Heavenly Hiking: On the Trail with Father Allen
Father Allen on Mount Marcy photograph by Ben Stechschulte "I love Algonquin,” says Reverend Philip Allen. “I’d like to do that again. It’s all business and the views are great, and it’s the first mountain I ever did. I did go up barefoot at that time. That was...
Paddling in P.M.
Photograph by Carl Heilman II I’ve always been dazzled by the stars; the sheer number, the twinkling, their ability to enchant from an incredible distance. For as long as I can remember, my first order of business outdoors at night is to crane my neck for an...
2026 Photography Contest Winners
We’re not saying that the Adirondacks’ muscular mountaintops and water-ribboned valleys are attention hogs, but they have monopolized generations of lenses. So, in honor of our Wildlife Issue, we’ve opted to give the photography contest spotlight over to the critter...
Featured
Heavenly Hiking: On the Trail with Father Allen
“I love Algonquin,” says Reverend Philip Allen. “I’d like to do that again. It’s all business and the views are great, and it’s the first mountain I ever did. I did go up barefoot at that time. That was 1958.”
Paddling in P.M.
Photograph by Carl Heilman II I’ve always been dazzled by the stars; the sheer number, the twinkling, their ability to enchant from an incredible distance. For as long as I can remember, my first order of business outdoors at night is to crane my neck for an…
2026 Photography Contest Winners
We’re not saying that the Adirondacks’ muscular mountaintops and water-ribboned valleys are attention hogs, but they have monopolized generations of lenses.
Nature & Environment
The Tree Guardians
Angello Johnson burns the midnight oil. By day, he works in the land resource department of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe of Franklin County, of which he’s a member, at the northern edge of the Adirondack Park. On nights and weekends he teaches Mohawk tribe members the art of weaving long, pliable black ash tree strands into intricate baskets.
The River Fixers: How the Ausable Freshwater Center Is Healing a Critical Waterway
By the time Tropical Storm Irene moved on, the Ausable River’s rage had washed away portions of Au Sable Forks, Jay, Upper Jay, Keene and other hamlets. Roads and homes, businesses and roadside attractions, including the actual Land of Makebelieve, a former theme park in Upper Jay, were swamped. A total of $25 million in damages sat on the ledgers…
Bird Notes
Boreal chickadee photograph by Jeff Nadler Want to go birding in the park? Let guide Joan Collins show you the way Know Before You Go: Learn the birds around your home first . A feeder is a great way to attract them. Most species are habitat specific, so…
Travel
On the Edge of Paradise
It’s a rite of passage to take a photo of National Park signs at the entrance. But what about the iconic Entering Adirondack Park signs?
Celebrating Tupper Lake’s Wild Center
Today, Tupper Lake’s natural history museum, which turns 20 this year, is a flourishing center of learning, intellectual thought and plain old fun. It is the encyclopedia of the Adirondacks, a guide as essential to understanding the Adirondack backcountry as a map.
The Station
The main intersection in Onchiota has always been memorably quirky, an unexpected wilderness outpost at this one-time railroad stop. The corner is anchored by an old general store and adjacent seven-gabled gas station, which were opened by Hayden Tormey in the 1920s. But it was Tormey’s son “Bing” that gave the bend in the road its offbeat personality. He littered the area with cheeky signs, including the classic “Leaving 67 of the friendliest people in the Adirondacks (plus a couple of soreheads)” and “Don’t ask for directions, we’re still trying to get out of here.”
Recreation
Look Before You Leap
Adirondack swimming holes can look mighty inviting on a warm spring day. Before you take the plunge, though, take note of conditions that can lead to hidden dangers:
The Adirondack Ice Bowl
Spectators—some in horned Viking helmets—watch from behind shin-high borders and burn barrels while players chase pucks toward six-inch-tall nets. Absent are goalies, time stops and thrown fists. This is the Adirondack Ice Bowl, an easy-going pond-hockey tournament in the heart of the Adirondacks.
BOW in the Snow
It wasn’t your usual pleasantries-over-brunch exchange, but this was no ordinary weekend. It was B.O.W. in the Snow, the winter version of Becoming an Outdoors-Woman, a nationwide program designed to build women’s confidence in outdoorsy skills.
History
Big Three-Headed River
The Moose River makes its schizophrenic reach for the Black River from three headwaters. The North Branch sulks out of Big Moose Lake, perhaps mourning still the Grace Brown tragedy. Chaining through Darts and Rondaxe lakes, this lazy stream makes its way with so little effort it often forgets to go forward and retreats upon itself.
Some Like It Prefab: Marilyn Monroe in Warrensburg
In 1949, before Marilyn Monroe cooed and shimmied her way to becoming a screen goddess, she was just another shapely blonde starlet trying to get noticed. Which is why, one hot June day, she appeared in the little Adirondack town of Warrensburg, a few miles north of Lake George, to stand on the lawn of a brand-new prefabricated house.
Storms of the Centuries
Ever since Adirondackers began keeping track, they’ve recorded hamlet-swallowing blizzards that socked folks behind snowdrift-jammed doors, downpours that ravaged river valleys, and hurricanes with jet-speed winds that uprooted chunks of forest.
On Sale Now
August 2026
Spotlighting regional characters—a movie star, an angler, a 46er 25 times over—and the Adirondack landscape at the time of America’s birth. Plus stunning photographs, where to find exceptional BBQ, and more.
Home & Camp
Morel and Wild Leek Soup
To learn how to sustainably harvest wild leeks, also known as ramps, see “To Take a Leek” at www.adirondacklife.com. Use a reliable guidebook to identify any foraged food before consuming.
Addition and Subtraction: Are Mergers the Answer for Adirondack Schools?
On a Friday morning in March, Devon Harris—one of the original members of the Jamaican national bobsled team—addressed a group of about 100 K–12 students in Minerva Central School’s gymnasium. A motivational speaker, Harris told the story of his improbable journey from the streets of Kingston (“I was just a kid from the hood,” he said) to the national stage. And of course the team’s immortalization in Cool Runnings, a 1993 film starring John Candy.
Frankie’s Chicken Riggies
Chicken riggies—mouthfuls of chicken, sweet and hot peppers, onions and rigatoni smothered in a white-wine marinara—is an upstate favorite born in Utica’s deep-rooted Italian community. Start your own love affair with the dish at Frankie’s Taste of Italy, in Old Forge, where owners Frankie and Tina Zammiello—now joined by their son, Julian—serve up meals inspired by their family’s Sunday feasts.
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From The Archives
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The Adirondack Store
As you approach the rustic log and glass front of the Adirondack Store on Route 86, in Ray Brook, between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake, a glance through the window promises ...
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The Man Who Would Be King
The story of Roger Jakubowski's preternatural arrival in the North Country two years ago has already entered the annals of Adirondack legend, but for those of you who have be...
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An Au Sable Forks Pulitzer: The Life My Father Chose
Spike Pulitzer (1941–2013) was a paradox, even to those who knew him well. He was complex yet simple, tough but tender, guarded and private, yet genuine and transparent. When...
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