I was one of the lucky ones! Between 1950 and 1960 I was raised on Long Island and in New York City. In 1960 my parents moved us up to a small town called Pottersville on the southeast side of the Adirondack Park. At the time I had just turned 9 years old and I was introduced into a totally new world. Even the schools were different. I began third grade with 16 other children. When I graduated I graduated with those same 16 children. For those of us who remain alive we've stayed friends our entire lives. Unfortunately the small community schools that went from kindergarten through 12th grade have disappeared for the most part. But my education outside the classroom was as important as anything I learned in the classroom. The world is a beautiful place. There's so much beyond the concrete and asphalt that surrounds many of us. Believe it or not I grew up from many years without running water; we had no telephone; we had no car; we heated with wood stove and kerosene; we lived 3 mi outside Pottersville which itself is only 500 people. If the weather was good we got one television station WCAX television from Burlington Vermont on a black and white TV. When the weather was bad all we had was the radio and there were very few channels that we could pick up. Many of you reading this probably think that you couldn't survive in a world like that. But I'm here to tell you that I miss that world incredibly. If my health were not an impediment at this time I'd be back there right now. I left that world 53 years ago, but it remains home in my heart.
Schroon Lake, Indian Lake, Lake Pleasant off old Route 9. My family had a camp on the Sacandaga and we went on hunting and fishing trips up your way in the 60s. Been around and lived in a fair portion of the world since then and nothing has the distinctive feels, smells and diversity of the Adirondacks.
I grew up way out in the sticks, we had an outhouse, outdoor shower and lived in a small one room shingle house. We got one TV station on the old black and white TV. The phone was a party line. Wood cook stove, we did have fridge and an old wringer washer that grandma got her blouse caught a time or two. We lived 20 miles from the nearest town of a population of less than 1000. This was Oregon in 1980! Lol I have lived rural my entire life and wouldn’t change a thing. I was raised by my grandparents.
I grew up in Far Rockaway (Queens) and Inwood (Five Towns area of Nassau County). My dad bought a small camp on the north end of Loon Lake on Route 9 in the 1950s and we vacationed there every summer and sometimes for the entire summer. It was right next to The Cove owned by Cliff and Shirley. I remember sitting in the Washing Well in Pottersville in the 1960s where mom did laundry and I also watched as the Northway was being built over Fish Creek. My first part time job was at the Wells House. A friend and I both worked there and two jobs I distinctly remember was clearing out the basement and under the porch. There was a LOT of stuff under the porch! We also carried out all the old iron radiators down the stairs and over to the gas station for salvage. Don't remember if it was Roger Pete's back then. Also did some part time work for Three Way Trucking (next to The Glendale) when they had a highway wreck that needed some cleanup. Like unloading 800 bags of wet peat out of a tractor trailer crash. Got that job by knowing the kids, Kal and Eddie Rosner. I also remember George Martin. Tough fire plug of a man! Saw quite a few movies at the Glendale drive in. In my later years I remember many a night downing brews and shooting pool in Butch Stetson's Black Bear. Starting around 2016 my job transitioned to 100% work from home, so I asked if it mattered where home was, within reason. At the time the client was in Rochester, NY and my company and the client gave me the go to relocate to the house my parents had bought just outside of Chestertown.
My parents were true "Adirondackers." My father was born in 1913 in a farmhouse that belonged to Paul Smith. Paul passed away that year. I spent many days exploring the Gabriels, Saranac areas and canoed extensively through most of the Adirondacks. 40 years ago I purchased a camp in Crown Point and my dad, a stroke victim, got to see it and the beautiful waterfall on the property. He could do nothing but cry tears of joy. Thank you for this wonderful depiction of the land I grew up loving ever so dearly.
My father owned about 13 acres near Loon Lake around 25 miles north of Saranac Lake. It was the most beautiful place on earth as far as I was concerned. Going out to the boat at 5 AM and the sun just coming up along with the sound of the occasional Loon or beaver smacking it’s tail on the water to warn the others was so soothing I can remember it like it was yesterday. The smallmouth bass and pike fishing was out of this world. As long as it wasn’t black fly or dear fly season, you could go out on the lake at night when it was pitch black and calm and see every single star in the sky, it was amazing. I relish those days.
I do a lot of early morning bass fishing (on the water before sunrise) on Loon Lake. Being on a mirror-still lake with a mist so thick you can't see more than 50 feet and hearing the loons calling is awesome. The last five or so years I've also been seeing a lot of eagles. Watching a full grown eagle flying above and then settling high up in a pine is pretty cool too. Amazingly big birds with the black and white feathers and big hooked yellow beak. Incredible! Another experience is while solo backpacking in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness and being awakened at 2 or 3 AM by the howling of coyotes. It's so eerily beautiful. What actually startled the heck out of me one morning and at a similar time was a loud BAM! Sounded like a gunshot going off. I waited in my sleeping bag for a minute or two, seeing if I could hear anything else, and when I didn't got out of my bag, unzipped the tent and stepped outside. I was on a beaver pond where the trout fishing was excellent so there I am, in my skivvies standing on the shore of this beaver pond at 2 or 3 AM. Suddenly I saw ripples in the water. It was a beaver and all of a sudden it went under and in doing so slapped its big tail on the water's surface with an explosive BAM! LOL!
My parents bought a camp on the east side of Schroon Lake in 1961, directly across from what was known as Camp Cayuga and a couple of driveways north of Camp Red Wing. We drove up to this camp every summer weekend before the Adirondack Northway was built, and for two weeks every summer when my father's business closed down for two weeks for maintenance. I loved every minute of it, not just in a nostalgic way, but even when it was happening. Our camp was my second home for 40 years. I knew every inch of it!! Because of the stress of upkeep, my parents had to sell it in 2001 or so, I really miss it. However, I have my Mom and Dad to thank for introducing me the Adirondacks. THE BEST PLACE ON EARTH!
I was born in Plattsburgh in 1961, and spent nearly the first ten years of my life in a small hamlet some 30 miles south, Keeseville, located on the forest preserve, and also situated around both banks of the Ausable River. Lake Champlain was a short car ride away, Burlington was a ferry ride from Port Kent. While I grow old in San Antonio, Texas, and love this city for what it is and what I've been shaped by living here, it's Keeseville, the river, and the forest that have essentially shaped what you could call my spirit. The Adirondacks remain my spiritual home.
@@marybradt805 It is a beautiful lake! A couple times a year I drive through Indian Lake on my way to Moose River Plains for some brookie fishing. Sometimes I also haul my 10" dob scope back there and set up just before where it transitions to a seasonal road. Got to be one of the darkest places East of the Mississippi! Once my eyes adjust and on a moonless night I can see faint shadows cast by starlight. At least half a dozen DSOs are visible to the naked eye and Andromeda is spectacular, as is the Milky Way. It never, ever gets old.
The ADK are absolutely beautiful! New York is the most beautiful and diverse state in the nation. We literally have it all - city, beaches, and wilderness.
@@RogueReplicant Clearly you haven't been to the Hamptons or Fire Island. You probably don't even live in California. You're probably some fool in flyover country.
@dezafinado There is no city like NYC in the U.S. Not even close. I've lived in London, Paris, Tokyo, Zurich, Jburg, and Madrid. NYC reigns supreme. The west coast has beautiful beaches and surroundings, but no city worth living in.
As a kid my mom and I, GanMa and friends over many years would go to Forked Lake beginning with Memorial Day 1967. We had a Grumman aluminum canoe mounted on top of of a 1965 Volkswagen Beetle . Many trips, many VW’s later … culminating with her last trip, Labor Day weekend 1985. She asked to have hers ash’s. Spread over her favorite place . Among my. cherished memories are the sounds. She always had a portable tape recorder running at night. The sound of the Loons, howling coyotes in the far off night. The slap of a beavers tale, snapping of logs in the campfire . Conversations on the events of that trip. Seems so far away now.
My dad and his brother inlaw along with a few other guys used to have those old vw's and would modify them into dune buggies but for mountain trails when we'd spend summer weekends at a place in the mountains my grandparents bought. Your story made me remember them😊😊😊 thanks!
The Adirondacks are a place like no other in the US! I grew up wanting a log cabin at the base of the Rockies in Montana, with acres and acres of land. As I got older and explored more of our country, Ft. Collins/Boulder, CO was where I really wanted to be, but that was far from family and my kids - not to mention the droughts, wildfires, hail storms, shootings, etc. I spent a lot of time hiking up in the ADK's last summer in various parts, and I just fell in love with the beauty of it all - so much so that I moved here a couple months ago!! I can't imagine ever leaving, or living anywhere else now!!!! My house serves as base camp for soooo many different adventures here within the park - hiking, kayaking, biking, sightseeing, exploring. I hope to add fly-fishing to that list one day as well, but there is so much to see and do here, and it's just an immense, untouched wilderness that brings so much serenity to any individual!!! I love it!!
I moved into my house in May, but I found it late February and came up in March for various inspections and never had any issues with plowed roads. I’ve not experienced a full winter yet, but I’ve lived upstate before (outside of Utica) and snow removal up here has always been very good, so I’d imagine the same here in the park. We shall see! I work from home so that’s less of a concern for me, but kids still need to get to school and those buses aren’t 4WD so the roads over and around the mountains (of which there are many steep windy roads) must be pretty darn good IMO
@@VoodooLounge612Where are you? I'm just outside Chestertown (Loon, Brant, Friends and Schroon Lakes area). I work from home too as of 2016 and moved here in 2018 into what was once the parents house. The family had a camp on Loon Lake since the 50s, but when dad retired he sold that along with his house on Long Island and bought the house outside Chestertown. It seems to me the winters brought more snow in the 60s and 70s, however the east side of the 'Dacks usually doesn't get as much snow as the west side. This past winter was easy until March and then we got a few storms of wet and heavy snow, two dumping a foot or so and the last over 2 feet. I lived outside Syracuse, NY in B'ville from 2008-2012. Now that's a place that gets hammered with snow. Winter of 2010-2011 we got hit with 190" and it was just short of the record. Go north of Syracuse to Tug Hill Plateau and the *average* snowfall there is about 240". Anyway they are pretty good with snow removal here in Warren County and Town of Chester, and I do have a Silverado 4WD so it really doesn't hinder me.
@@justasimpleguy7211 Sorry for the very delayed response here!!! Things have been a little hectic these past few months, between work and adding a new puppy to my household. Thanks for replying to my post. I'm in Lake Luzerne, overlooking the Hudson, just across from Corinth. I lived on LI for a brief time. Do NOT miss that at all!!! Lived in Oyster Bay, Bay Shore, and mostly Copiague. Don't believe I've been over Chestertown way yet exploring. I seem to recall passing thru on my way to one of my other stops, but haven't actually spent much time around that area. All of those challenges are on my list though!!! I work from home as well, for a company out of PA and have to head in 1x/Quarter. Not a bad gig really. Sounds like you have a nice place of your own as well!!!
As a young child in the 1970's my father took the family camping by Cranberry Lake 5yrs in a row. Such wonderful times and memories. I absolutely loved it there and still do to this very day
A National treasure. Spent so much time climbing the High Peaks Region. I remember the first real peak my Boys climbed - Blue Mountain. Thank you Empire State.
The Adirondack Mountains are, definitely, some of my favourite mountains in the United States; to me, they are quite reminiscent of the Jura Mountains (Switzerland/France).
Maybe a little bit, but the mountains in Switzerland that you mentioned are so fractured and the forest have been decimated there.. the Adirondacks are intact and that is what makes it so special
Beautiful country. I live down state in the Catskill Mountains but have hunted, fished, camped there many, many times over the past 50 years. Just gorgeous and great people. I really hope they can find a way that will work best for the local people and their towns. Good Luck.
Spent many a glorious summer up in Wilmington and Upper Jay. I learned how to ride a horse and how to whistle like a sailor. Five teenagers galloping over pasture land near the PaleFace Dude ranch. Oh, what a life I fondly remember!!
I will always remember the Adirondacks. A pretty long time ago I, a European, was living in the Adirondacks for a couple of months. In late August we were a taking a 3-day-trip to Lake Lila. I remember thinking: I should have come 4 weeks earlier in order to be able to enjoy this area so much more! We were camping, canoeing, hiking - and getting fresh salmon directly from the lake which we ate at the campfire in the evening. I remember that the water was so clean. We saw big deer which weren't shy at all. We were sitting on the rocks on top of Mt. Fredrica and enjoying the magnificent view. Wonderful memories. And this is a truly wonderful, very interesting and very professional video.
My mother grew up in a large, 3 story house in Lowville. You could sit on the top of the roof and see the mountains of the Adirondacks. Nothing more beautiful than to live in a little village within 2 hours drive of the Park to visit these Lakes in the Fall.
My wife has been going since the early 90's I joined her family on the trip in 2008. Loved it ever since. Unfortunately time changes things. Not more family on her side ad no more trip to the ADK. We haven't been in a bout 3-4 years. Hopefully returning this year 2023. We have missed it dearly. We spread my mother in-laws ashes there. She loved it so much. Can't wait to return. Nothing else like it. I mean I'm sure there are other lovely state/national parks and places to go. But for people like us, with generations of memories there, nothing compares
Adironack is really neat. You have to like the 3 seasons. Winter spring/summer for 2 months and winter. If you don’t have chronic arthritis and other aliments that respond negatively to damp weather it’s a beautiful area.
It's my hometown & it was wonderful growing up here while living on the lake - swimming, waterskiing, boating, fishing, snow skiing, ice skating on the lake out front of our home, snowmobiling, mountain climbing & then being able to come back here in retirement to live in our family home.
I have camped and fished in the Adirondacks with my uncle. Beautiful place and great fishing. We used to go there at least once a year. Most of the time we camped at Moose River Recreation Area. The first campsite is like eight miles into the park.
Now that’s wild!! I’m in New Jersey, only 5 or 6 hours away. I’ve never been there before but I’m really looking forward to seeing the Adirondacks soon. I’m a photographer and I love kayaking. How can I go wrong? The place seems ideal for me. Looks like everything I was looking for in Northern California but never found. Solid, down to earth people and the kind of diversity you just don’t see on the west coast. Simple as that.
This was my Father and Friends place to Hunt in the 50's 60's, went to the Adirondack SNAKE FARM a few times as a youngster and it scared the eebeegeebees out of me. Those snakes were in a round Glass Cage and they were HUGE. We camped in our home built over the Cab camper that sat on the old pickup truck, 6 kids and Mom & Dad. 60+ years ago and I still remember the Mountains Beauty like it was yesterday. Even a Farmer took a mini vacation back in those days cause the Adirondacks provided a food source for the family and taught us deeper about the Greatness of Wilderness and memories you'll never forget. Upstate Raised as well.
My home where I grew up. I wanted my whole life to live in a big city. 17 years later all I want is to go back home! Just beauty everyday and good people. Who care about there neighbor!
My great, great Grandfather Paul Crego was a guide in the Adirondack's in the late 1860's. He must have lived a fascinating life. I loved to camp there in my 20'. It has always had a special place in my heart. Thank you for this documentary.
THANK YOU for THIS vid! The Adirondacks are amazingly beautiful…Those loons’ calls are unique; I could listen to that forever…! BEST OF LUCK in your oversight of these birds…. 👍🏻👍🏻😃
I have acamp up on lincoln pond which is about 6 miles from Elizabethtown which l have owned for 36 years absolutely love it so peaceful and quiet on 6acres
I went camping there,the Air is the most freshest I ever smelled,we went camping there,hung our garbage in a tree,a Bear came back 3 times I could hear him BREATHING,CHEWING CHICKEN BONES, I was TERRIFIED ❤😂
Thank you so very much for the flood of pleasant memories of backpacking, skiing, and High Peaks moments that your extremely well done documentary have brought back to me, including the 1980 Olympics, after which my wife and friends skied the Olympic trails and Whiteface Mtn. I am near tears and so miss Upstate NY and the Adirondacks. Thanks, again, Stress R Us
Yes. Adirondack was so huge and it reminded that NY state is also large and lot of to offer. Maybe America’s best kept secret which most people don’t know yet. This is such a wonderful, lovely and informative video.😊 I was living in Saranac Lake during Corona pandemic leaving NYC for 1 year and half. It was very difficult time for everyone. But It was such a beautiful place surrounded by many beautiful lakes and huge mountains all over.
In NE Illinois Lake County near me just south of the Wisconsin border there is a Lake called (Loon Lake) which was a resort destination stating in the 1880's. As a historian I have seen an early explorers drawn map with Indian Mounds and villages which were occupied until the ( Indian Removal Act) which was a treaty of several tribes that occupied the area prior to 1836. This area has many archeological finds including Mammoths and Mastadons. This resort area was referred to as the Newport of the west at that time. Now it is just called the (Chain of Lakes). and used for water recreation and some summer estates for wealthy Chicagoans and Milwaukeeans. The Lake Geneva ,With was always a summer escape for wealthy Industialists.
The winter Olympics were hosted twice in the ADK. There is no comparison. I live in NYC now and can tell you, Lake Geneva, Michigan, Indiana Dunes, Wisconsin Dells are nothing compared to the ADK or the Catskills.
@@DTMyles I agree. Have you been north of Duluth, MN in the summer? I love the cliffs overlooking Lake Superior! The Dells are very touristy. Door County and The Apostle Islands are beautiful areas of WI.
I grew up in central NY, and back in the 60s, in late August or early September every year, my family would rent a cabin for a week at one of the camps just north of Old Forge. Now, as an old man living in Florida, I recall those weeks with great fondness and have always wished that I had the financial means to own a cabin on a lake where I had some of my most cherished times as a young boy.
The "Ring Rainbow" created by the photographer's shadow on the clouds is called a "Glory", if I remember correctly. According to one story it is the source of the concept of the halo.
I grew up in NY and spent almost a year in the Adirondack mountains. I was in love from day one there. Although I do not support alot of the political statement there, I still love NY and grew up with conservation. I think I may have an idea to save the communities in the park without changing a thing and keeping the natural beauty. I live in Texas now and I believe we as a country should preserve such places for centuries to come.
I've traveled to the Smokies, the Rockies, beautiful places on the Gulf Coast but the Adirondacks take a back seat to nobody. Breathtaking countryside. Take the Northway up to the Canadian border if you want to see it. Beautiful trees the size of office buildings on both sides of the road. Giant birch and spruce. Around every bend in the road.
I lived in Hamilton County for 32 years. FYI; It's the third largest county in NY. The population is 5,000. There are no stop lights in the entire county. AND the natives like it this way!!
I am a Lake George social studies teacher. You probably don't know the Roger's Rock history. Robert Roger was a British major in the French and Indian War who formed several battalions of soldier who faught Indian style. Hit and Run. The Roger's Ranger were light infantry soldiers who dressed in all green uniforms. The Roger's Rangers were forerunners of the US Rangers. In 1758 the Roger's Rangers stumbled into a French+Indian ambush in which killed most of 180 men. Battle of Snowshoe 1758. According to local legend, Robert Rogers slidesd down Roger's Rock to escape. Robert Rogers died a hopeless drunk.
I went to College in Decatur Alabama in 1974, had a friend whose dad was a salesman who covered Selmer and Adamsville, he hung at the bars in the area and he invited us to go there one weekend, naturally we were interested due to the recent movie, we ended up at huge tailgate party at burnt out building parking lot, everyone at this event were very drunk and told the same story that you are telling, could anyone remember what bar this could have been?
I miss living and working at Whiteface Mtn and also the four seasons and the variety of outdoor gigs I was able to get paid for and enjoy myself! All the perks bc it sure wasn’t monetary, but it was so much more fulfilling, I was rich! And felt like a millionaire!
Long cold winters with loads of snow , short humid summer, bugs out the wazoo, seemed liked it rained every weekend. No job opportunities. Nice travelog though.
I grew up on a lake in kansas, and i would welcome loon populations. All we have are mallards, blue herons and canadian geese (aka the bane of my existence...) What im seeing of the adriondacks here reminds me of the lake i grew up on, many rustic aryle houses and the main clubhouse built in 1909 is built 100% in that style. Its on the national historic registry, called lake of the forest in bonner springs, kansas
It's a crying shame how New York state is being run into the ground when they have a national treasure like this. Born and raised in upstate myself, I would spend summers as a child at a YMCA camp in the Adirondacks, as well as visiting relatives in Lake Placid. As an adult however, I've moved to NH - a much freer state with similar geography (White Mountains). I enjoy coming back to visit, especially the Adirondacks, but will never live there again.
Reason why they named them the Adirondack Mountains because there used to be an old farmer that drove his tractor through the valley in the engine had a rod knock you could hear for miles.
I'll try try again one day. I did avoid black flies, but mosquitoes... it was difficult to simply "go hiking"... I did NOT appreciate the private-public combo... but, I didn't plan. I'll try again one day. NOT the summer. Lol. Some places are great to simply "drop in", some are not. It's all good.
Ticks, fleas, black flies, mosquitos, deer flies. It's imposdible to be outside from April thru September. So yeah, if you want to permanently damage your skin and be scarred for life come to ADK for a weekend and be eaten alive by bugs. Lots of Lyme disease now too which didn't exist when we were kids making our fond memories.
I was one of the lucky ones! Between 1950 and 1960 I was raised on Long Island and in New York City. In 1960 my parents moved us up to a small town called Pottersville on the southeast side of the Adirondack Park. At the time I had just turned 9 years old and I was introduced into a totally new world. Even the schools were different. I began third grade with 16 other children. When I graduated I graduated with those same 16 children. For those of us who remain alive we've stayed friends our entire lives. Unfortunately the small community schools that went from kindergarten through 12th grade have disappeared for the most part. But my education outside the classroom was as important as anything I learned in the classroom. The world is a beautiful place. There's so much beyond the concrete and asphalt that surrounds many of us. Believe it or not I grew up from many years without running water; we had no telephone; we had no car; we heated with wood stove and kerosene; we lived 3 mi outside Pottersville which itself is only 500 people. If the weather was good we got one television station WCAX television from Burlington Vermont on a black and white TV. When the weather was bad all we had was the radio and there were very few channels that we could pick up. Many of you reading this probably think that you couldn't survive in a world like that. But I'm here to tell you that I miss that world incredibly. If my health were not an impediment at this time I'd be back there right now. I left that world 53 years ago, but it remains home in my heart.
Schroon Lake, Indian Lake, Lake Pleasant off old Route 9. My family had a camp on the Sacandaga and we went on hunting and fishing trips up your way in the 60s. Been around and lived in a fair portion of the world since then and nothing has the distinctive feels, smells and diversity of the Adirondacks.
I grew up way out in the sticks, we had an outhouse, outdoor shower and lived in a small one room shingle house. We got one TV station on the old black and white TV. The phone was a party line. Wood cook stove, we did have fridge and an old wringer washer that grandma got her blouse caught a time or two. We lived 20 miles from the nearest town of a population of less than 1000. This was Oregon in 1980! Lol I have lived rural my entire life and wouldn’t change a thing. I was raised by my grandparents.
I grew up in Far Rockaway (Queens) and Inwood (Five Towns area of Nassau County). My dad bought a small camp on the north end of Loon Lake on Route 9 in the 1950s and we vacationed there every summer and sometimes for the entire summer. It was right next to The Cove owned by Cliff and Shirley. I remember sitting in the Washing Well in Pottersville in the 1960s where mom did laundry and I also watched as the Northway was being built over Fish Creek.
My first part time job was at the Wells House. A friend and I both worked there and two jobs I distinctly remember was clearing out the basement and under the porch. There was a LOT of stuff under the porch! We also carried out all the old iron radiators down the stairs and over to the gas station for salvage. Don't remember if it was Roger Pete's back then. Also did some part time work for Three Way Trucking (next to The Glendale) when they had a highway wreck that needed some cleanup. Like unloading 800 bags of wet peat out of a tractor trailer crash. Got that job by knowing the kids, Kal and Eddie Rosner. I also remember George Martin. Tough fire plug of a man!
Saw quite a few movies at the Glendale drive in. In my later years I remember many a night downing brews and shooting pool in Butch Stetson's Black Bear.
Starting around 2016 my job transitioned to 100% work from home, so I asked if it mattered where home was, within reason. At the time the client was in Rochester, NY and my company and the client gave me the go to relocate to the house my parents had bought just outside of Chestertown.
Wow inspiring sir . I hope you get back out there I think the trip itself would be worth it . Good luck
Sounds like a blessing
My parents were true "Adirondackers." My father was born in 1913 in a farmhouse that belonged to Paul Smith. Paul passed away that year. I spent many days exploring the Gabriels, Saranac areas and canoed extensively through most of the Adirondacks. 40 years ago I purchased a camp in Crown Point and my dad, a stroke victim, got to see it and the beautiful waterfall on the property. He could do nothing but cry tears of joy. Thank you for this wonderful depiction of the land I grew up loving ever so dearly.
So glad you enjoyed the film.
Thanks for sharing, the story made me feel joy. I'm happy for you!
My father owned about 13 acres near Loon Lake around 25 miles north of Saranac Lake. It was the most beautiful place on earth as far as I was concerned. Going out to the boat at 5 AM and the sun just coming up along with the sound of the occasional Loon or beaver smacking it’s tail on the water to warn the others was so soothing I can remember it like it was yesterday. The smallmouth bass and pike fishing was out of this world. As long as it wasn’t black fly or dear fly season, you could go out on the lake at night when it was pitch black and calm and see every single star in the sky, it was amazing. I relish those days.
Thank you for sharing.
@@BuffaloTorontoPublicMedia👍 you are welcome
I love the smell of the Adirondacks,
and the yellow and brown signs.
Once you hear a loon at 3AM, you are never the same.
The loon is the greatest sound in nature
Felt that way in Alaska. I live around Loons
So true 👍
I do a lot of early morning bass fishing (on the water before sunrise) on Loon Lake. Being on a mirror-still lake with a mist so thick you can't see more than 50 feet and hearing the loons calling is awesome. The last five or so years I've also been seeing a lot of eagles. Watching a full grown eagle flying above and then settling high up in a pine is pretty cool too. Amazingly big birds with the black and white feathers and big hooked yellow beak. Incredible!
Another experience is while solo backpacking in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness and being awakened at 2 or 3 AM by the howling of coyotes. It's so eerily beautiful.
What actually startled the heck out of me one morning and at a similar time was a loud BAM! Sounded like a gunshot going off. I waited in my sleeping bag for a minute or two, seeing if I could hear anything else, and when I didn't got out of my bag, unzipped the tent and stepped outside. I was on a beaver pond where the trout fishing was excellent so there I am, in my skivvies standing on the shore of this beaver pond at 2 or 3 AM. Suddenly I saw ripples in the water. It was a beaver and all of a sudden it went under and in doing so slapped its big tail on the water's surface with an explosive BAM! LOL!
My parents bought a camp on the east side of Schroon Lake in 1961, directly across from what was known as Camp Cayuga and a couple of driveways north of Camp Red Wing. We drove up to this camp every summer weekend before the Adirondack Northway was built, and for two weeks every summer when my father's business closed down for two weeks for maintenance. I loved every minute of it, not just in a nostalgic way, but even when it was happening. Our camp was my second home for 40 years. I knew every inch of it!! Because of the stress of upkeep, my parents had to sell it in 2001 or so, I really miss it. However, I have my Mom and Dad to thank for introducing me the Adirondacks. THE BEST PLACE ON EARTH!
I was born in Plattsburgh in 1961, and spent nearly the first ten years of my life in a small hamlet some 30 miles south, Keeseville, located on the forest preserve, and also situated around both banks of the Ausable River. Lake Champlain was a short car ride away, Burlington was a ferry ride from Port Kent. While I grow old in San Antonio, Texas, and love this city for what it is and what I've been shaped by living here, it's Keeseville, the river, and the forest that have essentially shaped what you could call my spirit. The Adirondacks remain my spiritual home.
Love keesville. Gem of a town
A lucky person.
I am so fortunate to live in the adirondacks on one of its beautiful lakes .....it never gets old...
Which lake if you don’t mind me asking?
@@ryanblanchard2508 indian lake
@@marybradt805 It is a beautiful lake! A couple times a year I drive through Indian Lake on my way to Moose River Plains for some brookie fishing. Sometimes I also haul my 10" dob scope back there and set up just before where it transitions to a seasonal road. Got to be one of the darkest places East of the Mississippi! Once my eyes adjust and on a moonless night I can see faint shadows cast by starlight. At least half a dozen DSOs are visible to the naked eye and Andromeda is spectacular, as is the Milky Way. It never, ever gets old.
The ADK are absolutely beautiful! New York is the most beautiful and diverse state in the nation. We literally have it all - city, beaches, and wilderness.
And murder
NY beaches suck, it cannot compare with California in every category including wine country, agriculture, etc.
@@RogueReplicant Clearly you haven't been to the Hamptons or Fire Island. You probably don't even live in California. You're probably some fool in flyover country.
Head west... city, beaches, wilderness. You'll be surprised.
@dezafinado There is no city like NYC in the U.S. Not even close. I've lived in London, Paris, Tokyo, Zurich, Jburg, and Madrid. NYC reigns supreme. The west coast has beautiful beaches and surroundings, but no city worth living in.
I agree that the Adirondacks is one of America's most beautiful. It is right up there with Yosemite and Yellowstone.
I was expecting a two hour documentary about chairs
Hilarious😂
Your vibe is what makes the hardship lighter…keep on keep on’ On.
As a kid my mom and I, GanMa and friends over many years would go to Forked Lake beginning with Memorial Day 1967. We had a Grumman aluminum canoe mounted on top of of a 1965 Volkswagen Beetle . Many trips, many VW’s later … culminating with her last trip, Labor Day weekend 1985. She asked to have hers ash’s. Spread over her favorite place . Among my. cherished memories are the sounds. She always had a portable tape recorder running at night. The sound of the Loons, howling coyotes in the far off night. The slap of a beavers tale, snapping of logs in the campfire . Conversations on the events of that trip. Seems so far away now.
My dad and his brother inlaw along with a few other guys used to have those old vw's and would modify them into dune buggies but for mountain trails when we'd spend summer weekends at a place in the mountains my grandparents bought. Your story made me remember them😊😊😊 thanks!
NY resident....I love going to tupper lake and raquett river
Born and raised in Tupper Lake! Miss it a lot!!!
@@stevenbrooks4940 Tupper lake people suck
What a great documentary! A true piece of art and history to be preserved for generations.
We absolutely agree!
I have loved to explore the Adirondacks all of my adult life. I plan to retire there, if all goes well.
We hope that all goes well!
Our property in Tupper Lake, on the water, will be for sale soon. I'll post again when it's on the market.
I love Adirondack. This is beautiful to watch
Having lived all over the world nothing quite captures the beauty of stillness quite like the adirondacks. Cant wait to move there in August
The Adirondacks are a place like no other in the US! I grew up wanting a log cabin at the base of the Rockies in Montana, with acres and acres of land. As I got older and explored more of our country, Ft. Collins/Boulder, CO was where I really wanted to be, but that was far from family and my kids - not to mention the droughts, wildfires, hail storms, shootings, etc. I spent a lot of time hiking up in the ADK's last summer in various parts, and I just fell in love with the beauty of it all - so much so that I moved here a couple months ago!! I can't imagine ever leaving, or living anywhere else now!!!! My house serves as base camp for soooo many different adventures here within the park - hiking, kayaking, biking, sightseeing, exploring. I hope to add fly-fishing to that list one day as well, but there is so much to see and do here, and it's just an immense, untouched wilderness that brings so much serenity to any individual!!! I love it!!
How are the winters there? Are they good about plowing the roads?
I moved into my house in May, but I found it late February and came up in March for various inspections and never had any issues with plowed roads. I’ve not experienced a full winter yet, but I’ve lived upstate before (outside of Utica) and snow removal up here has always been very good, so I’d imagine the same here in the park. We shall see! I work from home so that’s less of a concern for me, but kids still need to get to school and those buses aren’t 4WD so the roads over and around the mountains (of which there are many steep windy roads) must be pretty darn good IMO
@@VoodooLounge612Where are you? I'm just outside Chestertown (Loon, Brant, Friends and Schroon Lakes area). I work from home too as of 2016 and moved here in 2018 into what was once the parents house. The family had a camp on Loon Lake since the 50s, but when dad retired he sold that along with his house on Long Island and bought the house outside Chestertown.
It seems to me the winters brought more snow in the 60s and 70s, however the east side of the 'Dacks usually doesn't get as much snow as the west side. This past winter was easy until March and then we got a few storms of wet and heavy snow, two dumping a foot or so and the last over 2 feet.
I lived outside Syracuse, NY in B'ville from 2008-2012. Now that's a place that gets hammered with snow. Winter of 2010-2011 we got hit with 190" and it was just short of the record. Go north of Syracuse to Tug Hill Plateau and the *average* snowfall there is about 240".
Anyway they are pretty good with snow removal here in Warren County and Town of Chester, and I do have a Silverado 4WD so it really doesn't hinder me.
@@MNP208Some towns are better about plowing the roads than others but they’re passable.
(On a dog sled)
@@justasimpleguy7211 Sorry for the very delayed response here!!! Things have been a little hectic these past few months, between work and adding a new puppy to my household. Thanks for replying to my post. I'm in Lake Luzerne, overlooking the Hudson, just across from Corinth. I lived on LI for a brief time. Do NOT miss that at all!!! Lived in Oyster Bay, Bay Shore, and mostly Copiague. Don't believe I've been over Chestertown way yet exploring. I seem to recall passing thru on my way to one of my other stops, but haven't actually spent much time around that area. All of those challenges are on my list though!!! I work from home as well, for a company out of PA and have to head in 1x/Quarter. Not a bad gig really. Sounds like you have a nice place of your own as well!!!
My uncle Paul Schaefer was instrumental in getting the laws passed to keep the Adirondacks "forever wild".
Much appreciated. Thank you for sharing.
You mean rich forever and everyone else out
As a young child in the 1970's my father took the family camping by Cranberry Lake 5yrs in a row. Such wonderful times and memories. I absolutely loved it there and still do to this very day
Same here Marc, still going every other year in the fall. Cranberry Lake brings back fond memories of family camping.
Olstead pond right on the other side do the cranberry 50 it's amazing
A National treasure.
Spent so much time climbing the High Peaks Region. I remember the first real peak my Boys climbed - Blue Mountain.
Thank you Empire State.
The snow belt there offers the best snowmobile trails and ski lodge. Worth the trip!
I am a writer that has lived here for over 10 years now, originally from NJ. I love it! 🌲🪵✌🏾
The best!
The Adirondack Mountains are, definitely, some of my favourite mountains in the United States; to me, they are quite reminiscent of the Jura Mountains (Switzerland/France).
Maybe a little bit, but the mountains in Switzerland that you mentioned are so fractured and the forest have been decimated there.. the Adirondacks are intact and that is what makes it so special
@@rmf9567 how do you mean, "fractured"? Have you ever been there (the Jura Mountains)?
They are right it is one of the most Beautiful spots of New York State. Love it up there.
Beautiful country. I live down state in the Catskill Mountains but have hunted, fished, camped there many, many times over the past 50 years. Just gorgeous and great people. I really hope they can find a way that will work best for the local people and their towns. Good Luck.
Missing the Adirondacks and watching this video from Wisconsin.
Spent many a glorious summer up in Wilmington and Upper Jay. I learned how to ride a horse and how to whistle like a sailor. Five teenagers galloping over pasture land near the PaleFace Dude ranch. Oh, what a life I fondly remember!!
I will always remember the Adirondacks. A pretty long time ago I, a European, was living in the Adirondacks for a couple of months. In late August we were a taking a 3-day-trip to Lake Lila. I remember thinking: I should have come 4 weeks earlier in order to be able to enjoy this area so much more! We were camping, canoeing, hiking - and getting fresh salmon directly from the lake which we ate at the campfire in the evening. I remember that the water was so clean. We saw big deer which weren't shy at all. We were sitting on the rocks on top of Mt. Fredrica and enjoying the magnificent view.
Wonderful memories.
And this is a truly wonderful, very interesting and very professional video.
My mother grew up in a large, 3 story house in Lowville. You could sit on the top of the roof and see the mountains of the Adirondacks. Nothing more beautiful than to live in a little village within 2 hours drive of the Park to visit these Lakes in the Fall.
Foot Hills, my Mom did too! 1 of 13 and I lived up by the Wind Mills for about 10 years of my adult life also lol
Just purchased our first lake camp this year on Brantingham Lake. Beautiful region!
Same with my mother. Does Dr. Germann sound familiar? He died in the 50’s.
@@kevinkress4073You are so lucky. My cousins still own their family camp up there.
He’s talking about “peaceful and quiet”-he must not be there in Black Fly Season😂!
Looks like Maine!👍😸love New York State.
My wife has been going since the early 90's I joined her family on the trip in 2008. Loved it ever since. Unfortunately time changes things. Not more family on her side ad no more trip to the ADK. We haven't been in a bout 3-4 years. Hopefully returning this year 2023. We have missed it dearly. We spread my mother in-laws ashes there. She loved it so much. Can't wait to return.
Nothing else like it. I mean I'm sure there are other lovely state/national parks and places to go. But for people like us, with generations of memories there, nothing compares
Adironack is really neat. You have to like the 3 seasons. Winter spring/summer for 2 months and winter. If you don’t have chronic arthritis and other aliments that respond negatively to damp weather it’s a beautiful area.
Got a chance to visit this passed August. What an amazing time camping on Horseshoe lake and visiting Tupper lake. I will definitely be back.
Tupper Lake people suck
It's my hometown & it was wonderful growing up here while living on the lake - swimming, waterskiing, boating, fishing, snow skiing, ice skating on the lake out front of our home, snowmobiling, mountain climbing & then being able to come back here in retirement to live in our family home.
I have camped and fished in the Adirondacks with my uncle. Beautiful place and great fishing. We used to go there at least once a year. Most of the time we camped at Moose River Recreation Area. The first campsite is like eight miles into the park.
I love the Adirondacks, and miss it so much!!!
Now that’s wild!! I’m in New Jersey, only 5 or 6 hours away. I’ve never been there before but I’m really looking forward to seeing the Adirondacks soon. I’m a photographer and I love kayaking. How can I go wrong? The place seems ideal for me. Looks like everything I was looking for in Northern California but never found. Solid, down to earth people and the kind of diversity you just don’t see on the west coast. Simple as that.
Glad you enjoyed the video and that it may have inspired travel plans.
Wonderful. Como gostaria de conhecer esse lugar. Saudações do Brasil.
This was my Father and Friends place to Hunt in the 50's 60's, went to the Adirondack SNAKE FARM a few times as a youngster and it scared the eebeegeebees out of me. Those snakes were in a round Glass Cage and they were HUGE. We camped in our home built over the Cab camper that sat on the old pickup truck, 6 kids and Mom & Dad. 60+ years ago and I still remember the Mountains Beauty like it was yesterday. Even a Farmer took a mini vacation back in those days cause the Adirondacks provided a food source for the family and taught us deeper about the Greatness of Wilderness and memories you'll never forget. Upstate Raised as well.
My home where I grew up. I wanted my whole life to live in a big city. 17 years later all I want is to go back home! Just beauty everyday and good people. Who care about there neighbor!
No. The meth heads are every where. They don't care about anyone. They're robbing us blind. And with NYS bail reform they never see jail.
My great, great Grandfather Paul Crego was a guide in the Adirondack's in the late 1860's. He must have lived a fascinating life. I loved to camp there in my 20'. It has always had a special place in my heart. Thank you for this documentary.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing.
Beautiful place, I hope to visit it one day, not too far away. 🇨🇷
I live in Fort Ann. Wonderful documentary, best on youtube!
THANK YOU for THIS vid! The Adirondacks are amazingly beautiful…Those loons’ calls are unique; I could listen to that forever…! BEST OF LUCK in your oversight of these birds…. 👍🏻👍🏻😃
Awesome!
Thank you!
grate documantary thanks four uploadin
Glad you enjoyed it
What a fantastic adventure and video. You gave us great ideas for our own Bird-in-Hand to Adirondacks trip next week! You are awesome. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL
Very beautiful ❤️
I’m going there soon ❤
I have acamp up on lincoln pond which is about 6 miles from Elizabethtown which l have owned for 36 years absolutely love it so peaceful and quiet on 6acres
I went camping there,the Air is the most freshest I ever smelled,we went camping there,hung our garbage in a tree,a Bear came back 3 times I could hear him BREATHING,CHEWING CHICKEN BONES, I was TERRIFIED ❤😂
Love this video. It's a beautiful place been to the Catskills. I hope to explore the Adirondacks !!!!!
Thank you so very much for the flood of pleasant memories of backpacking, skiing, and High Peaks moments that your extremely well done documentary have brought back to me, including the 1980 Olympics, after which my wife and friends skied the Olympic trails and Whiteface Mtn. I am near tears and so miss Upstate NY and the Adirondacks. Thanks, again, Stress R Us
Yes. Adirondack was so huge and it reminded that NY state is also large and lot of to offer. Maybe America’s best kept secret which most people don’t know yet. This is such a wonderful, lovely and informative video.😊 I was living in Saranac Lake during Corona pandemic leaving NYC for 1 year and half. It was very difficult time for everyone. But It was such a beautiful place surrounded by many beautiful lakes and huge mountains all over.
I learnt about *black* *flies* problem starting from late May. It put a stop to my plans.
Just amazing
Great wildlife expedition in the Adirondack 🌄
Many thanks
In NE Illinois Lake County near me just south of the Wisconsin border there is a Lake called (Loon Lake) which was a resort destination stating in the 1880's. As a historian I have seen an early explorers drawn map with Indian Mounds and villages which were occupied until the ( Indian Removal Act) which was a treaty of several tribes that occupied the area prior to 1836. This area has many archeological finds including Mammoths and Mastadons. This resort area was referred to as the Newport of the west at that time. Now it is just called the (Chain of Lakes).
and used for water recreation and some summer estates for wealthy Chicagoans and Milwaukeeans. The Lake Geneva ,With was always a summer escape for wealthy Industialists.
I'm from Chicago and there is NOTHING in the midwest that comes close to the ADK. Absolutely NOTHING!!! The midwest is flat, boring, and bland.
The winter Olympics were hosted twice in the ADK. There is no comparison. I live in NYC now and can tell you, Lake Geneva, Michigan, Indiana Dunes, Wisconsin Dells are nothing compared to the ADK or the Catskills.
@@DTMyles I agree. Have you been north of Duluth, MN in the summer? I love the cliffs overlooking Lake Superior! The Dells are very touristy. Door County and The Apostle Islands are beautiful areas of WI.
Boy this was really well done
Truly charming documentary. Now if we could just do something about all these HOA types
My favorite place that I've never been to!
Evan a rainy day in the adk is better than any day any place else I live the adk can’t wait to move up there two years and counting
I grew up in central NY, and back in the 60s, in late August or early September every year, my family would rent a cabin for a week at one of the camps just north of Old Forge. Now, as an old man living in Florida, I recall those weeks with great fondness and have always wished that I had the financial means to own a cabin on a lake where I had some of my most cherished times as a young boy.
Thanks for sharing!
The "Ring Rainbow" created by the photographer's shadow on the clouds is called a "Glory", if I remember correctly. According to one story it is the source of the concept of the halo.
It’s very wonderful jobs I love every work ❤it. How artistic . I wish I like to buy !
53:14 ADKX Museum Rustic Furniture Show! Come one, come all. September 9th & 10th 2023
My brother in law found his nitch hiding in his basement building rustic furniture in Schroon lake.
Proud live near the Adirondacks I live in Glens falls NY loved fish there every weekend.the Adirondacks are bye far the best in the WORLD period
You're from Pakistan
It's big,vast, close by, keep it safe please.
I grew up in NY and spent almost a year in the Adirondack mountains. I was in love from day one there. Although I do not support alot of the political statement there, I still love NY and grew up with conservation. I think I may have an idea to save the communities in the park without changing a thing and keeping the natural beauty. I live in Texas now and I believe we as a country should preserve such places for centuries to come.
Well Art,. Don't keep the info to yourself or we might not survive the idiots trying to destroy our way of life in the Adirondacks
Yeah Art, what's your plan?
FYI John Browns Farm is right behind the big Ski Jump... North Elba!
Jim lanthire ,one of the best craftsmen his work is legendary
Hi.Nice video!
Hey, thanks!
56:07 Old Forge Hardware & Furniture Co. (front center) … Freemasonic Lodge (rear right - I think)
I've traveled to the Smokies, the Rockies, beautiful places on the Gulf Coast but the Adirondacks take a back seat to nobody. Breathtaking countryside. Take the Northway up to the Canadian border if you want to see it. Beautiful trees the size of office buildings on both sides of the road. Giant birch and spruce. Around every bend in the road.
We agree! It sure is a beautiful sight to see!
I lived in Hamilton County for 32 years. FYI; It's the third largest county in NY. The population is 5,000. There are no stop lights in the entire county. AND the natives like it this way!!
This is such a wonderfull place, I AM SURE God is there.
Great review.
Used to go there beautiful.
hi, i am Adir, and i am on dacks
I always thought it was
The Outer Rondacks. And I often wondered, "What is a Rondack, and why don't people ever talk about the inner Rondacks?"
41:54 wow! Never knew that about the Dacks. Feel bad for my loon brothers and sisters.
I am a Lake George social studies teacher. You probably don't know the Roger's Rock history. Robert Roger was a British major in the French and Indian War who formed several battalions of soldier who faught Indian style. Hit and Run. The Roger's Ranger were light infantry soldiers who dressed in all green uniforms. The Roger's Rangers were forerunners of the US Rangers. In 1758 the Roger's Rangers stumbled into a French+Indian ambush in which killed most of 180 men. Battle of Snowshoe 1758. According to local legend, Robert Rogers slidesd down Roger's Rock to escape. Robert Rogers died a hopeless drunk.
I went to College in Decatur Alabama in 1974, had a friend whose dad was a salesman who covered Selmer and Adamsville, he hung at the bars in the area and he invited us to go there one weekend, naturally we were interested due to the recent movie, we ended up at huge tailgate party at burnt out building parking lot, everyone at this event were very drunk and told the same story that you are telling, could anyone remember what bar this could have been?
Cool 😎
I live here😌
Live Glens falls NY always loved go there Adirondacks are best in the world period,no more developing!!even privately owed land in Adirondacks
I miss living and working at Whiteface Mtn and also the four seasons and the variety of outdoor gigs I was able to get paid for and enjoy myself! All the perks bc it sure wasn’t monetary, but it was so much more fulfilling, I was rich! And felt like a millionaire!
Long cold winters with loads of snow , short humid summer, bugs out the wazoo, seemed liked it rained every weekend. No job opportunities. Nice travelog though.
I want to get back up to the Adirondacks so bad
Too many people visit the Adirondacks from the New York City, and they trash the place and bring an unfriendly-rush vibe.
Traveling acknowledgement of communities ??? Yes a Must love the otherside of NEW YORK
Us amry Corp demed it holds one of the biggest aquifers ever seen
39:30 are these meals not meant to be filling? Such tiny portions
I grew up on a lake in kansas, and i would welcome loon populations. All we have are mallards, blue herons and canadian geese (aka the bane of my existence...)
What im seeing of the adriondacks here reminds me of the lake i grew up on, many rustic aryle houses and the main clubhouse built in 1909 is built 100% in that style. Its on the national historic registry, called lake of the forest in bonner springs, kansas
1:14:18 5,300 feet is a hill on the West Coast ☺️
It's a crying shame how New York state is being run into the ground when they have a national treasure like this. Born and raised in upstate myself, I would spend summers as a child at a YMCA camp in the Adirondacks, as well as visiting relatives in Lake Placid. As an adult however, I've moved to NH - a much freer state with similar geography (White Mountains). I enjoy coming back to visit, especially the Adirondacks, but will never live there again.
I can’t wait to watch this! Does anyone know what the name of the theme song of this documentary is? It’s lovely!
Reason why they named them the Adirondack Mountains because there used to be an old farmer that drove his tractor through the valley in the engine had a rod knock you could hear for miles.
I'll try try again one day. I did avoid black flies, but mosquitoes... it was difficult to simply "go hiking"... I did NOT appreciate the private-public combo... but, I didn't plan. I'll try again one day. NOT the summer. Lol. Some places are great to simply "drop in", some are not. It's all good.
Ticks, fleas, black flies, mosquitos, deer flies. It's imposdible to be outside from April thru September. So yeah, if you want to permanently damage your skin and be scarred for life come to ADK for a weekend and be eaten alive by bugs. Lots of Lyme disease now too which didn't exist when we were kids making our fond memories.
2 hour doc with almost no footage of hikes :-) missed opportunity
Ampersand mountain is an amazing hike, amazing trail
The Adirondacks and Catskills are both part of the Appalachian mountains
Allegheny Mountain s also
Yep