The Adirondack Almanack -

The Northern Forest Canoe Trail (NFCT) and the Adirondack Watershed Alliance (AWA) are working towards a transfer of AWA events and activities, including the Adirondack Canoe Classic, to NFCT’s care before the launch of the 2021 paddling season.

AWA, managed by Brian and Grace McDonnell for over two decades, currently coordinates the ‘Round the Mountain Canoe and Kayak Race and the Celebrate Paddling Invitational in Saranac Lake, the Long Lake Long Boat Regatta, and the Adirondack Canoe Classic, known more commonly as the 90-Miler. » Continue Reading.

Monday, February 3, 2020

DEC Ends Lottery For Rogers Rock Campground Group Sites

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced that campers and day-users will now make online reservations for group camp sites at the Rogers Rock Campground and Day Use Area, located in Warren County in the Adirondacks.

Groups sites had previously been reserved by a lottery system. » Continue Reading.

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Statewide, Adirondack School Enrollment Declines

by Peter Bauer

35 Comments

Student enrollment in public schools is falling in every county in New York outside of New York City, except for one. School enrollments in 57 of New York’s 63 counties from Suffolk to Erie, Orange to Oswego, experienced declines in school enrollments in the last decade, from 2011 to 2019.

The only county outside of New York City to experience student enrollment growth was Saratoga County.

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Major Snowboardcross and Skicross Event At Gore

Gore Mountain is one of two US stops and the only East Coast venue to host the US Ski & Snowboard NorAm 2020 Hole Shot and Revolution Tour Monday-Friday, February 3-7.

The Hole Shot Tour is an FIS NorAm competition designed to bridge the gap between grassroots and World Cup level athletes of Snowboardcross (ages 15+) and Skicross (ages 16+). Hundreds of top athletes from across the country and around the world are expected to compete. » Continue Reading.

Sunday, February 2, 2020

A Center for Businesses in Transition Update

The North Country Center for Businesses in Transition (CBIT) in Saranac Lake continues to offer targeted programs and resources to transitioning businesses in 2020.

The Center is a collaboration of regional organizations and leaders working to support existing business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs in developing successful business transition strategies. In 2019, 88 North Country business owners reached out to CBIT for assistance, tapping into a network of tools, learning opportunities and experience.

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Long Lake Hors D’Oeuvres Tour Returning

Long Lake area restaurants are set to open up their doors for the Long Lake Hors D’Oeuvres Tour on Friday, February 21st, from 6 to 10 pm.

Venues for 2020 include the Adirondack Hotel, Long Lake Diner & Owl’s Head Pub and the Long View Lodge. » Continue Reading.

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Our Wilderness Has Answers To Questions Yet Unasked

by Anthony F. Hall

23 Comments

Fifty years ago this August, Goveror Nelson Rockefeller’s Temporary Study Commission on the Future of the Adirondacks met at Eagle Nest, the great camp of its chairman, Harold Hochshild.

Members brought their spouses, and it seems as though the gathering was a long, country house weekend as much as it was an official meeting. There was horseback riding, water skiing and tours of the nearby Adirondack Museum, which Hochshild had created and which he subsidized until his death in 1981. And, no doubt, cocktails on the veranda at the violet hour.

Experts advising the Commission were invited to present talks on topics related to its work – protecting the Adirondacks from suburban sprawl, over-use and threats to the Forest Preserve. Among those experts was Vincent Schaefer. » Continue Reading.

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Submissions Open for NYS Craft Beer Competition

The New York State Brewers Association (NYSBA) is now accepting submissions for its fourth annual New York State Craft Beer Competition. Sponsored by 1886 Malt House, the Competition is one of largest beer competitions in NYS.

Open to all licensed New York State Breweries, NYSBA is expecting to receive over 1,000 beer submissions for the 2020 competition. » Continue Reading.

Saturday, February 1, 2020

Poetry: Stars Long Dead

by Edward Zahniser

2 Comments

Stars Long Dead

How hard this now seems
to leave so few memories
Who will reckon us up
once we’ve finished here
Stars stud the sky but pay
no mind to who’s elected
Many looking bright flared
out last lights eons gone at
186,000 miles per second
as the universe’s vastness
makes them seem to shine
still to astonish us tonight

Friday, January 31, 2020

Floating Docks Now A Frozen Snowmobile Hazard

4 Comments

NYS Environmental Conservation Officers reported that ECO Paul Pasciak and Wes Leubner, along with Forest Rangers Michael Thompson and Ian Kerr, conducted a patrol on Great Sacandaga Lake to assess docks that broke free from shore and became frozen in ice south of the Batchellerville Bridge on January 17th.

The docks likely broke free during heavy rains in early winter and became frozen in the main portion of the lake when temperatures dropped. » Continue Reading.

Friday, January 31, 2020

The Adirondacks Around The Web This Week

Friday, January 31, 2020

Para-Bobsleigh World Cup Returning to Lake Placid

The 10-race para-bobsleigh World Cup series is set to kick off its North American swing when Lake Placid plays host to more than 24 athletes from 14 nations, on Thursday and Friday, February 6-7.

The 2019-2020 series began, in early-December, in Lillehammer, Norway and has traveled through Oberhof, Germany and St. Moritz, Switzerland before returning to the famed Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Sports Complex Track. » Continue Reading.

Friday, January 31, 2020

This Week’s Big Adirondack News Stories