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Easy Family-Friendly Winter Adventures Lecture at Winter Expo Saratoga Springs

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Are you going to the Adirondack Sports and Fitness Winter Sports and Healthy Living Expo ? Held at the Saratoga Springs City Center on Broadway from November 19, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. and November 20, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.  There will be plenty of opportunities to meet vendors that make winter sports fun and easy! Here is a list of exhibitors.    If you want to learn some easy snowshoeing or XC skiing trails, stop by our seminar on November 19, 4:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. and we will go through some easy trails to access in the High Peaks, based on the 1st Adirondack Family Time Book: Tri-Lakes and High Peaks.  November 19, 4-4:45pm    Easy Family-Friendly Adirondack Adventures with Diane Chase ▪ Seminar Room Join us as we present a "slideshow" of short snowshoe walks and cross-country ski trails throughout the High Peaks region. Learn how to venture off the groomed paths while being comfortable and safe. Learn some fun activities to keep your kids engaged on the trails. 

Easy Short Lake Placid (NY) Hikes: The Brewster Peninsula Trails

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Located in Lake Placid, the Brewster Peninsula Nature Trail s are a multi-use trail system. These easy hiking trails are used year-round for the benefit of walkers, hikers, snowshoers and cross-country skiers.   

Lake Placid Center for the Arts presents The Hobbit

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The stage is set for Gandalf and thirteen mighty dwarves to enter The Shire to enlist a reluctant Bilbo Baggins to help on a quest to slay the evil dragon Smaug. For those Tolkien fanatics, this musical version, though authorized by J.R.R. Tolkien, has a bit of a surprise ending. For those unfamiliar with Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” this play with over 50 local children will be the perfect introduction. “The Hobbit: or There and Back Again” was first published in 1937 by J.R.R. Tolkien and now promoted as a prelude to Tolkien’s most popular work “The Lord of the Rings” published seventeen years later in 1954. The book series has never been out of print. The books have been made into movies, cartoons, radio series, stage production and even a video game.

Easy Short Lake Placid Hikes: Monument Falls in Wilmington (NY)

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Commonly referred to as Monument Falls, this quick trip to a shallow waterfall is worth the stop between Lake Placid and Wilmington.  The two tablets  commemorate the 100th and 50th anniversaries of the establishment of the Forest Preserve in 1885. This a popular fishing spot so in season, please be prepared to share space with anglers.    There is a small path along the AuSable River that leads from the parking area to Monument Falls.  There are plenty of flat rocks to sit upon and to explore. 

Adirondack Ski Mountain Ski Swaps

By Diane Chase, from my weekly Adirondack Almanack post Being an active family, my kids seems to outgrown their sporting gear before I’ve finished tying up the laces. For other parents looking to outfit their children for the winter ski season, a ski swap is a nice starting place. A ski swap can also be a much-needed opportunity to clean house Generally the ski swaps are consignments where you drop off your gear, helmets, and winter clothing a day before the event. If the gear sells then you will receive 80% of the set sale price. Usually the funds generated benefit a special organization like ski clubs or ski patrols so the 20% commission goes to support the sport. It is best to ask what each ski swap's arrangement is, as it varies with location. Keep in mind no “collector’s items” like wooden skis and only clothing in good condition.   Lake Placid: November 5, 9:00 a.m. – noon In Lake Placid, the   Lake Placid Ski Club/NYSEF Ski Swap   is asking for any winter gear from

Adirondack Authors: An Evening of Readings at TREES in Bolton Landing

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Join authors for a reading Thursday, November 10 at 7:00 p.m. at TREES Adirondack Gifts and Books!  Diane Chase, author of Adirondack Family Time: Tri-Lakes and High Peaks (Your Four-Season Guide to Over 300 Activities) for the towns of Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Jay/Upper Jay, Wilmington, Keene/Keene Valley which is available online or bookstores/museums/sporting good stores. Diane is currently working on the second guidebook in the four-book series of Adirondack Family Activities.

Halloween Candy Buy Back and Operation Gratitude

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Now that our kids are all jazzed-up on sugar, it may be time to take a long hard look at all the hard won treasure. Some local dentists will buy back the candy for a $1/lb and donate it to troops oveseas. Other organizations will take the unopened candy and donate it to nonprofits that send care packages to overseas troops. All in all it is a nice start to thinking about other people. Want to get rid of your leftover Halloween candy?  Donate that as well!  Halloween Buy Back  and  Operation Gratitude  are two organizations that can help send care packages to those brave men and women serving our country! My children were excited to find out about a candy buy-back program and to do something for the troops. It didn't stop them from making sure their personal favorites are well hidden in our candy bin. Though they aren't exhibiting the altruistic behavior we were hoping for it was a nice segue into helping out other people. Click Here for a Listing of Adirondack Candy B

High Peaks: Four Easy Adirondack Mountain Biking/Hiking Trails (Lake Placid NY)

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If your children are just learning to ride a bike try any of the smooth paved roads of the Adirondack Campgrounds. These paved pathways are a perfect learning spot for that young rider.  According to the Barkeater Trail Alliance' s Founder Matt McNamera there are easy trails on their network that get that new rider out into the woods.  The Hardy Road trail system in Wilmington  is a smooth wooded path with no significant climb.  To get to Hardy Road from Route 86 in Wilmington turn south onto Springfield Road for about 3 miles. Turn onto Hardy Road for another 1.2 mile, parking will be on the right and the trailhead across the road.   “The benefit to the Hardy Road trails is its location to the road,” assures McNamara. “If kids overstep their comfort level it is a quick trip back to the car or a quick hike to Good Luck Ledges.”

Craft: Halloween Make a felted "candy corn" tote

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For Halloween, make this easy felted candy corn tote and or felted bat. It is an easy pattern to follow and a great starting place to practice your knitting, crocheting and felting skills. Gauge is not essential for either craft which makes it a good activity for all. The free Felted Candy Corn Tote pattern is from Lion® Brand Lion® Yarn. Final size of bag = About 9 in. (23 cm) long after felting and not including handles.

Crown Point: Historic Canal Schrooner Tour on Lake Champlain

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Young visitor at the wheel of Lois McClure ©Lake Champlain Maritime Museum By Diane Chase Part of the Farm, Forestry and Fishery Tour, the 88' wooden schooner Lois McClure and Urger tugboat will offer free tours from 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 on October 15-16 at the Crown Point Pier. This tour has been raising awareness of the importance of "sustainable agriculture, responsbile foresty and clean, healthy waterways."

Saranac Lake: Pumpkin Fest To Benefit North Country Life Flight

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By Diane Chase* There are a lot of festivals that happen around this time of year, Harvest Fest, Oktoberfest and Pet Fests. What sets the North County Life Flight Pumpkin Fest apart is that this fundraiser benefits an organization that we all want to have available to us though we hope we will never require its services. This festival is a pay as you play type of event with plenty of activities for your money. It’s nicely set up in that you can choose what you or your children participate in. There are easy games of chance, pumpkin decorating, a hay ride and face painting. My favorite event is always the cake walk. Area restaurants and local chefs donate the cakes so you don’t have to worry about getting one of my lumpy cakes.  

Adirondack Family Activities™ in Long Lake: Punkin Chunkin at the Oktober Pet Fest October 8

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By Diane Chase Now is your chance to put science to the test, make a catapult and see if your invention can out distance your neighbors.  Punkin' Chunkin ' will take place this Saturday as part of the Long Lake and Adirondack Center for the Arts' Oktober Pet Fest. Each participant will receive three pumpkins with a misfire being treated as a foul. Each pumpkin will weigh approximately 8-10 lbs. so plan accordingly. No cannons, ignitables or explosives, if that is where your mind is running. Eye protection and hard hat is provided. “We have been working with the   Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts   to make this an event for everyone,” says Long Lake Event Coordinator Denise Gagnier. “It is the third year for the Pet Fest and we wanted to work with our neighbors at The Center to provide an active event for the Columbus weekend.” According to Gagnier, the  Long Lake Oktober Pet Fest  will host a variety of unique activities geared toward pet owners. There will be

HIking with Kids Trail Trivia: Look For This Tree: Tamarack

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Look for This Tree!  It is the only deciduous   conifer *   It's needles will turn yellow in autumn. This tree is mostly found in swampy places