August 2023

A Trove of Vintage Lake George Photographs

For 75 years, Jule and Fred Thatcher captured everything from chowder parties to swim marathons and everyone from prize fighters to Roosevelts.

Virtual View

Artificial intelligence seems to be everywhere these days—it’s even creeping into Adirondack history. Doug Smith, a software engineer who lives in Vermont, has begun playing with this modern tool to explore characters and lore from the region’s past.

Norwegian Woods: Brynilsen’s Viking Village

Although this beloved Fourth Lake resort has been in operation since 1895, when it was known as Camp Monroe, Vikings didn’t land here until 1945.

In the Weeds: The Fight Against Eurasian Watermilfoil

The spring thaw also brings warmer waters, which happen to be the preferred habitat of an invasive aquatic species that’s sparked a vigorous debate on Lake George. It’s pitted lake protection organizations against one another and fueled a lawsuit against the state-appointed Adirondack Park Agency (APA) over how to handle it.

Hot Dog!

One of the most beloved rituals in this, the season of campfire nights, is hunting for a proper roasting stick, whittling it to perfection, then charring your own bun-sized dinner over the flames. But here in the birthplace of the American vacation, our love for the most All-American of eats goes well beyond the campground.

A Wild Ride: When Sherman’s Amusement Park Was Our Family Business

Last summer, I was delighted to discover an article in this magazine about how the Caroga Arts Collective is bringing a musical revival to long-shuttered Sherman’s Amusement Park in Caroga Lake.

A Cut Above: Trail-Builder Luke Peduzzi

“I ’m not good with a paintbrush or anything, but I’m pretty good with an excavator.” Luke Peduzzi cracked the beer he’d tucked in his coat pocket at the trailhead. It hissed, shaken from the pedal up. His loyal trail companion, Spud, patrolled the area for the perfect stick—a useful job site skill.

How to Keep that New-Crush Passion for the Adirondack Park

You, too, can spice up your leisure time with small adjustments to your methods and mindset. Below are some high points of my Adirondackpalooza to help spark fresh explorations.

Harold and Faith: A New Exhibit Spotlights Weston’s Muse

His artwork was called “rough and rugged as hickory stumps,” like the man himself. Friends described her as “soft, gentle, like the moss in the woods.” It was a match made in heaven, or at least the Adirondacks.

Billion-Dollar Bet: New York’s Risky Investment in Lake Placid’s Olympic Dream

When I go to see Mike Pratt at the Olympic Regional Development Authority’s glossy new state-funded headquarters in Lake Placid, the first thing he does is spread out photographs of Olympic sports venues and stadiums in Beijing, Berlin and Sarajevo that lie abandoned and in ruins. His message is plain: This almost happened here.

On Sale Now

February 2026

Meet Lake Placid’s Tate Frantz, a top ski-jumping contender at the Milan-Cortina Olympics—plus Fourth Lake ice hockey, North Creek Ski Bowl lore, brews at Lake Clear's historic Charlie’s Inn and more!