The Adirondacks, a road trip away from Long Island, is America's top fall destination, report says
Go glamping and hang by the pool in the Adirondacks. Credit: Chrissy Walther
With more than 6 million acres, it’s difficult not to find an abundance of autumnal splendor in the Adirondacks, where towering peaks and more than 3,000 lakes combine to create the rugged, primitive canvas upon which Mother Nature paints her annual masterpiece. Moreover, the Adirondacks’ geographical extensiveness and topographical variety generally enable you to take in all that autumn has to offer in the same trip.
The mountain region, a road trip away from Long Island, was recently named the top fall travel destination, according to booking platform Priceline, which analyzed user search data of U.S. hotels.Other locations included Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Stowe, Vermont and the Berkshires in Massachusetts. If you too have been Googling "the Adirondacks" — this guide will help you plan your trip.
Exploring the Adirondacks this fall
Book a tent in the Adirondacks. Credit: Chrissy Walther
BY CAR Since timing is indeed everything, the best advice is always to just "follow the colors." That said, some of the most reliably rewarding drives, all of them under 50 miles, include: Route 73 starting at Exit 30 of the Northway (I-87), technically now the High Peaks Scenic Byway, and continuing north through Keene Valley and Keene into Lake Placid; Route 28 starting at Exit 23 of the Northway and heading northwest through North Creek into the town of Blue Mountain Lake; Route 86 starting in Lake Placid and heading northeast past Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington and into Jay; and Route 30 starting alongside Great Sacandaga Lake in Mayfield and heading north to Speculator and then on to Indian Lake. The drive takes about five hours.
ON FOOT While merely walking through the woods is generally rewarding enough, you’ll find even more to enjoy from the top of a mountain. Some of the less strenuous fall foliage favorites include Sleeping Beauty near Lake George, Crane Mountain near Johnsburg, Baker Mountain near Saranac Lake, and Castle Rock near Blue Mountain Lake. For something decidedly more up close and personal, take the suspended, fenced catwalk through High Falls Gorge in Wilmington (highfallsgorge.com) or Ausable Chasm in Keeseville (ausablechasm.com).
OTHER VIEWING OPPORTUNITIES: Save yourself both time and energy by hitching a ride on the Cloudsplitter Gondola to the top of 4,867-foot Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington (whiteface.com) or the gondola or chairlift to the top of 3,563-foot Gore Mountain in North Creek (goremountain.com). You can also drive up Whiteface on the Veterans Memorial Highway (whiteface.com).
Nothing quite brings the fall colors into more aesthetic relief than seeing them from the middle of mountain-girded Lake George. Choose from among lunch, dinner, sunset or sightseeing cruises typically one to three hours long.
MORE INFO visitadirondacks.com
Newsday staff contributed to this story
