Adirondack cliff jumping

Bluff Island on Lower Saranac Lake. Photo by Susan Bibeau.

Bluff Island is a well-known landmark on Lower Saranac Lake. It’s easily reached by a short paddle from the Route 3 bridge west of the village of Saranac Lake. Head north through First Pond and enter a channel. As you emerge from the channel, you’ll see Bluff Island straight ahead, less than a mile from the highway.

The south side of the island features a seventy-foot cliff that rises straight up from the water. Occasionally, rock climbers scale the precipice. The guidebook Adirondack Rock says of Bluff: “it’s one-star climbing in a five-star location.”

Bluff Island is probably better known for cliff jumping. In fact, the silent-movie serial The Perils of Pauline included a scene in which the heroine leaped off the cliff on horseback.

Most people don’t jump from the top of the cliff. Once you get up there, you realize that seventy feet is a long way down. You could get hurt. And people have.

Nevertheless, daredevils continue to take the plunge. Chris Knight, a reporter with the Adirondack Daily Enterprise, recently shot this video of his friend leaping from the top. We recommend that you enjoy the jump strictly as a vicarious pleasure.