Adirondacks State Park - Winter Sports

Snow Sports Overview: Adirondacks State Park

Adirondacks, New York

At the Mount Van Hoevenberg Recreation Area, between Lake Placid and Keene, the site of the 1980 Olympics has been turned into a 20-mile network of connecting trails built to international standards.
The 25-mile Jackrabbit Trail is one the most popular ski trails in the region, running between Keene and Saranac Lake. You’ll pass downtown Lake Placid and its Olympic Village en route.
For machine-groomed, well-maintained trails suitable for both traditional diagonal stride and ski-skating, try Crandall Park in Glens Falls. The trails are professionally designed and maintained by volunteers, and the skiing is free.
The famed Northville-Lake Placid Trail is good for hiking, and many of its 133 miles also are suitable for ungroomed, backcountry skiing. The section from Benson to Silver Lake Lean-to is a well-graded 6.3 mile climb, which means an easy 6.3 mile return.

A thin blue line on the map separates the Adirondacks from the world of madcap development. The park covers six million acres—an area larger than the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite combined.
The Ausable River is considered among the best fly-fishing rivers in the East. Its three branches, especially the West Branch, have rich insect hatches along with ample falls and pools for trout.
Route 28 runs from the Catskills to the Adirondacks in the central part of the state. In the Adirondacks, the road from Forestport to Blue Mountain Lake winds—often on a high plateau—past scenic lakes, woods, and rustic towns.
New York State operates a system of island campgrounds in Lake George that allow you to boat out to one of these small islands and live, for a time, smack dab in the middle of Lake George's gorgeous expanse. If you bring your fishing pole, chances are that you'll be dining on trout amandine rather than freeze-dried chili.

By Travel Expert: Karen Berger

The Adirondacks was the first great preserved wilderness, and it's still the one closest to home for New York's metropolitan hordes.
Here you’ll find 3,000 ponds and lakes, 2,000 miles of hiking trail, nearly 100 campgrounds and, of course, the Adirondack Mountains.
At the Mount Van Hoevenberg Recreation Area, the site of the 1980 Olympics has been turned into a 20-mile network of connecting cross-country ski trails built to international standards.
The famed Northville-Lake Placid Trail is good for hiking, and many of its 133 miles also are suitable for ungroomed, backcountry skiing in the winter.

By Travel Expert: Karen Berger