Stargazing, night paddles, photography workshops and other activities provide after-dark outings
By Holly Riddle
Tens of thousands of people visited the Adirondacks and surrounding areas to witness the total solar eclipse in 2024, and The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) expects, this summer, travelers will continue to flock to the region for similar astrotourism or noctourism experiences. The Adirondacks boasts minimal light pollution, with much of the region ranking a Class 2 on the Bortle Scale, meaning it’s considered a “typical truly dark site.”
Seth McGowan, president of the Adirondack Sky Center and Observatory, said he’s certainly seen an increase in tourism and interest at the center over the last year, with approximate 15–20% growth.
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Whether interested in nighttime photography or simply stargazing, the region’s tourism and hospitality providers have been taking note of visitor’s preferences and adding new experiences accordingly.
Night outings
For the first time this year, St. Regis Canoe Outfitters offers two nighttime paddling excursions, including full moon guided canoe trips and stargazer guided outings. According to Maeghan Farnham, co-owner, there were several reasons why the business added these to its lineup for the summer. The recent purchase of Voyageur canoes makes it easier to keep groups together after dark, as there’s no need for every participant to be in their own boat, and co-owner Steve Cerri had already been wanting to offer nighttime guided trips since the two took over the business. When a friend who works with ROOST mentioned the traveler demand for nighttime trips, it solidified the team’s decision.
Stargazing at Sagamore
Last year, Great Camp Sagamore hosted its first stargazing program, which Cari Ray, senior director of programs and operations for the Sagamore Institute of the Adirondacks, said was “extremely well received.”
For Ray, the programming’s popularity comes, in part, in response to last year’s eclipse, as well as a continuation of the demand for outdoor and nature-focused experiences that began over the pandemic.
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“I think that has created a renewed interest in all things nature, and the night sky and the stars is all part of that,” she said. “I think people want to connect with being present, escaping the bright lights, big city, the chaos of day-to-day life. I think that also is inspiring. When you find yourself in a pitch-black place on a crystal-clear night, and you look up at the stars that seem so close and so bright that it’s almost as though they’re a ceiling pressing down on you, that’s a pretty awe-inspiring experience — and I can’t imagine a whole lot of people that wouldn’t like to have it.”
As a result, this summer, the camp will host three noctourism-related events. On June 6, “Moths, Forests, & Birds: What are the Connections?” welcomes Paul Smith’s College’s Professor Janet Mihuc for an evening of education and hands-on moth watching. “We are Stardust: Exploring Our Connection to the Cosmos,” led by astronomer Aileen O’Donoghue, Ph.D., and Helene Gibbons, founder of Adirondack Riverwalking, takes place July 27–29. Then, “Sagamore Seminars in Science: Stargazing,” led by astronomer John Rusho, takes place Sept. 28–Oct. 1.
Both multi-day events will include programming open to the public without committing to a full, three-day stay, as part of the property’s effort to provide more ways for area locals to engage with its events.
Adirondack Sky Center
The Adirondack Sky Center and Observatory recently invested in an all-digital, portable planetarium, the StarLab, that travels to nearby schools and communities, while also offering weekly shows at the center’s hub on Park Street in Tupper Lake. Additionally, this year, McGowan was named a NASA solar ambassador, which means he receives training directly from NASA so he can provide firsthand educational information via the center’s programming.
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“[The eclipse] really put us on the map, nationally and internationally,” McGowan said. “There’s been an uptick in folks wanting to learn more about astronomy, more about the night sky and so forth.”
Photography workshops
It’s not just last year’s solar eclipse that has spurred increased interest in astro- and noctourism in the Adirondacks. According to photographers Carl Heilman II and Mark Bowie, both of whom host educational nighttime photography events in the Adirondacks, the increasing technical capabilities of new cameras — including even the average cell phone camera — has significantly drawn new individuals to nighttime photography.
“Between what you can do with a phone and what you can do with a DSLR and…then with social media, with everybody posting pictures, especially [of] the Milky Way…everyone’s like, ‘Oh, I want to get out and do that.’ And so where do you go? You go to a dark area and the Adirondacks is definitely that,” Heilman described. “It’s just so easy, on a clear night, to see the Milky Way by eye, which I guess many people never really see…and then with the increased aurora activity over the past three to four years, plus the eclipse…there are a lot of things leading people in this direction.”
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“Even novices can really shoot beautiful images of the night sky. It’s gotten to the point where we can register both detail in the sky and the landscape simultaneously or, if we have to, blend multiple exposures to render that, and it’s because the equipment has just gotten so good,” Bowie said. “I think for the general public, the need to get out under dark skies or to appreciate just how beautiful it is, is something they can’t do in suburban areas… and now they’re seeing all this wonderful imagery being produced by whoever’s photographing and it certainly spurs the imagination.”
Heilman will be hosting an afternoon and night landscapes photography tour Aug. 16 at The Wild Center in Tupper Lake. Bowie will host multi-day nighttime photography workshops through the Adirondack Photography Institute, in Tupper Lake, July 20–24, and in Indian Lake, Aug. 17–21.
Photo at top: A photo taken by Carl Heilman II on a Wild Center night tour.
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