The Magazine of the Mountains since 1969
The Adirondacks is no stranger to hybrid businesses—think Tupper Lake’s Washboard Laundromat/Donut Shop or Pedals & Petals, in Inlet, which peddles bikes and blooms. One of the latest on the scene is Bar Flies—a sudsy offshoot of Wiley’s Flies, Vince Wilcox’s iconic Ray Brook fly shop and guide service—and ADK Street Eats, which dishes up tacos, burritos, sandwiches and burgers, along with other food truck favorites.
Barbara McMartin called Canada Lake “one of the prettiest in the Adirondacks.” The prolific author—who wrote about everything Adirondack, from hiking to history to clashes over environmental policy—chose to live on Canada Lake’s shore, and she wasn’t the only one besotted by the blue expanse.
On any given day through the heart of the 20th century, blue-collar workers in Saranac Lake could be found pounding burgers at the Dew Drop Inn on Broadway, right alongside bejeweled ladies from Upper Saranac nibbling on seafood platters, boisterous, five-o’clock-somewhere barflies, politicians feasting on New York strips and college kids tossing pizza crusts to the ducks drifting by on the river that flowed a few feet beneath the cantilevered dining room.
Pâté chinois served in a cast-iron skillet. Chicken, stewed vegetables and gravy over biscuits. Crusty bread. If you’re craving this French-Canadian comfort food, you’ve got to check out The Woodshed on Park, in Tupper Lake.
As my car crept into Wanakena through the falling snow, I felt a pull from the glowing blue lights marking a wooden footbridge.
I arrived at Oak Mountain Ski Center with the sun shining down on a bluebird day. As my eyes settled on the scene, they paused on an adorable, sky-blue hut in the foreground of the mountain with a sign that read “Hot Mini Cider Donuts.”
In July the Vidals opened the doors to what they call NewVida Preserve—an appropriate name for the 2,000-acre spread—with trails for hiking, biking and skiing; a lodge with 14 guest suites, a bistro, bar, game room and dining room; wellness center with gym, yoga studio and soon an indoor pool; and community business space.
Sleigh bells ring—literally—at Hohmeyer’s Lake Clear Lodge in the wintertime. The retreat is an iconic Adirondack destination in all seasons; after all, it’s been welcoming guests since the 1880s, when it operated as a stagecoach inn and trading post. But from mid-December to mid-March the place ups its cozy game by offering lantern-lit sleigh rides and speakeasy dinner experiences.
In the late 1970s my parents bought a summer cabin on Fourth Lake. Calling it a summer cabin is high praise because it was little more than a shack. But it was only a five-minute run from the front door to the lakefront for five-year-old me and that made me look forward to our time there. I still loathed the drive.
Adirondacks’ signature style leans toward woodsy, of course, and if you’re in search of a store that features all things bark, twig, stuffed, feathered, leathered and then some, Dartbrook Rustic Goods, in Keene, is the place to go.
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