Getting a Glimpse of Northern New York
June 2022
Including the Winter Olympic Village of Lake Placid in the Adirondacks, and a couple of islands in the the Thousand Islands region
High Falls Gorge, near Lake Placid, NY
After a short detour into Vermont, we returned to upstate New York for several more weeks. On our way, we passed the southern tip of Lake Champlain, which separates the two states. This would be a nice area to explore someday. From there, we headed to the Adirondacks.
We knew we were up north when we saw this road sign! We didn’t see any moose, though.
We also saw this sign several times in New York as well as in Pennsylvania.
We stayed at a KOA a short distance from Lake Placid. There was a trail from the campground down a steep hill to these falls on the west branch of the Ausable River.
Coming in June, we missed the big summer crowds, but we did experience road construction through town, something that is apparently never-ending here, due to the harsh winters messing up the roads!
Lake Placid was the site of both the 1932 and 1980 winter Olympic games. We were able to take a peek at the surprisingly small 1932 ice rink, as well as the outdoor speed skating track.
Athletes from all over the world train here in the summer as well as winter, but we did not get to see any. We were amazed at the height of the ski jumps!
Mt. Van Hoevenburg is the site of the bobsled run and other events. Here’s the podium for the medal ceremony.
Another road sign you don’t see every day!
HIgh Falls Gorge was another tourist attraction close to our campground. We walked on a boardwalk close to a series of waterfalls. The falls were flowing nicely!
Nearby was the little town of Jay, which has the only covered bridge in the Adirondacks.
Our next stop was the Thousand Islands in the St. Lawrence River, just a stone’s throw from Canada. We stayed at Wellesley Island State Park, which was quite nice. We stayed in the Heron campground. It was farther from all the other campgrounds, which made it quieter, and we had more space than some of the other camping areas, where sites were more crowded.
The I heart New York sign was at the visitor center right before the bridge to Wellesley Island. Below is the view from the bridge.
Our nice, big site, although it was soggy in spots after a heavy rain, and it needed some shade.
We walked a short trail near the camp store to this view of the St. Lawrence River and Canada on the opposite shore.
We took a quick ferry ride to Boldt Castle on Heart Island. In the late 1800’s George Boldt worked his way up from bus boy to steward. Later he opened his own hotel and then became manager of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, becoming a millionaire in the process. In 1900, construction started on the elaborate 127-room stone castle Boldt built for his wife, Louise. After four years of construction at a cost of $2.5 million, the exterior was mostly finished, but the interior still had much work to be done. Sadly, Louise died in January of 1904, and George, in his grief, ordered all work to be stopped. He never returned to Heart Island. The abandoned castle became a victim of the elements and vandals. Thankfully, the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority now owns the property, and has spent several million dollars on work to rescue the building from further ruin, and has restored and furnished the main floor and second floor. We were allowed to explore much of the mansion from basement to fourth floor. The third and fourth floors have not yet been restored, but there is an exhibit about Boldt on the third floor.
The powerhouse
Below: the beautiful main hall with the large stained glass dome above the stairway. A portrait of Louise is over the fireplace. The stained glass window with the deer was found in the water nearby after the Bridge Authority started restoration.
Below: the ballroom before and after restoration
Alster Tower was referred to as the Playhouse, and when the family visited the island during construction, they lived here. Most of the tower is not yet restored, and we could not go up the tower. There was a 2-lane bowling alley in the basement. We thought the door below was pretty cool with its curved glass and wood.
The Thousand Islands area was very pretty and the June temperatures were perfect. From there, we continued our month-long visit to upstate New York with a stay in the Finger Lakes region, the subject of the next post.