What’s more, there are no bad seasons in the Adirondacks. It is as pristine in the snow-blanketed winter as it is during the sunbaked days of summer—all that’s required is an affinity for the great outdoors. “The mountains are higher, the snowfall is greater, the lakes are clearer, the air is fresher—clearly I’m biased, but it feels much more like an escape into nature than the Catskills ever has,” Sense of Shelf founder Madeline Ritaccio says, an entrepreneur who is native to upstate New York and has had a family cabin in the Adirondacks for decades. “I still don’t even get reliable cell reception up there, and that’s part of the charm.”
If you’re arriving from New York City, the drive takes around five or six hours (admittedly more of an undertaking than the manageable three-hour journey to the Catskills and Hudson Valley). But even if you’re not up to the road trip, there are flights with Cape Air from John F. Kennedy International Airport to the Adirondack Regional Airport. Indeed, it’s often those taxing-to-reach destinations that turn out to be the most worthwhile—and such is the case here.
Ahead, the Vogue guide to the Adirondacks.
Where to Stay
As mentioned, the Adirondacks are regarded for their rugged Great Camps that had a building boom spanning from the 1880s to 1920s. Though many fell into disrepair after The Great Depression, several still stand—and a select few, including The Point Resort on Upper Saranac Lake, still book out rooms. “The Point was built for William Avery Rockefeller II from 1929 to 1933 and offers a glimpse into what the Rockefellers desired when escaping from the hustle and bustle of New York City,” Maiurano says, with outdoor activities including hiking, boating, canoeing, and fishing in the summer, to snowshoeing, ice skating, and more in the winter. The all-inclusive property was the first Relais and Châteaux hotel in North America and has 11 bedrooms.
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