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winter recreation

Latest Story

hikers on the trail to mt marcy

A winter expedition in the High Peaks Wilderness

By Contributing Writer

Student-planned and executed trip involved a trek up Mt. Marcy

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little river preserve

The transformation of Little River Preserve in Star Lake

By William Hill

Snowshoeing on the 257-acre property that's near Five Ponds Wilderness

Dan Spada, John Rosenthal, and Dave Phillips are pictured skating across a blue and icy Lake Champlain off Fort Ticonderoga in helmets, vests and other gear.

Tips for staying safe on frozen waters in the Adirondacks

By Rick Karlin

Forest rangers, firefighters offer ice safety advice

The 1.38-mile Golf Course Trail skirts the nearly 100-year-old Tupper Lake Golf Club, though the trail is mostly in the woods. The closed Big Tupper Ski area can be seen in the distance. Photo by Tom French.

How a golf course transformed into groomed ski trails: The backstory behind Tupper Lake’s Frenette trail network 

By Tom French

Free cross-country skiing for all ages, on a wide double track

Cross-country skier on a snowy trail in the woods

Skiing through history on trails around Adirondack Fish Hatchery

By Tom French

Search for fresh snow leads to winter wonderland of untouched trails

high peaks in mud season

The warmest winter

By Chloe Bennett

Although the calendar is still in winter, the snowless and mild climate aligns more with the muddy spring season

Screw shoes

Outfit your trail-running shoes for winter trails

By Phil Brown

There isn’t much skiing left around Lake Placid, so on my lunch hour Wednesday I went for a run on the loop trail at Henry’s Woods. I found what I expected to find: glare ice and very hard packed snow. The good news is that the trail will be skiable again with a little bit…

Lake Placid winter map

New winter-recreation map for Lake Placid

By Phil Brown

If winter returns, I’ll be ready. Green Goat Maps has just published a Winter Trails Map for the Saranac Lake/Lake Placid region. The full-color topographical map shows trails suitable for cross-country skiing (shown in red), snowshoeing (green), and riding fat bikes (indicated by icons). The long-distance Jackrabbit Ski Trail, which extends from Paul Smiths to…

Adirondack winter

DEC: Be prepared for winter in the Adirondacks

By Phil Brown

The state Department of Environmental Conservation is advising recreationists to be prepared for winter conditions in the Adirondacks. With this week’s storm, snow depths in the region range from two to eighteen inches. Following is DEC’s news release. The recent snowstorm is providing good conditions for winter outdoor recreation in the Adirondack backcountry, New York…

Don Mellor Publishes New Ice-Climbing Guidebook

By Phil Brown

Don Mellor’s second edition of Blue Lines: An Adirondack Ice Climber’s Guide, published this month (just in time for this weekend’s Mountainfest), is a testament to the popularity of an erstwhile fringe sport. In Blue Lines 2, the new title, Mellor describes almost six hundred ice-climbing routes throughout the Adirondack Park. In contrast, the 1995…

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