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Lately it feels like I’m making a trip to the Adirondack Mountains every other weekend. With so much to do and a wilderness full of nature to enjoy up there, I look forward to my trips towards northern upstate New York for my next adventure. I don’t think I’ll make it up so much in the winter, but for now I’m enjoying the weather and spending time outdoors. Without further ado, here are some adventures for outdoor enthusiasts in the Adirondacks.
Hudson River Tubing
Lazy river tubing is a great way to beat the heat in the few months of hot weather upstate New York actually gets. If you go through Adirondack Tubing Adventures like I did, your tour guides will tell you that the area you’re tubing through is the cleanest part of the Hudson River. If you’ve visited New York City, you know how dirty the Hudson can get so it was a pleasant surprise that the water was pretty clear during our trip.
You also are free to bring any drinks and snacks you’d like. Cooler rafts are available to rent for either a float for your cooler, or a tube to fill with ice and use as your cooler. We found that bringing a small collapsible backpack cooler with a six pack was enough for us to just hold in the tube so we got to save a few bucks, but it’s definitely worth renting a cooler for around $10 if going with a big group. You can also tie the tubes together to keep everyone close. The only trouble is when the water is low you may scrape some rocks as you drift closer to shore or have to stand up and move your tube back into the deeper part of the water.
Boat Around the Adirondack’s Lake George
Since I’ve moved to upstate New York, I’ve noticed that the popular getaway here is to a family’s lake house. There are over 7,000 lakes in New York State ranging in size from tiny to the borders of two of the Great Lakes. One of the most popular lake destinations in the Adirondack Mountains is Lake George. Lake George has a range of activities, from Million Dollar Beach to parasailing, boating, or just walking around the charming Lake George Village.
Kayak on Lake Placid’s Mirror Lake
Lake Placid was home to two Winter Olympics but there are a ton of things to do in the summer in Lake Placid too. One of my personal favorites is getting a kayak and paddling around Mirror Lake. There are several places you can rent kayaks and other boats from, or get yourself an inflatable kayak like I got Mike for Christmas. The nice thing about Mirror Lake is that there are no motorized vehicles allowed on the lake, making the waters calm and serene with views of the mountains on one side and downtown on the other.
Visit the Lake Placid Olympic Sites
While you’re in Lake Placid, stop over at the nearby Olympic Jumping Complex to check out the ski jumps. You can even take an elevator to the top to get a birds eye view of the Adirondack Mountains. Other outdoor slides like Mt. Van Hoevenburg are host to the bobsled track along with plenty of cross country skiing in the winter. You can even try your hand at the biathlon, an Olympic event that combines cross country skiing and rifle shooting. In the summer try hiking to the summit of Mt. Van Hoevenburg, one of the Lake Placid 9 hikes. New in 2020 will be the brand new alpine coaster too which I am excited to try out!
Adirondack Treetop Ropes Course
When we went tubing a few weeks ago, there was a nearby advertisement for the treetop ropes course and ziplining course. While there are quite a few courses in the area, Adirondack Extreme Adventure Course has been rated one of the best 7 years in a row. The course is open from around May to November and there are multiple course packages to choose from with varying levels of difficulty. The courses look like a blast, but I’m not sure how well I would do with the heights from the treetops. Luckily you have a harness for the ropes to keep you from falling. Most places recommend that you book your trip in advance as they can sell out. If you do decide to go float with Adirondack Tubing Adventures, that site also has their own ropes course there that you can get a discount on.
Hike an Adirondack High Peak
There are 46 high peaks in the Adirondack mountains. If you’d like to start off relatively easy, the easiest by far is considered to be Cascade Mountain. For more information about hiking a high peak, check out my post on hiking Cascade Mountain. Many people will “daisy-chain” the mountains and hike from peak to peak to reach multiple summits in the same day. This takes significantly less time than hiking back down to the bottom of one and up the next. Hikers who reach the summit of all the high peaks are called “46ers”. If you’re interested in becoming a 46er, make sure to sign up for my newsletter and get a free printable checklist. If this seems a bit too intense, there are also much shorter, easier challenges including the Saranac Lake 6, Lake Placid 9, and Lake George 12.
Adirondack Railbiking in North Creek, NY
Railbiking is a fairly new activity for the Adirondacks area. Revolution Rail Co. in North Creek, NY has a few mile out and back trail where you ride on converted railbikes. These four-wheeled contraptions seat two or four people and even kids can join in the fun. The entire trip takes a few hours, with a break in the middle to turn the bikes around. We loved our trip despite a bit of rain. For more information check out my review on railbiking.
Adirondack Camping
If you’d like to extend your trip several days, consider camping in the Adirondacks as well. As with many wilderness areas, there are tons of places to camp. You can do everything from tent camping to “glamping”, a kind of luxury camping with tents that are closer to hotel rooms with far more amenities than your regular campsite. If you’re interested in trying glamping, check out places like Adirondack Safari. If you’re more into traditional camping or even primitive campsites there are a ton of options. We personally loved our campsite at Fish Creek Pond right along the water!
Pro Tip: Don’t have a tent? Our favorite is the Coleman Sundome 4 Person Tent. It’s inexpensive and kept us dry when it rained for 4 hours the night before this beautiful morning. You can check out all of our recommendations on our Gear page.
Skiing
Most of the things I’ve mentioned are more summer activities. Obviously one of the most popular activities in any mountains in the winter is skiing and snowboarding. Popular Adirondack mountains to ski at include Gore Mountain in North Creek and Whiteface Mountain up towards Lake Placid. I’m much more of a “sit and read books by the fire with a glass of wine” type of person, but if you’d like to hit the slopes this is a great spot to do it and is certainly one of the best areas on the East Coast for skiing.
Are you planning a trip to the Adirondacks? Let me know what you plan to do or if there are other adventures I’ve missed! I’d love to get some more recommendations to fill up my weekends!
