Barefoot Hiking in the Adirondacks

by Kristen A. Schmitt | May 18, 2023 | Featured, Guide to the Great Outdoors 2023

Photograph by Nancie Battaglia Wynde Kate Reese sets off for a day hike that will take her to the top of Rooster Comb Mountain in Keene Valley. She’ll pick her way over gnarled tree roots, pine needles and rock for several hours until she reaches the summit, just shy...

Heart of Darkness: Hiking the Adirondacks at Night

by Brian Mann | May 17, 2023 | June 2023, Recreation

Illustration by James Weston Lewis   Standing on a shelf of rock looking toward the High Peaks, I realized my mistake. I had no headlamp, no source of light, and the sky was already a bruised shade of purple and red. Shadows crept over the valley below. As I...

John Dillon Park: Opening the Woods to the Differently Abled

by Elizabeth Folwell | Mar 14, 2023 | Guide to the Great Outdoors 2009, Recreation

“As I sit by a roaring fire and wait for water to boil, my son, Jeremiah, is busy exploring the elements of nature. Every move he makes I am ready with my throwaway camera. Ready to document our story,” wrote a young woman named Chelsea in the Osprey Lean-to journal...

Massawepie: An Off-the-Beaten-Path Fall Outing

by Mark Kurtz | Oct 13, 2022 | Guide to the Great Outdoors 2022, Recreation

Photograph by Mark Kurtz Massawepie is an Iroquois term that means “lake by the marsh”—the source of the name being obvious, with the Massawepie Mire virtually touching Massawepie Lake. The mire is the largest boreal peatland in New York State and critical habitat for...

Plan Your Perfect Adirondack Summer with These Ideas for Family Fun

by Adirondack Life | Jun 27, 2022 | August 2022

photograph courtesy of the Wild Center   Paddle On The Wild Center (518) 359-7800, www.wildcenter.org 45 Museum Drive, Tupper Lake To sample the paddling life without all the packing and planning, try a guided canoe trip through the Raquette River’s oxbow. The...

Pick Your Adventure: Five Choice Adirondack Outings

by Adirondack Life | Jun 1, 2022 | Guide to the Great Outdoors 2022, Recreation

GILL BROOK TRAIL | TOWN OF KEENE The clear pools dotting Gill Brook are popular places to cool off on the way to or from other hot spots in the Adirondack Mountain Reserve—Indian Head, the Colvin Range, Nippletop—but the waterway can be its own destination. The Gill...

Short and Sweet

by Lisa Plumley Mintz | May 17, 2022 | Guide to the Great Outdoors 2021, Recreation

photograph from Goodnow Mountain by Nancie Battaglia Five hikes under five miles I have never been a long-distance hiker. Planning and commitment are needed to tackle the big peaks, and if I’m honest I have never shown a particular aptitude in either of these areas. I...

Triple Dipping

by Lisa Bramen | May 5, 2022 | August 2021, Recreation

photograph by Johnathan Esper Three sublime swim spots that are worth the hike The Adirondack Park is dotted with lakefront beaches that have it all: playgrounds, lifeguards and, often, big crowds. But with a little bit of legwork, the following lakes reward with...

Listening Tour

by Luke Cyphers | May 1, 2022 | Guide to the Great Outdoors 2021, Recreation

Illustration by Brucie Rosch   Babbling brooks, peepers and loons—hiking for an Adirondack soundtrack Early last spring, in places where it was normally loud, it was often nearly silent. There was little automobile traffic and few open businesses. And people, if...

Lost and Found

by Laurie Lipper | Nov 30, 2021 | From the Archives, Guide to the Great Outdoors 2021

Illustration by Gwen Jamison Vogel Rediscovering peace and kindness in the wilderness The shiny, clean Subaru pulled over and a friendly voice from behind a surgical mask asked, “Everything OK? You need a ride to the next stop?” Was it the fact that everything in my...