Tourism

Back To The Borscht Belt: Jewish Vacationland Ruins in the Catskills

December 10, 2021 by Robert Chiles Leave a Comment

The latest episode of Empire State Engagements features a conversation with Marisa Scheinfeld on her book The Borscht Belt: Revisiting the Remains of America’s Jewish Vacationland (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2016).

She discussed her work as a historian and photographer to document and convey the history, ruins, nature, pathos, and possibility of the shuttered Catskill resorts that transformed Jewish American history and helped form twentieth-century U.S. popular culture. [Read more…] about Back To The Borscht Belt: Jewish Vacationland Ruins in the Catskills

‘Wild, Picturesque and Beautiful’: Mount Ida, Poestenkill Falls and Troy’s Prospect Park

October 2, 2021 by John Warren 1 Comment

It’s likely that the early farmers, millers, colliers, lumberers and teamsters helped spread the word of the springs and waterfalls on the Poesten Kill, but it was the early artists and travelers whose record remains. One of the first depictions of the beauties of the Poesten Kill High Falls was an engraving made in Paris in 1817. As the 19th century wore on, changing attitudes about nature combined with regional guides and maps led to increase in American travel for travels sake. [Read more…] about ‘Wild, Picturesque and Beautiful’: Mount Ida, Poestenkill Falls and Troy’s Prospect Park

Report Concludes Cascade Mountain Trail Exceeding Capacity

September 30, 2021 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

A new study of one of the Adirondack Park’s most popular hiking trails into the High Peaks Wilderness Area shows that currently levels of use are degrading the trail and the sensitive ecosystem around it, creating unsustainable levels of damage according to the Adirondack Council. [Read more…] about Report Concludes Cascade Mountain Trail Exceeding Capacity

Saratoga’s Kensington Hotel: From Sanitarium to Skidmore

August 24, 2021 by Bill Orzell Leave a Comment

Visitors from every part of the world have made their way to Saratoga Springs for myriad reasons, but mainly for their health or their hippic interest.

They have been accommodated in fabulous structures, but unfortunately most of these great hotels have been lost. In their time they established a superior level of service, dedicated to sybarite satisfaction which help make Saratoga a resort destination. They mainly stood along Broadway.

The Kensington Hotel however, stood away from the others. Its location was on fashionable Union Avenue, the splendid thoroughfare which reaches from the village to Saratoga Lake, with the race track in between. [Read more…] about Saratoga’s Kensington Hotel: From Sanitarium to Skidmore

The Devil’s Due: Adirondack Gentrification & Environmental Justice (Part 1: Displacement)

August 1, 2021 by Eliza Jane Darling 11 Comments

“Just close the fucking thing.”

These words of quiet despair were uttered twenty years ago in the aftermath of a meeting at the Raquette Lake School, whose imminent demise was increasingly apparent to the people of the village. The atmosphere at the Tap Room, the unofficial community center where attendees had decamped to face the inevitable over a beer, was raw.

The man who issued the fatal prognosis relished it neither as a parent nor an alumnus. But the writing was on the wall. Pupils had dwindled to single digits, too few for a play or a baseball team, never mind the district budget for utilities, maintenance, transportation and salaries. With no babies on the horizon, the current crop of children would age out, and there would soon be none left to educate. [Read more…] about The Devil’s Due: Adirondack Gentrification & Environmental Justice (Part 1: Displacement)

Proposed National Marine Sanctuary Highlights Lake Ontario Maritime History

July 8, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released a draft proposal for a national marine sanctuary in eastern Lake Ontario and the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River. The proposed sanctuary designation celebrates Upstate New York’s unique maritime heritage and provides a national stage for promoting the region’s tourism and recreational opportunities. [Read more…] about Proposed National Marine Sanctuary Highlights Lake Ontario Maritime History

Adirondacks: 2020 Leisure Travel Study Results

June 28, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) contracted with an independent third-party research firm, PlaceMaking, to conduct the 2020 Leisure Travel Study (LTS), which includes a regional return on marketing investment analysis, plus traveler data for Essex and Hamilton counties. [Read more…] about Adirondacks: 2020 Leisure Travel Study Results

Dedicated Forest Ranger Academy Announced

June 17, 2021 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

For the first time, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Forest Ranger training will be held at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) campus in the hamlet of Wanakena in the Adirondacks.

For decades, Forest Ranger recruits have had to share a training academy with Environmental Conservation Office recruits, where law enforcement and policing became the training emphasis. The two positions are very related, but also very distinct. [Read more…] about Dedicated Forest Ranger Academy Announced

100 Adirondack Hikes to Avoid Weekend Crowds

May 28, 2021 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Memorial Day Weekend is one of the biggest hiking weekends each year in the Adirondacks. Trailhead parking areas will fill up early and overflow crowds are expected throughout the High Peaks Wilderness Area.

In an effort to help disperse crowds beyond the High Peaks Wilderness Area to lesser used and known trails and hikes across the Adirondacks, Protect the Adirondacks has published online trail guides to 100 terrific destinations throughout the Adirondack Park. These online trail guides provide maps and information for 100 trails in all corners of the Adirondacks Park. [Read more…] about 100 Adirondack Hikes to Avoid Weekend Crowds

DEC, Private Club Piloting High Peaks Hiker Reservation System

March 30, 2021 by John Warren Leave a Comment

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Ausable Club have announced a pilot reservation system to access the Club’s private lands, the Adirondack Mountain Reserve (AMR). Since 1978 the State has held a conservation easement on Club/Reserve lands which allows limited access to some of the more popular places in the Adirondack Park’s High Peaks Wilderness Area.

A press release from DEC cited “reliable access” and public safety along Route 73 among the reasons for the change. The pilot program is slated to run for three years according to DEC. [Read more…] about DEC, Private Club Piloting High Peaks Hiker Reservation System