Fall in Adirondack and Vermont

I've just joined your community and am excited about the valuable info I was able to pick up from fellow photographers.(Although still struggling with some of your abbreviations)

My husband and I are planning a holiday to the States end Sept to mid Oct, which will now include Adirondack, to photograph autumn colours and the mountains. As this is totally new area (we are from South Africa) and with limited time:

Please give some advise on which are the convenient areas to stay. The plan is to do a week in Adirondack (28 Sep - 4 Oct) and a few days in Vermont before driving down to Boston. We will hike to good spots and probably prefer smaller establishments.

We are currently looking at Blue Mountain Lake, Long Lake, Keene Valley
and Stowe.

Carina:

I personally like to use Lake Placid as my home base when returning to the Adirondacks now-a-days. Lots of places to stay (but perhaps someone with more specific local knowledge can suggest smaller places). I often use the Comfort Inn on the north end of town. Lake Placid is very nice in and of itself and is close to many hikes in and around the high peaks plus it is close to Keene Valley - plus I like to travel up to Saranac Lake (where I lived for two years 30 years ago).

When in Vermont, I really enjoy the Manchester area - there are many Inns and B&Bs in the area (although many are pretty expensive). I usually stay in Danby or Dorset (often camping). There are many good hikes in the area and some good back woods drives with some nice typical New England scenes. Considering you will be on the way to Boston - you might also want to consider the Wilmington area - on the way to Wilimington - drive route 100 - lots of covered bridges.

I am sure you will gets lots of advice - but put this at the top of your list - this is probably the most popular time of year to visit these places - make reservations ASAP.

Jim

Im not that familiar with Vermont but I agree with James that Lake Placid is worth visiting. Its centrally located between the high peaks and the lakes area to the north. It is a small postcard like town but it has a lot of accomodations from very expensive (Lake Placid Lodge, Mirror Lake Inn) to the very affordable (Swiss Acres Inn). You can get a more info on Lakeplacid.com. The high peaks is a great place for hiking. Depending how difficult of a hike you are looking for, you can do anything from short summits to Mt. Joe or more difficult ascents of Mt. Marcy and Algonquin. There are endless possibilities. Canoeing in the Saranac Lakes region is also a great way to see some spectacular areas.

Definitely, make your plans and reservations EARLY!!! Welcome and have fun while you're here!!

Carina,

Many places to see and stay in Vermont. I suggest you buy David Middleton's book "The Photographer's Guide to Vermont". It is an excellent book. It will tell you where the hotspots are and the lesser known photography spots are. It will also let you know what town where you can sleep and eat. I also suggest you make your reservations early. It is our top tourist season. Welcome to Vermont.

John

Carina: Stowe is beautiful,but a tourist haven. In October, you will fight crowds and traffic and have difficulty finding lodging unless you have booked well in advance. I agree with John that Middleton's book is excellent. I also have a PDF with some detailed narrative on some places to see and photograph (free on my website: http://lightcentricphotography.com). You might also check in at www.scenesofvermont.com on the foliage forum for "realtime" reports on fall color foliage conditions and scenic driving suggestions.

There are some pretty talented Vermont-based photographers (John is one) here who might also give you some suggestions for places to go and photograph. Note that colors "progress" generally from north to south and from higher elevations to lower elevations. Also, the areas adjacent to Lake Champlain tend to turn later because of the influence of the water.

Hi Everyone,

A big thank you for all the leads. We are in the process of following up on all the advise, will order Middleton's book, and a big thank you for the PDF file Andy! This has helped in pinning down the right areas on Google Earth.

Best regards
Carina & Phil

Check out this link:

http://visitadirondacks.com/first-time-visitors/aerial-tour.html

I have been going to the Adirondacks for many many years and you have picked a perfect time to be there! Often peak colors and with the rain this summer everyone is predicting great fall colors.

Blue Mountain Lake, Long Lake, Keene Valley are all great places.

The chairs alongside of Blue Mountain Lake are a great foreground to the lake and mountain. Castle Rock is an easy climb getting you awesome views of the lakes below. Lake Durant has a good campground, but also some good trails.

Long Lake -- make sure to stop at Hoss' general store. And the Adirondack Hotel has good food.

You can go from Blue Mountain Lake to Long Lake and the to Tupper Lake and up the high peaks. Saranac Lake is wonderful in the Fall, the road follows a river and there are photo ops galore. Whiteface mountain is a must see.

Keene Valley -- ah one of my favorites. Chapel Pond has to be THE most photographed pond in the Adirondacks. And make sure to stop at the pull off and look at Roaring Brook Falls. Cascade pond is wonderful in the evening. The Noonmark diner has good food and my favorite ice cream, Denali Moose Tracks.

Chestertown is also VERY nice. As is Inlet.

We will be up there a couple of weekends this Fall.

Thanks Lisa. I managed to get a map of the area with more details and will plot your suggestions in. We opted to stay in Keene Valley and will do travels from there before moving to Vermont side.
Can't wait.

Have fun and show us some photos when you get back. I love the Adirondacks! They say that this year should be excellent color because of all the rain. We drove down Rt 73 a few weeks ago and the light was just spectacular!