The Adirondacks

The Adirondack Park covers around six million acres, which makes it larger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier and Great Smoky Mountains put together, and it works differently from all of them: roughly half is state forest preserve protected as forever wild by the New York constitution since 1894, and the other half is private land with towns, farms and camps inside the boundary. There are forty-six High Peaks, the tradition being to climb all of them, with Mount Marcy the highest at just over sixteen hundred metres. Below them lie thousands of lakes and ponds, a canoe route running for miles between them, and the great camps of the Gilded Age. Lake Placid hosted two Winter Olympics and kept the venues.

What you actually see

• The High Peaks - forty-six summits, with Marcy the highest.
• The canoe country - lake-to-lake paddling routes with short carries.
• Lake Placid - the Olympic venues, ski jumps and bobsleigh track.
• Autumn colour - maple and birch across the whole range in early October.

When to go

June to October, with autumn colour peaking late September in the north and early October further south. Winter brings serious snow and full skiing and skating. Black flies are severe from late May into June, which locals plan around. Popular High Peaks trailheads now use reservations in peak season.

Honest expectations

The High Peaks are far rougher than their modest height suggests, with steep eroded trails, mud and no switchbacks, and rescues are frequent. Black fly season in late spring is genuinely miserable. Autumn weekends fill every room for a hundred kilometres and the parking at popular trailheads is regulated and limited.

Nearby

Lake Champlain is east; Montréal is about two hours north of Lake Placid.