About the Adirondack Region

The Adirondack region has long held a special place in the American psyche. The very word 'Adirondacks' conjures up images of beautiful North Country woods, of pine needles, placid lakes, calling loons (a Native North American waterfowl with a distinctive, beautiful yodel) and the smell of a campfire. The Adirondacks have attracted visitors for over two centuries and are the home of both simple backwoodsmen and the very rich. It is quite possible that nowhere on earth will you find a more delightful way to enjoy the great outdoors than in the Adirondacks Region of New York state. So come on! Put on a flannel shirt and a cap, don some shorts, rent an Indian canoe and get out there and enjoy the trails, trees and lakes that have made this area deservedly famous throughout the world!

Originally, the only way to explore the Adirondacks was by water. The great rivers and lakes were the initial highways providing transport into and through the vast Adirondack wilderness. Today these same waters furnish visitors to Franklin County with an unequalled vacation experience. More than 240 pristine mountain lakes and ponds and hundreds of miles of trout streams and rivers afford the setting for water recreation opportunities including fishing, swimming, canoeing, sailing, water-skiing and exploring.

Read what some of the top outdoor magazine's have to say about this breathtaking region:

'The top of the smooth gray rock ledge rising like a whale's back from the cool waters of Middle Saranac is as warm as a sauna's wooden bench. Lying on the bare rock, I feel that I've finally arrived in the Adirondack Park and for the first time I'm relaxed. The islands float in the breeze and the underlying rock shield rims the lake, breaking through the surface occasionally to provide exquisite campsites and the finest swimming spots. I close my eyes and lean back. It's peaceful moments like this that make people want to live here.' - Backpacker Magazine

'The day had dawned with soft raindrops, but I had faith and, by the time I started up St Regis Mountain, near Paul Smiths, the woods were dappled with sunlight. I climbed through forests that smelled of damp pine and sweet earth on this perfect 60-degree morning with not a thought in my head, grinning at the tiny toads, that scrambled out of my way. On top, I sat on a flat slab of rock in complete privacy - the payoff for early rising hikers. Ridge after ridge ringed the 360-degree view - Marcy and the High Peaks, Whiteface and Ampersand - and what looked like a hundred lakes spread out, interlocking, mysteriously glittering...' - Gourmet Magazine