a violent turn of nature broke the historic heart of a community. Today, a bracing wind moves over the dry, cold snow that covers the homes, walkways, and riverbed of this former mill town. The Oswegatchie River flashes in…
Deluges in forecast
By Mike Lynch
Climate change is expected to bring heavy rains, more floods, and more damage to communities. By Mike Lynch A few years ago, Paul Smith’s College scientist Curt Stager came across a rare find that he says helps tell the story of climate change in the Adirondacks: the journal of Bob Simon, a retired engineer and…