Say goodbye to the bustle of metropolitan life as you explore the majesty of the U.S.-Canadian border.
GREENER THAN GREEN, the mighty trees of the Adiron dacks tower over Upstate New York. Like ancient pylons pointing to the sky, their reflections are mirrored in the cool lake waters that cut through them. In the face of their natural splendor, the skyscrapers of the Big Apple seem to vanish into smallness. Amid the awesome quiet upon the land, the City That Never Sleeps seems a distant and irrelevant memory. All of which are reasons why we love it so much! And come Spring, it’s the welcoming wilderness we flee to in our rigs and trailers, definitely thumbing our noses at the noise of civilization we leave behind. (That never gets old.)
Driving the Line Between Lake and Mountain
Hurtling southeast of Niagara Falls, the road merges into I-90 just north of Buffalo, taking you two hours in that direction before you hit Syracuse. Moving north onto I-81, the road puts the St. Lawrence River on your driver’s side and the great green mountains in full view on the passenger side. A little over an hour, and you branch right onto NY-37 (if you don’t want to cross into Canada) and sidle along the beautiful border till the road turns east again onto US-11 toward Lake Champlain. The lake islands on your left belong to Vermont but bear south on I-87 and State Highway 9N toward Ticonderoga. (Although a detour west toward Lake Placid is equally enticing.) Indeed, with wilderness all around you the entire drive, there’s always an opportunity to take a different turn and park somewhere new. You’ll want to soak it all in before making that final decisive drive down toward Albany.
An Alternate Route Awaits
Naturally, we are always interested in alternate roads—especially if they’re the scenic variety. So also consider heading east of Syracuse toward Utica, north of which you can take NY-28 and then NY-30 to enter the mountains on a three-hour shortcut to Lake Placid.
Bucket List Bass Fishing
Your Adirondacks adventure puts you in the perfect place to bust out that tackle box and live every angler’s dream: fishing for smallies on the St. Lawrence River. Park at the 1,000 Islands Campground till your fishing line is sufficiently tugged.
Glidecoat Your Front Cap
With the winter thaw, the entire landscape starts coming to life—including thousands of winged bugs. And those guys are ready to smash their soft, squishy bodies against your front cap. Stay ahead of your game: Give it a protective layer of Glidecoat before you hit the road.
Touring Ticonderoga
All five of Ticonderoga’s syllables seem to convey the importance of the place. In Revolutionary times, it secured a strategic corridor along Lake Champlain. Today, it’s a national treasure where kids can see living history—from colonial life to cannon fire.
Craft Beers on Lake Placid
Spring is absolutely the best time to hike around Lake Placid. The trails aren’t swollen with crowds yet. And after you’ve worked up a good sweat hitting the High Peak trails, you can cool down with a couple of cold ones at the Cottage at Mirror Lake Inn.
