The only independent, nonprofit news organization solely dedicated to reporting on the Adirondack Park.
State legislators tried to clarify paddlers’ rights as far back as 1989—and they’re still trying.. By PHIL BROWN The Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said, “You cannot step into the same river twice.” His idea was that everything is always in flux, nothing stays the same. Heraclitus never set foot in Albany. More than twenty years…
Deer River’s scenic stillwater By Phil Brown Every time I drive past the Deer River Flow on Red Tavern Road, I slow down to admire the stunning view southeast toward Debar Mountain. On a few occasions, I have stopped to take pictures. Finally, I decided to paddle the thing last summer. My friend Phil Blanchard…
How logging, fish stocking, acid rain, and other man-made calamities nearly wiped out an Adirondack icon: the wild brookie. By George Earl In early May, vernal patches of birch stood out among the darker evergreens lining the remote kettle-hole pond. As we put our canoe into the icy water, a welcome breeze dispersed the cloud…
6 whitewater trips to whet your appetite By Mal Provost There is a time for all things, and the creak of winter will soon give way to the creeks of spring. Whitewater paddlers, rejoice! The Adirondack Park abounds in whitewater. Oddly, many folks think of running whitewater as a sport strictly for the young, hardy,…
Thompson family contends DEC is closing access to the isolated hamlet of Beaver River. By Alan Wechsler If you’re looking for the most isolated community in New York State, you might find it in Beaver River. The itsy-bitsy hamlet lies deep in the woods in the western Adirondacks, about twenty miles from the nearest community…
DEC decision leaves observers wondering if Forest Preserve routes could be opened to motor vehicles. By Adam Federman Old roads run like fault lines through the Adirondack Park. Sources of conflict since the early 1900s, they have been at the heart of several land-use battles over the last two decades. Indeed, Crane Pond Road in…
By Phil Brown Winter came late. We didn’t get our first decent snowstorm until the second week of December, maybe six inches over two days—enough to ski the new trail at Henry’s Woods outside Lake Placid. The 2.5-mile trail winds, climbs, and descends through a two-hundred-acre preserve on the outskirts of the village. Tony Goodwin,…
With snowshoes, you can go just about anywhere in the Adirondack Park. But with more than two thousand miles of trails, where do you start? Below are suggestions from four gung-ho Adirondack snowshoers. DEBAR MOUNTAIN By Tony Goodwin Although only 3,300 feet in elevation, Debar Mountain rises prominently from the flatter terrain to the north…
His lifelong quest: To protect wild nature By Dick Beamish When Clarence A. Petty died at 104 on November 30, the Adirondack Park lost one of its greatest champions, the woodsman who laid the groundwork for the protection of a million acres of wilderness and 1,200 miles of rivers inside the Blue Line. With his…
Asian longhorned beetle and emerald ash borer poised to decimate Adirondack forests. By Judith Harper and Phil Brown Exotic insects have invaded the Adirondacks before. Since the 1960s, the beech-scale insect has devastated the region’s beech trees—so much so that scientists believe the species may not survive here. More recently, the Sirex woodwasp has infested…