Where to stay, what to explore & why November matters.
Where should visitors stay if they want to explore the Adirondacks without spending their entire getaway behind the wheel? And what makes November worth visiting when the leaves have fallen, the crowds have disappeared, and winter hasn't quite arrived?
In this episode of ADK Talks, siblings and co-hosts Jane and Steve open the listener mailbag to answer those questions and share some favorite Adirondack discoveries.
Their conversation travels from Lake George and Chestertown to Old Forge and Raquette Lake, with stops for local restaurants, fascinating history, cultural attractions, and a few places even longtime Adirondack visitors might have overlooked.
It's a practical, occasionally irreverent conversation about exploring six million acres without trying to see them all in one weekend.
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View from Prospect Mountain overlooking Lake George in early November.
What you'll hear in this episode.
Where to stay: Why Lake George, Bolton Landing, Chestertown, and Schroon Lake make excellent home bases for exploring the Adirondacks.
Coming from Western New York? How Old Forge opens the door to Inlet, Raquette Lake, Blue Mountain Lake, and other destinations.
Beyond the usual attractions: Unexpected reasons to visit Ticonderoga, Glens Falls, and North Creek.
November's hidden advantages: Scenic views, cultural attractions, potential lodging bargains, and fewer crowds.
Behind the scenes at ADK Taste: How Jane and Steve choose their stories, plus their latest Adirondack Gem recommendations.
The secret to a great Adirondack getaway? Start with a home base.
The Adirondack Park covers approximately six million acres. For first-time visitors, its sheer size can be intimidating. Lake Placid, Lake George, Old Forge, Saranac Lake, and Ticonderoga might all appear on a vacation wish list, but trying to visit every destination in a single weekend is a recipe for spending more time driving than exploring.
Jane and Steve offer a more practical approach: choose a home base and discover the surrounding region.
For visitors traveling from Westchester County, northern New Jersey, Connecticut, or elsewhere downstate, the southern Adirondacks provide a convenient starting point. Lake George and Bolton Landing offer waterfront scenery, restaurants, shops, and familiar attractions. Travelers seeking smaller communities might prefer Chestertown, Brant Lake, or Warrensburg.
Schroon Lake and North Creek offer still more possibilities, with access to outdoor recreation at Gore Mountain, historic attractions, and an increasingly interesting mix of independent businesses.
But the real advantage of these communities isn't simply what visitors can do there. It's what they can discover nearby.
The Village of Schroon lake.
From Lake George to Lake Placid — without changing hotels.
A southern Adirondack home base opens the door to a surprising range of day trips.
Lake Placid brings Olympic history, mountain scenery, shopping, and dining. Saranac Lake offers a distinctive mix of independent businesses, arts, and regional history. Ticonderoga combines Revolutionary War landmarks with an attraction that seems almost impossible to imagine in a small Adirondack town: a detailed recreation of the original Star Trek television sets.
The conversation also makes a case for Glens Falls, where visitors can explore The Hyde Collection, discover restaurants and breweries, and enjoy an arts scene that deserves more attention.
Along the way, Jane and Steve share favorite dining stops, personal discoveries, and the occasional story that probably wouldn't make it into a conventional travel guide.
The takeaway is simple: visitors don't necessarily need to move from town to town to experience different sides of the Adirondacks.
Coming from Western New York? Start with Old Forge.
For travelers approaching from Syracuse, Rochester, Utica, or Buffalo, the Adirondacks look different on the map.
Jane and Steve turn their attention to Old Forge, a western gateway that offers restaurants, shopping, outdoor recreation, and access to the Fulton Chain of Lakes.
From there, nearby Inlet and Eagle Bay offer opportunities to explore smaller communities, while Raquette Lake brings spectacular scenery and a connection to the Adirondacks' Great Camp era.
The conversation continues toward Blue Mountain Lake, home to Adirondack Experience (also known as the Museum on Blue Mountain Lake), and returns to Old Forge for a look at View Arts Center.
For anyone who thinks an Adirondack vacation begins and ends with Lake George or Lake Placid, this part of the conversation offers a compelling alternative.
The charm of downtown Inlet, NY, a short drive from Old forge.
How ADK Taste decides what's worth sharing.
Not every worthwhile Adirondack experience makes the headlines. And not every interesting story involves a mountain, a lake, or a famous destination.
One listener question gives Jane and Steve an opportunity to explain the thinking behind ADK Taste and ADK Talks.
The guiding philosophy is curation rather than comprehensiveness: seek out interesting people, memorable experiences, independent businesses, and stories that reveal something meaningful about the region.
That approach has produced conversations about everything from Theodore Roosevelt and Adirondack history to local agriculture, filmmaking, and award-winning cheesemaking.
Some of the most memorable stories begin with people who have taken extraordinary risks to build something in the Adirondacks.
The hosts also reflect on the recent closure of Nettle Meadow, the celebrated artisan cheesemaker whose story became one of the podcast's memorable conversations. It's a reminder that the businesses shaping Adirondack communities face challenges that visitors don't always see.
November has a view of its own.
By November, most of the leaves have fallen. The summer crowds are gone, and many seasonal attractions have closed.
But Steve introduces a compelling reason to appreciate this in-between season: the views.
With the leaves off the trees, familiar roads and overlooks reveal landscapes that can remain hidden for much of the year. Mountains, lakes, and distant ridgelines suddenly become visible through the bare branches.
It's an entirely different way to experience the Adirondacks.
Jane and Steve also discuss the cultural attractions that remain active during the quieter months, including museums, galleries, theaters, and arts centers.
For travelers with flexible schedules, November may offer another advantage: opportunities to experience some of the Adirondacks' better-known hotels and resorts at more attractive shoulder-season rates.
The hosts explain why it's worth comparing prices, checking seasonal amenities, and planning around changing weather and shorter daylight hours.
And they make time for some distinctly Adirondack November entertainment, including seasonal events, holiday activities, and the spectacle of pumpkins being launched through the air.
The Station at North Creek Ski Bowl.
Two Adirondack Gems worth discovering.
Every episode of ADK Talks ends with a familiar question for guests: What's a favorite place in the Adirondacks that deserves more attention?
This time, Jane and Steve answer it themselves.
Steve shares two favorites: Prospect Mountain's scenic highway overlooking Lake George and the Olympic Ski Jumping Complex in Lake Placid.
Jane heads to North Creek, where the revitalized Ski Bowl has gained a destination restaurant, Timber & Thyme. With mountain views, a welcoming atmosphere, and food worth making a special trip for, it offers another reason to explore a familiar ski destination beyond the slopes.
The recommendations reflect the episode's larger theme: sometimes the best Adirondack discoveries come from seeing a familiar place differently.
Keep exploring with ADK Taste.
This listener mailbag is part of an ongoing conversation about the Adirondacks. Whether the question concerns where to stay, what to do, or which overlooked destination deserves a closer look, ADK Talks aims to make exploring the region more rewarding.
Readers can continue the journey with ADK Taste's destination guides, restaurant recommendations, events coverage, and previous podcast episodes.
More from the ADK Talks Mailbag.
Looking for more Adirondack discoveries? Subscribe to In Good Taste, ADK Taste's free weekly newsletter, for a curated look at interesting places, local stories, and things to do throughout the region.
And listeners are encouraged to keep the questions coming. A future mailbag might begin with a suggestion from someone who has discovered an Adirondack favorite of their own.
Listen to The Adirondacks Beyond Summer, follow ADK Talks on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and discover a little more of the Adirondacks with every episode.
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