Getting There

The Adirondacks

Since the Adirondacks are in the extreme northeastern New York, no matter where you start from, you'll end up entering the park on Route I-87 North. Getting to I-87, however, will differ.

Coming from anywhere in the Ohio Valley, you want to work your way up to I-80 which comes across northern Ohio and central Pennsylvania. In eastern Pennsylvania you turn off on I-81 north and I-84 east. I-84 will cross New York for about an hour and intersect with I-87 North at Newburgh.

Recently there has been major contruction on I-81 at Scranton, resulting in massive traffic backups. You might want to check your GPS or other services. If this is happening during your trip, there's an easy workaround. Just stay on I-80 to East Stroudsburg, then take state route 209 north to Milford. This will take you through Delaware Water Gap National Park. There will be very little traffic on 209 and certainly no truck traffic. It's a very scenic and relaxing drive that brings you right into the main street of Milford, where you'll get on I-84.

If you live in the Great Lakes area, Chicago or anywhere across the northern tier of the country, you want to come east on I-90. That will intersect with I-87 North at Albany.

If you live anywhere in the middle third of the country, you want to come east on I-40, which intersects with I-95 in North Carolina. You then take I-95 north to New Jersey. Take 287 West bypass around congested New York City, and take I-87 North.

If you live anywhere in the Southeast, you want to come North on I-95, take 287 West around New York City, then take I-87 North. Prepare, however, for major traffic slowdowns in North Carolina, Washington D.C. and the New York City area. Plan accordingly. You will not make the time you think you will.

You'll be coming past historic towns and scenic locations and you should stop and enjoy some of them. For those coming across I-80 and I-84, at the Pennsylvania - New York border, we highly recommend an overnight stop at Milford (Pa.) at the Tom Quick Inn (photo, left). This is a Norman Rockwell / Walt Disney kind of small town, everyone's idea of an ideal place to grow up. The Tom Quick is a historic inn recently restored and updated. Rooms are quaint and classy but very functional, with excellent beds, bathrooms, TV, refrigerators and wifi. 

The restaurant is outstanding, widely known in the region for its Bread, Lobster Bisque, Red Oak Leaf Salad, Lobster Mac & Cheese, Crab Cakes, Amish Chicken, Steaks, Rabbit, locally sourced Pork Chops and Ravioli stuffed with Acorn Squash and other delicacies. They serve a fine Cider, but their signature drink is a Maple Bacon Old Fashioned. Service is professional and gracious and the ambience is pure 1950s.

And right at the edge of town is one of America's least known national parks : Delaware Water Gap.

As the top two photos and the one here at right show, this is a beautiful mix of flowing water and deep forest. It's filled with historic sites, old Revolutionary and French & Indian War battlefields, a still operating old mill, a ghost town, campsites and outstanding hiking trails. There's plenty of wildlife : Wolves, Deer, Bear, Wildcat, Moose, Fox, Pheasant, Owls, Hawks, Eagles, and a variety of reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates. The Appalachian Trail comes through here. Short hiking trails lead to spectacular waterfalls, fly fishing waters and swimming holes. There's canoeing and horseback riding. This is a park where New Yorkers, Pennsylvanians and Jerseyites come for two week vacations. You could easily justify an extra day or two on the way to or from the Adirondacks. This area is The Poconos, not quite the famous resort area it was back in the 20th Century, but still popular with its lodges and cabins, especially on Lake Wallenpaupak. 

If you're coming across New York on I-90, from Utica to Albany, you'll pass along the southern boundary of The Adirondacks. You might be tempted to just turn off the interstate and enter the park from the south, especially on state route 30. But don't. The main entrance to the park, the visitor center, many of its key attractions, important roads into its interior, and its most easily accessible lakes, wilderness areas, and hiking and backpacking trails, are on its eastern side.

After you've visited the Adirondacks several times, done everything along its eastern side and the main roads into the interior, and become familiar with the park, then you might decide to enter from the southern border. Many hard core backpackers, fishermen and canoeists love the southern and western areas of the park becaue they are so undeveloped, uncrowded and wild. But it's not a good place to begin your exploration.