Adirondacks: Lake George, Ticonderoga, Whiteface and Old Forge

Route description

From Albany take I-87, the Adirondack Northway, north for an hour to Lake George, a 32-mile lake with a busy resort village and the rebuilt Fort William Henry at its south end. Quieter shores and campgrounds line the lake further north. Drive NY-9N along the west shore through Bolton Landing and Hague, a winding and scenic road, to Ticonderoga, about 1.5 hours.

Fort Ticonderoga guards the narrows between Lake George and Lake Champlain; plan on half a day for the fort, the King’s Garden and the drive up Mount Defiance. Then take NY-74 west to I-87 and NY-73 through Keene Valley, where the High Peaks rise around the road, to Lake Placid, host of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics, with its ski jumps and Olympic arena.

From Lake Placid, NY-86 follows the Ausable River through Wilmington Notch to Wilmington and the Whiteface Veterans Memorial Highway. The toll road climbs to a castle below the summit, and an elevator inside the mountain or a short rocky path leads to the top at 4,867 feet. Then drive back through Lake Placid to Saranac Lake, a former tuberculosis-cure town, and on NY-3 to Tupper Lake and The Wild Center.

South of Tupper Lake, NY-30 winds through forest past Long Lake to Blue Mountain Lake, home of the Adirondack Experience museum of mountain life. Continue on NY-28 past Raquette Lake and the Fulton Chain of Lakes to Old Forge, a small resort town with paddling routes. The route is about 470 km on good roads that suit RVs, with long gaps between fuel stops; black flies are fierce in late May and June.