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One of the perks of living and working in the Adirondacks is that you learn about all of the hidden gems the Adirondacks have to offer. So, we wanted to give you the inside scoop and share some of our favorite places in the Adirondacks. If you’re looking to try something that will be less crowded and equally as beautiful, check out the suggestions from our team!

Today is officially the Autumnal equinox! The weather has been unseasonably warm this week, offering a chance for one last swim for the season. The average high for Lake Placid is 69 degrees F, and this week we hit temps around 80 degrees F! Foliage is “mid point” and hitting "near peak" in some areas of the Adirondack Park according to the I Love NY foliage meter.  

Nigeria, Poland, China…just to name a few. I stood with my Adirondack Council colleagues greeting individuals from across the globe. The travelers entered the Kelly Adirondack Center and individually shook each of our hands. It was an indelibly fantastic experience.

Today we are kicking off our weekly Foliage Friday series, celebrating Autumn in the Adirondacks. Each week we are featuring some of the amazing photos shared with us on Instagram showcasing fall colors in Adirondack communities, wilderness and water. Tag us in your Adirondack foliage photos on Instagram at @AdirondackCouncil to be featured next week!

While the High Peaks are a great challenge for hikers, as well as fun to climb and explore, they are also the natural habitat for many alpine organisms. In honor of Habitat Awareness Day this past Sunday, I began to reflect on these habitats that are often forgotten.

During the last week of August the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe alerted the region to the discovery of emerald ash borer (EAB) on tribal lands in northern Franklin County just outside the Adirondack Park. Black ash (a swamp species) is highly prized for basket-making by many northeastern tribes. Old reports dating back to the 1820’s (including one by Gifford Pinchot) on forests of the west-central Adirondacks, suggest that black ash was far more common then than it is currently.  The emerald ash borer could now be the death knell for the species throughout its range.   

As the famed preservationist John Muir once said “the mountains are calling and I must go”. In late August, I heeded John’s advice and headed up to Sleeping Beauty Mountain in the Lake George Wild Forest. I had not ventured on hiking trails outside of the High Peaks Wilderness before, but was truly thrilled I had made the decision to do so, and Sleeping Beauty seemed just the place to start.

Whether your adventure partner is a human or a dog, it’s important to be mindful of the impact your pack is making along the way. Dogs help us make new memories, while we experience and enjoy the Adirondacks. But bringing them along adds four more paw prints that impact the land we come to enjoy. We chatted with a few of our favorite ADK dogs and their owners about how they stay safe, and leave no trace when they head out for an adventure in the Adirondacks.

In July, my colleague Jackie and I had the opportunity to experience field biology first hand when Matt Schlesinger from the New York Natural Heritage Program (NYNHP) invited us and a few others to help him with a rare dragonfly survey in a bog in the Debar Mountain Wild Forest. I came away with the realization that field biology is not for the faint of heart. It is a career that requires patience, perseverance, and, most importantly, a really positive attitude. I now appreciate the work of field biologists even more.

It’s not often we would venture outside the Adirondacks in the summer time, but there are exceptions. Recently, Council Executive Director Willie Janeway and Communications Director and our resident historian on acid rain policy John Sheehan went to Washington, D.C. to save the funding for acid rain research and monitoring in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) budget.