Total ~8 miles hike in the Adirondack. The view after climbing up the fire tower was amazing. The…read morefirst few miles were easy, til the last part with the steep elevation. Trail mark was a bit hard to recognize . Not much of view except after you get to the fire tower. Typical view of the east coast mountains but still worth the time

Hiked Moxham Mountain Trail on Sunday afternoon. The trail itself is simple and fun even, but the…read morebug issue is hard to ignore. Quality: Moxham Mountain Trail is a fairly easy hike in the Central Adirondacks. A single path with several peaks and valleys provides nice views across the region. The path takes visitors over a few small streams and eventually to a cliff overlooking the area. Not too challenging, but expect a lot of bugs throughout. Quantity: Roundtrip on the trail is 4.6 miles, so make sure you leave yourself a few hours. Value: Free parking and no fee to use the trail. Ambiance: Moxham Mountain Trail is located in Minerva, New York, but can be challenging to find if you don't know where you are going. The winding path is an easy hike, but has enough bends and twists to keep you interested. The biggest issue is stagnant ponds attracting swarms of bugs. Make sure you load up on spray before attempting to visit. Crowd: We passed a few other hikers, but it was pretty quiet. It is a very dog friendly trail, so don't be surprised to see a few pups. Service: Easy to follow signage on a trail that is well taken care of. Parking: A small lot can be found near the trailhead.

I was inspired by the show "Aerial America" on the Smithsonian channel to take a trip to upstate…read moreNY, this time to do some hiking and leaf peeping around the adironancks. I knew this was a vast protected wilderness area, but never expected it to be such a paradise of sorts. Driving from NYC took are out 5 1/2 hrs, via I87 North. Overall a smooth ride except the fogs that I encountered, was not really prepared for so much fogs. Also it did helped that all the way through, the highways were lined with colorful trees, which made the ride a pleasant one. After getting lost a bit and not finding the trailhead for Mt. Jo, which we originally wanted to hike, we decided on option #2 to drive up to whiteface mountain, which promised a dizzying elevation and beautiful views of the "high peaks". On our way to whiteface we passed through keene valley, which is right out of a painting, a sleepy little village dotted with woodsy like cabins & houses surrounded by mountain and streams. The curvy back roads took us through some other towns which included a town called the "North Pole", which is apparently a popular kids amusement attraction. The fall foliage was at its peak in this area, so it was truely a marvelous setting for a drive. We took the Veteran Memorial Highway in Wilmington to reach Whiteface Mountain, which had many lookout points to caught a glimpse of the "high peaks". Once we got to the top, and parked our car, we took the vintage elevator to reach the peak, then we were treated to the most amazing views of the "high peaks"! It was like being in heaven looking down. A breathtaking view of Mt. Marcy (the highest peak in NY state), and many lakes, in the area, including Lake Placid. After a few photo opts and lunch at the cafe, we decide to walked down the "natural staircase" to the parking lot, instead of taking the elevator back, which I highly recommend. Because it was only a Day Trip, it was time for us to start our drive back to NYC , we forgo plans for a gondola ride and a short hike up Mt. Jo. Reasons we definitely have to go back. We did however, visited "Ausable Chasm", which we kinda stumble upon serendipitously. We took a tour of the area, which was totally inspiring. Definitely a must when you're in the area. My trip to the Adirondacks was long overdue, it was the perfect setting for leaf peeping and hiking. Whiteface mountain offered amazing views of the "High Peaks". Lake placid is a beautiful village that I reckon, you'd want to stay in, when visiting the Adirondacks. It's rustic, and made for the adventurous at heart, if you're the outdoors kind, then this is perfect playground, any time of year.

SOOO HUGE! Our whole…read moregoal in trekking out to Lake George these past two years was to ride through this park. Two years of riding, and we STILL haven't covered it all. Great expanses are purely wild, though there's sprinklings of towns and resorts along the routes. Great rides up into the ranges, and gorgeous places to stop and wonder at the beauty. Don't expect to find a place to eat in every town. Plan ahead for the day. Some spots, on RT9N used to have resorts, and stores, but they mostly have closed. There's some great town names like Sawtooth, and Wolf Jaw. I keep resisting the urge to buy a canoe, but how would I haul it home on the motorcycle?

Great time. The yurt was very well equipped, clean, warm, and in a great location. Reservation…read moreprocess was totally smooth. Dog loved it.

I went here on a geology field trip many years ago, and I still dream about it. I had forgotten the…read morename of it, but I recently did a deep internet dive to find because I saw one of the coolest things I've ever seen here. One night on the field trip, my professor took the class down to the beach, which was quiet and misty. My professor then turned on a black light, and the whole beach lit up purple (from the carbonate sand) with pink polka-dots! The fall colors, in the daytime, were equally magical, and the ecological center was rustic and charming, with great hiking trails nearby. To any geology-enthusiasts - I highly recommend coming here and checking the place out!

We recently went to our family cabin in Long Lake with my in-laws. The last time they were up…read morevisiting they found this place after a neighbor told them it was a beautiful place to check out. We decided one day that wasn't great for being in the water to take a hike and check this place out. One you pull up you can walk into the welcome center. The welcome center had various literature, a few other rooms, restrooms, and a little children's play area. My daughter absolutely loved the play area as did I. They had a coloring station where you could make your own picture with stamps. They also had a big wall that was all chalkboard paint with pictures of animals on it. My daughter spent most of her time using the chalk and looking at the pictures. Once we were able to get outside we hike around blue trail. It is mostly dirt path with some wooden path. We were able to stop at a few lookouts and see Rich Lake. We didn't see any animals partly because it was cold. It was very nice and quiet walk. My daughter who is 20 months walked most of it with us before we had to carry her. She loved being able to walk and explore. The hike was nice and very easy. We ended out visit with some playing in the kids area before we headed back to our cabin. I would highly recommend a visit here while in the Adirondacks.

Now that my sons are age appropriate, we started some real hiking adventures this year during our…read moreannual Adirondacks vacation. Tackling the fire tower challenges seemed appropriate. We choose Goodnow Mountain as our first family challenge. It was a fun hike. I would rate easy to moderate. A few challenging ascents for novices but not for an experienced hiker. My sons, ages 8 and 10, loved the experience. The view from the top was unreal. Completely worth the sweat equity. We got there at 8:30am to see only 2 other cars. When we finished our descent, the lot was ~75% full. Get there early to enjoy the mountain and everything it has to offer.

As state park campgrounds go, this is a very good one. It has a semi wilderness feel, which I like…read more Most of the campsites are only reachable by boat, some by boat or hiking, and there are a handful of sites that can be driven up to. The sites are relatively primitive with the only amenities being a picnic table, outhouse and either a fire ring or stone fireplace. There is also a bear box at most sites big enough for an average size cooler and a few bags of food. There are bear in the area so it's highly recommended (in fact it may be a rule) that all your food goes in the box when you are sleeping, or away from camp. About 1/4 of the sites have a small floating dock, while the rest you have to land your boat on shore. Some of the landings can be rocky and a little slick, so watch out. The sites are a little close together for my taste, but thankfully not every one was occupied when we were there, so we had space. If you need a boat to get to your site, canoes are available for rent ($20 per day). You can swim right from your campsite, there is pretty good fishing for bass and the scenery is spectacular. Though I much prefer the nearby wilderness lakes and rivers when I want to go paddle camping, this is a very decent alternative if you're with people who don't want to leave civilization too far behind. Most sites are no more than a 30 minute paddle from the landing and Long Lake is a few minute drive. So if you need ice, food, drinks or a Wi-Fi connection, it's only a short distance away. The campground is pretty popular, so book early

If you want to get away from it all without going too far from civilization, Forked Lake…read more(pronounced For Ked Lake) is the place to go. It's got 79 sites, some primitive ones that you have hike or paddle to and a few sites for trailers and RV's. There's no flush toilets or showers but there is potable water and out houses. The lake is gorgeous, quiet, and pristine. About a third of the land around the lake is state land, the rest is mostly owned by Whitney Industries and when they say no trespassing, they really mean it. The only negative to this is there are the most aggressive deer flies I've ever seen.

A really fascinating place to visit for a decent hike/ tour. It's a self guided tour after you grab…read moreyour tickets inside the gift shop. There are some pretty incredible views & a few astounding caves you can explore. The trail features quite a bit of stairs & winding paths so come prepared (eg. walking stick if need be). We saw plenty of families, children & seniors on the trail so it's suitable for an array of people. We saved the coolest part for last: cracking open a few geodes. This is completely random but it's enchanting to wait & see what color is inside! We love this place.

Such a great day for kids while in the Adirondacks! The geode popping and activities at the end of…read morethe trail were fun.