The Adirondacks are said by locals to be named after an Iroquois insult for enemies they'd driven into the forests and left to become "bark eaters," and cover an area larger than Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. Until recent decades the area has been almost the exclusive preserve of loggers, fur trappers and a few select New York millionaires who really knew how to get away from it all (E.L. Doctorow's novels Loon Lake and Billy Bathgate both describe the bucolic retreats of Manhattan mobsters). For sheer grandeur, the region is hard to beat. Forty-six peaks reach to over 4000ft; in summer the purple-green mountains span far into the distance in shaggy tiers, in fall the trees form a russet-red kaleidoscope.

Though Adirondack Trailways buses serve the area, you'll find it hard-going without a car . General information can be had from the Adirondack Region tourist office (tel 1-800/487-6867) or the Welcome Center along I-87 south of Lake George (tel 518/761-6366 or 1-800/365-1050). The Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK), PO Box 3055, Lake George, NY 12845 (tel 518/668-4447), or the Adirondack Park Visitor Interpretive Centers (daily 9am-5pm) in Paul Smiths, north of Saranac Lake (tel 518/327-3000) and in Newcomb on Hwy-28 N right in the heart of the park (tel 518/582-2000), can provide details on hiking and camping.

Adirondacks

• Adirondacks

Explore Adirondacks

• Blue Mountain Lake
• Lake George
• Lake Placid
• Saranac Lake

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