Adirondack Family Time™

Take the kids on a beautiful family hike in the Adirondacks. Owl's Head (Keene NY) Trailhead to Summit: 0.6 Ascent: 460 ft Snowshoe - yes Owl's Head, located between Lake Placid and Keene, is a perfect hike for the entire family. It takes approximately 45 minutes round trip for an average hiker though we always plan for a bit more than an hour each way. The ascent is 460 ft., and very easy for even the smallest climber. The summit is semi-wooded, and has spectacular views of Cascade, Pitchoff and Giant Mountains. A Race to the top of Owl’s Head My husband asked for a new backpack for his birthday. Not a swanky designer, top-of-the-line camping pack but a comfortable pack that could carry our youngest in style up any number of hills. I sigh at how our lives have changed. Just a few years ago he would have had the Cadillac of camping gear. Now he pours over catalogs or bids on eBay for a Kelty child carrier. My husband’s birthday arrives and my son eagerly spil

Last day of $1.00 ice cream at Romano's Saranac Lanes' new Ice Cream Window. Romano's Soft Serve will be serving Crowley Soft Serve Ice Cream. They are offering vanilla, chocolate and twist cones and cups. In addition they have shakes, floats, sundaes, banana splits & Brooklyn Egg Creams. So add them to your summer stroll when walking around Saranac Lake.

Sometimes my children seem to forget that spring is a season. To them it seems more pit stop to summer than an event of its own. After a long winter, that seemed to want to continue with those late snowfalls, our house is a rush of summertime activity. My children want to discontinue jackets while one even attempts to boycott long pants. I am afraid to pack up the boots and coats because last time I stored the winter gear it snowed. I am just superstitious enough to believe that there is a connection. The 1st annual Daffest will be a wonderful way to really cement the idea that spring deserves celebrating on its own. Saranac Lake’s new community event will paint the town yellow in 2011. Pathways and parks will be a bloom of color. Over a million bulbs will be planted this fall out and around Saranac Lake. To find out how to help, please go to daffest.com. Bulbs are available for purchase at a variety of sponsorship and donor levels. After a long winter a million daffodils will be a wel

There is really nothing like a canoe trip to really bring out the strengths and weaknesses in a family. It requires balance; strength and teamwork some of which we are sometimes in short supply. As we transition from winter sports to summer fun our organization skills are put to the test. The children have outgrown their life jackets and the weather can’t decide whether to snow or rain. The bug spray has to be found along with my very attractive bug netting. Citronella wafts around us like a cloud sparking memories of spring. We have decided to take two cars and leave one at the end of our destination so we will only be going downstream. We are not equipped to go over the permanent rapids and decide a portage isn’t in the cards for this short outing. We start just north of the Village of Saranac Lake and spend a few moments going over the rules of the river. It may seem like common sense but my children always need to be reminded not to stand up in a canoe. The current is swift and

By Diane Chase Personally I like to see my fish on a platter with a slice of lemon but I am out voted every time. My children and husband love to fish though they mostly subscribe to the “catch and release” philosophy. Part of me thinks that it is because my children are not really successful with the catching part making the release a foregone conclusion. Read More