Travel in the Adirondack Mountains

I was fortunate to visit upstate New York several times while my son was living in Oneida County due to his job as a computer programmer. Each time I visited we took a couple of short trips.

We went to NYC; to Niagara Falls; took a boat tour of the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence Seaway and we always visited some part of the Adirondack Mountains. The mountains have always been my favorite place to visit. I never tire of the scenic rides, the wild life and I always planned these trips in autumn so the leaves would be at their peak.

Of course, I always stayed with my brilliant son, his sweet wife and two wonderful granddaughters, which was so much fun. And, yes they are wonderful, even if I am slightly biased as the mother. Sometimes other family members came at the same time, although my other two sons liked going in the winter so they could go skiing. That is not an option for me unfortunately, so you choose the things you can enjoy and go for it!

Just in case you are interested, the New York State Legislature in 1885, gained constitutional protection for this wild life preserve and named it the Adirondack Forest Preserve. It covers 6 million acres, larger than Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon and any other park outside of the state of Alaska. There are over 1500 lakes and ponds. There is also an organization called the Adirondack Forty-Sixers. Traditionally members try to climb all 46 peaks and these are peaks over 4000'. Recently the club has dropped this requirement in order to preserve the fragile summit vegetation. If you like outdoor activities, you will never run out of things to do. There is hiking, camping, mountain biking, ballooning, cross country skiing, snowmobiling, sledding, kayaking, white water rafting, canoe routes and golf, all in the most gorgeous country you would ever want to see. Another attraction is the famous White Face Mountain. You can ride the glass enclosed elevator to the top of the 26 story, 120 meter ski jump. We visited there in October and were blessed with a sunny day of 70 degrees. The views were spectacular.

Old Forge is a small town that has one of those country type stores where you go and could wander around for hours. they have anything you can think of to buy and many things you never would have thought about. It is a very busy store when the weather is nice, but when winter arrives many people leave and head south to their winter homes.

When I was there, I noticed many small towns with nice homes that apparently empty out when winter arrives as people head back to there winter homes in Florida and such places. There really isn't any close shopping to these areas. I think the people want to be away from the city and just love the scenery and quiet, comfortable environment for the long summers. That sounds like a lovely life to me; having the best of weather year round.

Another wonderful place to visit is Lake Placid, NY. They are famous for hosting the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. They have also host many other world class events including World Cup Bobsled and luge, Ironman Triathalon, international figure skating, Empire State Games and the I Love NY Horse Shows. What a beautiful place to ski, hike or just enjoy the scenery.

We went to Niagara Falls in March on a cold day but the beauty was worth the chill. There were areas with beautifully frozen ice sculptures along the banks but the fast moving Niagara River flowed freely as it does year round. It is a gorgeous site to behold.

The Niagara River is part of the Great Lakes Basin and an integral part of the legacy of the last ice age about 18,000 years ago. At that time huge ice sheets gouged our the basins of the Great Lakes. The water is "Fossil water" meaning that less than 1% of it is renewable on an annual basis with the rest being left over from the ice sheets.

If you go into Canada there is a Bird Aviary that you can visit with interesting birds in a rain forest setting. In good weather there are some tours that you can take also.

Of course, Niagra Falls are beautiful year round. Upstate New York is a beautiful place to visit and if you enjoy outdoor activities you can wear yourself out because there is an endless supply of things to do. It is definitely worth the trip to see the beauty of the area.

I guarantee you will enjoy a trip to the Adirondak Mountains with the beautiful views, the deer and other animals, plus all of the lakes. Many people spend their summers in the mountains and head south when the cold weather begins.