Federal authorities arrested 2,197 people across New York last month during what they have derisively named “Operation Rotten Apple,” the highest monthly immigration arrest total since the Trump administration’s round-ups began in New York State. [Read more…] about With ‘Operation Rotten Apple’ Upstate Police Round-Ups Surge
Lake Placid
First Adirondack Rail Trail User Survey Getting Underway
The Adirondack Rail Trail Association (ARTA) is asking trail users to participate in a visitor survey designed to measure the trail’s economic impact and identify how community members are using the trail.
Starting July 30 and continuing throughout the coming year, ARTA staff and volunteers will conduct surveys at trailheads and other locations along the 34-mile Adirondack Rail Trail. [Read more…] about First Adirondack Rail Trail User Survey Getting Underway
Adirondack Land Trust Protects 2,400 Acres; Buys New Headquarters
The Adirondack Land Trust has made two recent important purchases – 2,390 acres in the Essex County town of Chesterfield and “the round building” at 2345 Saranac Avenue in Lake Placid, which it is planning to transform into office space for the land conservation nonprofit’s new headquarters. [Read more…] about Adirondack Land Trust Protects 2,400 Acres; Buys New Headquarters
John Brown Farm: Abolitionist Vision to Memorial Site
North Country writer Sandra Weber recently joined the ADK Talks podcast to discuss John Brown Farm: From Abolitionist Vision to Memorial Site (Purple Mountain Press, 2026), is a book devoted entirely to the history and meaning of the John Brown Farm State Historic Site in North Elba, Essex County, NY. [Read more…] about John Brown Farm: Abolitionist Vision to Memorial Site
Canadian Travel to US Down for 15th Straight Month
Canadians continue to curb their enthusiasm for American booze and travel, with no end in sight.
Canadian travel to the U.S. is down for the 15th straight month, when President Donald Trump began his tariff war against Canada, and his rhetoric about the country becoming the 51st state. [Read more…] about Canadian Travel to US Down for 15th Straight Month
New Adirondack Rail Trail App Launched
A new Adirondack Rail Trail App has been launched, a free mobile resource designed to enhance the visitor experience and encourage exploration of the region’s communities, businesses, and attractions.
Developed by the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) in partnership with local technology company UpNCoding, the app features interactive maps, trip-planning tools, and important trail information. [Read more…] about New Adirondack Rail Trail App Launched
LiDAR Archaeology Reveals Former Black Adirondack Farmsteads
When most people think of archaeology, they might picture researchers digging in the dirt or trekking through a remote landscape searching for artifacts.
But on a recent morning outside of Lake Placid, a team of researchers traded shovels for handheld tablets as they watched a drone lift off from a bright orange landing pad, tilting forward and beginning its programmed flight over a dense stretch of Adirondack forest. [Read more…] about LiDAR Archaeology Reveals Former Black Adirondack Farmsteads
Newsman Pens Second Mystery Set in the Adirondacks
Christopher Mele, a 40-year news reporter and editor, has penned a second mystery novel set in the Adirondacks, which was inspired by true-life events at the former Lake Placid Club Resort decades ago.
The novel, The Truth Is in the Ashes (2026), is set in the fictional village of Goodwill and tells the story of newsman Alex Provetto, who is drawn into solving a series of suspicious fires at an abandoned, once-grand resort hotel. [Read more…] about Newsman Pens Second Mystery Set in the Adirondacks
Forgotten Stories of People of Color in Northern New York
A new digital project is documenting the forgotten stories of people of color in Northern New York. Jacqueline Madison, President of the North Country Underground Railroad Historical Association has created a website to share stories she has uncovered of working-class people of color in the Adirondack and Lake Champlain regions.
The new website, jaqcalinfo.com, chronicles the history of individuals who lived, loved, and thrived in the North Country. [Read more…] about Forgotten Stories of People of Color in Northern New York
Skier Dies at Whiteface Mountain Ski Area
On Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at approximately 1 pm, New York State Police responded to Whiteface Mountain Ski Area in Wilmington, Essex County, NY, for a reported skiing incident.
State Police later reported that Michael E. Vacek Jr., age 44, of Atlanta, Georgia, had been reported missing at about 10 am by the group of friends he was skiing with. The report was made to Whiteface Mountain Ski Patrol after Vacek failed to return while skiing the trails. [Read more…] about Skier Dies at Whiteface Mountain Ski Area
Peter Bauer on the Latest ‘Forever Wild’ Amendment
On Election Day 2025, New Yorkers voted to pass Proposal 1, to amend Article 14, Section 1, the famed “Forever Wild” clause of the New York State Constitution, to authorize development of certain facilities on Forest Preserve lands as part of the Mount Van Hoevenberg Winter Olympic Sports Complex near Lake Placid in the Adirondack Park. [Read more…] about Peter Bauer on the Latest ‘Forever Wild’ Amendment
Curt Stager’s ‘Field Notes from the Northern Forest’ Published
In Field Notes from the Northern Forest (North Country Books 2025), Curt Stager draws on scientific literature and on his own observations to share his curiosity about the natural world alongside illustrations by Lake Placid naturalist Anne E. Lacy
With the same humor and personable ease that characterizes the popular weekly nature program that he co-produces on North Country Public Radio (NCPR), these 20 natural science essays take readers to ground level to explore the lives of animals, plants, and fungi commonly encountered in the conifer, hardwood, and mixed wood forests of northeastern North America. [Read more…] about Curt Stager’s ‘Field Notes from the Northern Forest’ Published
Philip Terrie’s ‘Wild Forest Lands’ Revisits Adirondack History & Culture
The Adirondack Forest Preserve is the largest publicly protected wilderness in the Eastern United States, with a state constitutional provision guaranteeing that it be “forever kept as wild forest lands.”
But just what does “wilderness” mean today? How has our understanding of that concept shifted, from the colonial implications of the term as first applied to the Adirondacks to a more inclusive usage, still contested, today? [Read more…] about Philip Terrie’s ‘Wild Forest Lands’ Revisits Adirondack History & Culture
Route 73 Daily Lane Closures Planned for Adirondack Hiking Areas
The New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) is advising motorists that State Route 73 in towns of Keene and North Elba (Lake Placid), Essex County, will be reduced to one lane of alternating travel controlled by flaggers between Gilmore Hill Road and Lower Cascade Lake (in Keene), and between Bobsled Run Lane (Mt. Van Hoevenberg) and Recycle Circle Lane (in North Elba / Lake Placid), from 6 am to 6 pm weekdays, beginning Monday, August 11, through approximately Friday, Sept 5, to accommodate a pavement re-surfacing project. [Read more…] about Route 73 Daily Lane Closures Planned for Adirondack Hiking Areas
Whiteface, Gore Mountain Announce Improvements for 2025-2026 Season
The Gore Mountain and Whiteface Mountain ski areas have announced a series of improvement and maintenance projects planned for the 2025-2026 season.
At Gore, after last season’s replacement of the Hudson Chair at the North Creek Ski Bowl, this year crews are replacing the Topridge Triple Chairlift. Installed in its place will be a new Fixed Grip Quad lift, following the same footprint as the current lift but increasing total uphill capacity. [Read more…] about Whiteface, Gore Mountain Announce Improvements for 2025-2026 Season
‘New Deal For Artists’ Opening Adirondack History Museum Film Series
With the failure of President Herbert Hoover’s policies and the ensuing Great Depression, Americans were desperate for help. Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s pragmatic New Deal programs aimed to help Americans back to their feet by providing them with jobs. Several innovative public arts program were designed to provide economic relief and jobs for all kinds of artists from sculptures to painters and performers. [Read more…] about ‘New Deal For Artists’ Opening Adirondack History Museum Film Series
Saving Arto Monaco’s Theme Park Legacy Wasn’t Magic
The magical imaginative world of Arto Monaco – America’s post WWII theme park creative genius – is preserved and protected, rescued from a devastating Adirondack near-hurricane, thanks to grants from the US Government’s Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
That program is now being swept away like the children’s sized castles and riverboat and stagecoaches in Monaco’s Upper Jay Land of MakeBelieve that were ravaged by Tropical Storm Irene. [Read more…] about Saving Arto Monaco’s Theme Park Legacy Wasn’t Magic
Mt Van Hoevenberg Constitutional Amendment Still Not Approved
The Article 14 Constitutional Amendment and enabling legislation for Mt. Van Hoevenberg still needs a second passage in 2025 so that it can go to the voters in November. Protect the Adirondacks has been among the groups supporting a proposed amendment to Article 14 of the New York State Constitution, and the accompanying enabling legislation, in order to resolve constitutional violations at the Mount Van Hoevenberg Winter Sports Complex in the Adirondack Park. [Read more…] about Mt Van Hoevenberg Constitutional Amendment Still Not Approved
45 Miles of New Greenway Trails Built Across New York; Nearly 600 More Being Planned
A new report conducted by Parks & Trails New York (PTNY) and the New York Office of State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) confirms that statewide greenway trail expansion continues to lead the nation, with 45.2 new miles of trail completed between January 2023 and June 2024.
In coming years, New York will see further trail expansion as 39.4 miles of trail are under construction and an additional 583.2 miles are in various stages of development. [Read more…] about 45 Miles of New Greenway Trails Built Across New York; Nearly 600 More Being Planned
In 2023, Lake Placid Surpassed Lake George in Popularity
Lake Placid overtook Lake George as the Adirondack region’s highest grossing tourism market last year, the most recent period for which statistics are available. In 2023, according to reports released by Governor Kathy Hochul’s office in August, Lake Placid experienced the Adirondack region’s highest growth year over year, an 11.2% increase in visitor spending, compared with 3.3% growth in Warren County. [Read more…] about In 2023, Lake Placid Surpassed Lake George in Popularity