Adirondack Family Time™

You don't have to participate in the July 19 Tupperpalooza Warrior Run  at Big Tupper Ski Area to join in all the fun, but if you do here is the required information.  R EGISTER  EARLY AND SAVE! Individual: $50 Before 11:59pm on March 31, 2014 $55 Before 11:59pm on June 30, 2014 $60 Before 11:59pm on July 15, 2014 ( Online Registration Closes ) $70 Race Day Team: . (Today is the last day for online registration) $55 per person if registered before 11:59pm on July 15, 2014 ( Online Registration Closes ) $65 per person on race day Teams can be comprised on 3-10 people. All  members on the team will be eligible to compete as a team and as an individual. If you want to form a team, have your team captain sign up and form the team. Once the team is formed you can invite your friends, family, co-workers to join. Each individual member of the team will be responsible for their own entry fee. 15% Military Discount: for a ll active and retired military.  The Tupperpal

The Town of Long Lake has a summer full of fun for children. From SUP experiences to hiking excursions, there are events to make children of all ages appreciate all that Long Lake has to offer.  Stand Up Paddle Boarding Experience The Town of Long Lake is sponsoring free Paddling Boarding at Raquette River Outfitters this summer on July 16th and 24 th .  Stand up paddle boarding has grown in popularity as a new form to experience the lake.   Preregistration is required.  Spots are limited to residents, second home-owners or visitors staying overnight in either Long Lake or Raquette Lake.  Sign up early by calling 518-624-3077.  Life jackets and instruction generously provided by Raquette River Outfitters! Ages 10 and up.   Feelin’ Long Lakey Kids Day On July 22, The Town of Long Lake is hosting an exciting new event for kids.  From 12pm-4pm a giant inflatable obstacle course will be available for exploration, free of charge.  A special tie dye workshop will be held from

I am so grateful to all that took the time to review the latest Adirondack Family Time guidebook. Reviews for Adirondack Family  Time  Champlain Valley Plattsbugh to Ticonderoga: Your Four-Season Guide to Over 300 Activities (with GPS coordinates) Adirondack Mountain Club's ADIRONDAC magazine: "A companion to the previously published Adirondack Family Time: Tri-Lakes and High Peaks Regions, this volume's subtitle explains its objective well: "Your Four-Season Guide to more than 300 activities." It's categorized by town and season with maps, helpful tips, entertaining trivia, and inside games. Included are 58 easy hikes, 33 swimming spots, 30 museums and historic sites, apply-picking, ice-skating, art venues, and many others. GPS coordinates are provided for easy location. The territory which is throughly  covered  extends from Cahzy to Ticonderoga. If you're looking for something to do in that area, turn to this book which seems to ha

photo used with the permission of APO It is almost summer, true summer. The summer solstice, which marks the longest day in the northern hemisphere, will be celebrated on the first annual International Sun-Day this June 22 from 4-6 pm at the Adirondack Public Observatory (APO).  APO wants to celebrate Earth’s closest star, the Sun, with solar observing, educational programs, games, prizes and many activities for all ages. The free event will take place on the property and within the Observatory. Picnic tables will be set up for anyone to enjoy. According to Gordon Duval, Tupper Lake Physics and Astronomy teacher and member of the APO Board of Directors, there will be telescopes with solar filters, lectures about the sun and possibly a camera to show the telescope’s findings on a TV. (Duval warns everyone that proper equipment is needed for observing the sun. He gives an example of a child using a magnifying glass to burn leaves, which is a similar effect that can happen to a p

When you are hiking in the Adirondack High Peaks you may come across a plant with wide leaves resembling a maple leaf.  The Thimbleberry or Flowering raspberry is native to eastern North American.  Other common names are White flowering raspberry or Salmonberry.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, enormous forest fires were threatening residents and landowners. New ways had to be looked at to try to protect and report how these fires could be managed. Two different fires, 1903 and 1908, which damaged over 1 million acres of woodlands, became known as the "Great Fires" leading to an organized system of forest fire management throughout the Adirondacks. The first Adirondack fire tower, made of wood, was built on the summit of Mount Morris (now known as Big Tupper Ski Area) with other towers being constructed over the course of the next five years. There have 120 fire towers at various locations around New York State with 57 of them within the boundary of the Adirondack Park. The log and wood structures were slowly replaced by steel towers between 1917 and 1930, which could be more easily maintained. A full-time work force from Forest Rangers to Fire Observers were organized to manage fire districts.

Distance : 1.8 miles Elevation : 3,169' Vertical Ascent : 1,542' Catamount is a wonderful Adirondack family hike that takes children and families to a new level, behind easier hikes perhaps encountered previously. T his is a 1.8 mile hike (one way) is not for the meek though it begins as a flat wooded path for the first 0.5 mile before becoming steadily more steep. Follow the yellow painted slash marks through this private easement.  At about 0.5 mile  the trail bears right and begins to climb. Look for a small stream at 0.8 mi. and then the hike begins gaining in elevation and continues a mostly steep climb to the base of a narrow rock chimney at 1.5 miles.  

The American Hiking Society has designated the first Saturday of June as National Trails Day. Across the United States events take place promoting and celebrating the nation's extensive trail network. The Adirondack Mountain Club asks its vast volunteer base to help with trail maintenance and give a little something back to the area that is preserved for everyone to use. Volunteer trail work originally started with "Trails and Shelters" in 1923, but the focus transitioned from building trails to sustaining them. On June 7-8, 2014, the Adirondack Mountain Club is highlight the historic Northville-Placid trail for National Trails Day. The original entrance to the trail will be moved from its Benson Rd location to downtown Northville. This will be the first annual Northville Trails Day Festival with activities such as Smokey the bear, crafts, artisans, bounce houses, guided walks and local Adirondack cafe. © Diane Chase is the author of the Adirondack Family Activiti

A bicyclists making a stop hand signal  Yippee-Ki-Yay, it’s time for the rodeo. Well, not all rodeos are with horse and cowpokes, folks. It’s the annual Bicycle Rodeo at the Saranac Lake Civic Center. It still calls for a bit of a “yeehaw,” but instead of riding wild bulls, children will use their own power to ride around traffic cones and avoid obstacles, in the form of other bicyclists.    Last year my daughter got a refresher course on bicycle hand signals and bicycle road rules. While other children chose to go around the course as fast as possible, she took her time. There is a sense of relief to watch my young child cautiously approach the stop sign while attempting to use a bicycle safety hand signal.  Police volunteers are there to help coach children with proper technique. For anyone needing a refresher course, a bicyclist is supposed to go with traffic, but stay close to the painted line on the right side of the road. Use the left hand for all directional signals

My backyard has a mixture of wildflowers and cultivated plants with an eye toward native perennials. I gentle move the spring foamflowers, bunchberries and bluets that always manage to pop up in the middle of my kids’ baseball field. I protect the trillium from the puppy and neighborhood kids while making sure nothing invasive has traveled perhaps by squirrel, bird or child. Yes, child. I’ve had to educate my daughter that picking roadside plants, (which sometimes includes the roots, is not a good way of keeping our garden and property safe from Adirondack invasives. Since she is also a fan of gardening, I’ve limited her transplanting to items already located to our property. I’m always adding new plants and like most gardeners like to share and receive plants from friends and neighbors. I try to be careful and research each plant before accepting to my garden. I’ve made plenty of mistakes along the way, but am thankful for all the organizations out there willing to share in

By Diane Chase Honestly, my children think the first sign of an Adirondack spring is the Michigan hotdog guy that places his cart at the intersection of Route 86/30 in Paul Smiths. That fellow is sometimes out there waiting for Paul Smith College students even in weather that Mother Nature's first sign of spring, the Robin Red Breast , finds daunting.

As you requested! Here is a list of all the Adirondack High Peaks (plus McNaughton which is 4,000' but not considered part of the 46 High Peaks) I will have Adirondack Fun Facts about each mountain so keep checking back. If you have other suggestions, please sending them in and I will do my best to get the information here as quickly as possible. Thanks for letting me know. A patch is given as well as an assigned number, though many people do choose not to register. Climbing all 46 High Peaks is not distinguished by the registration, but by the accomplishment. The Adirondack Forty-Sixers is more than just a place to register hikes, the service and hiking organization encourages and educates its membership on conservation and preservation of the wildness of the Adirondack Park in northern New York State.

Owl's Head Mountain Keene, NY Distance: 0.6-mile Elevation: 2,120' Ascent: 476' There are a few mountain named Owl's Head around the Adirondacks. This small mountain in Keene can be seen from the Rt. 73 when you drive south from Lake Placid NY past the trail entrance to Pitchoff and Cascade Mountains. What looks like a little bump in a High Peaks backdrop is really a beautiful climb for people of all hiking ages and abilities. With over 300 activities including  33 easy hikes, 19 swimming holes/waterfalls, XC skiing/snowshoe trails, and 21 historic sites.