Hiking the Adirondacks

Since we've been in the Adirondacks region of upstate New York, one of our main activities has been to be outside hiking, enjoying nature, and seeing some spectacular views.  We did a little bit of hiking in Lake George, but it's been a mainstay of our activity in Lake Placid.  We're exclusively day hikers. Whether it's a 30 minute out and back at some overlook along the road or a 12 hour all-day hike in the mountains, we like to hike and then come back to a nice room and a hot shower.  I know a lot of people who love to camp and definitely see the appeal, but it's just not our thing.

This trip has been a lot of 1-3 hour hikes in different parts of the region.  We're actually staying in Wilmington, a little hamlet next to Lake Placid that is the home to Whiteface Mountain, a major ski area and host of the Lake Placid skiing events.  We could drive to the top of Whiteface, but then it's another 20-30 minute climb up to the summit -- a steep incline of rocks and stairs.  Fortunately, they've put railings up to help you as there were sections you needed it to help pull you up.  We were well rewarded with spectacular views of Lake Placid and the surrounding valleys.

Summit of Baker Mountain at Saranac Lake

On Sunday, Lake Placid was hosting it's annual Ironman Competition so many roads were closed and it was difficult to get in and around the town.  We drove over to the Saranac Lake area which is only about 30 minutes from where we're staying but took almost an hour because of the roundabout way we had to drive because of the road closures.  We hiked Baker Mountain and had more wonderful views.

High Falls Gorge

Two more unique hikes we did involved hiking down instead of up.  High Falls Gorge was a short hike down to see waterfalls in a section of the Ausable River.  These falls are right next to the main road between Lake Placid and Wilmington, but because of the angle of the road and the the trees, you can't see them from the road.  While this was a fun little hike, the most impressive was probably Ausable Chasm.

We had to drive back towards Vermont as Ausable Chasm is next to Lake Champlain. Self-proclaimed as the Grand Canyon of the East, the Chasm isn't remotely close to the depths and wonder of the Grand Canyon, but relative to the surrounding area, it's impressive and unlike the Grand Canyon, it's easy to access and walk in the canyon and it's towering walls.

Ausable Chasm

Both High Falls Gorge and Ausable Chasm are actually privately owned and charge admission.  We didn't mind paying as they've built stairs and walkways to get you closer (and safer) to the action and access to areas wouldn't otherwise be possible. Ausable Chasm also has opportunities to float down the river and see the chasm from a whole new perspective as well as adventure areas including rope bridges and zip lines over the chasm.  We didn't have time to do the adventure activities as we arrived too late in the day.  That will be top of the list on our next visit.