Guide to the Great Outdoors 2023

Strong Rope Taproom

Strong Rope Taproom occupies what was once the Elbow Room, a beloved Blue Mountain Lake bar built in 1936.

Favorite Adirondack Campgrounds

Choosing a favorite is highly subjective—often a happy blend of personal preferences and family traditions—but what follows is a sampling of likely contenders.

Bike the Barns

Adrenaline junkies should look elsewhere; Bike the Barns is “a tour, not a race,” says BikeADK’s Doug Haney, organizer of the fully supported event.

Water Works: The Art of Boatbuilder Peter Hornbeck

Pete Hornbeck and I shared a birthday, though we were born 10 years apart. My sign is definitely Capricorn, my stubborn little goat feet firmly planted. Pete was an Aquarius for sure, the water bearer was his spirit guide.

Hiking: Mount Adams

Mount Adams is a dazzling but somewhat difficult hike, with a distance and gain in elevation similar to the High Peak of Cascade, even though its elevation is some five hundred feet less.

Hope Valley Farm

Home gardeners embrace optimism each spring. Market growers combine informed aspiration with hard reality. Jeffrey Rugen, with 15 acres and eight greenhouses, lives in Hope.

Hiking: Panther Mountain

This cyanotype of two gentleman picnicking atop Panther Mountain was captured almost 130 years ago by Grotus Reising. Panther, near Tupper Lake, a short scramble with extraordinary summit views of the Seward Range, was, as it is today, a favorite among folks looking for a quick up and down.

Skills: How to Start a Fire

The science of combustion is enough to make an indifferent student of chemistry’s eyes glaze over, but starting a fire comes down to a couple of simple rules: start small and keep the air flowing. And as any Scout will tell you, be prepared.

Campfire Cobbler

Based on the southern cuppa-cuppa- cuppa-style cobbler, this is my method for making a cake-like dessert when I don’t bring a Dutch oven.

Swede Mountain: A Southern Adirondack Fire-Tower Scramble

More than a century after it was erected on top of Swede Mountain, in Hague, the metal fire tower still stands. In its early days the only folks who scaled it were up there to spot fires; now anyone can climb the 47-foot tower’s seven flights to take in stunning views of Gore and Crane Mountains and Brant Lake.

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