Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York - xBhp.com : The Global Indian Biking Community

Picky · 11-08-2011, 03:43 AM

Last month, me and my wife went on a weekend ride to the Adirodacks park in Upstate New York. It is the largest park in the USA and home to some of best riding roads with beautiful views from its numerous mountains.

Its not too far from where I live, about 330 miles(500km). I had been there twice earlier this year(by car) during winters as it is the winter sports capital of the country. The main objective was to go on the summit of Whiteface mountain, which we could not visit last time as it was closed during winters. Also, the winding roads were all the more inviting that I had to come back again on the bike.

Here are a few teasers:

So, the ride was planned to coincide with fall foliage viewing as well as the last day of the year when the road to the summit is open.

The original intent of leaving early saturday moring 7AM was foiled by the wedding party we went to on Friday night. We returned back at 4AM and woke up at 10AM. So much for precision planning...

Anyways, we somehow managed to leave at 12 noon and immidiately hit traffic as we approached Tappan Zee bridge.

After crawling at speeds of 5 - 10mph for about an hour, the New York State Thruway (I-87) opened up.

First stop at a rest area at 100 miles.

After another 100 miles, we reached the town of Lake George, which is the beginning of Adirondacks park and a huge tourist destination. We had been to the lake many times but only on the shore. This time we wanted a different view of the lake, from the summit of Prospect mountain. We got off the thruway and headed straight to Prospect Mountain highway. This is right after the toll both that the road starts going uphill.

There are many scenic viewpoints of the way to the summit, we stopped at the first one with barely a glimpse of the lake.

On closer inspection..

Then we stopped at the second viewpoint, also time to give the backside some rest after riding 125 miles.

A better view of the lake...

Going uphill a little more...

Stopped at the third viewpoint. Here we can see the southern end of Lake George along with the town.

As we get ready to move on to go to the summit...

A group of Harley riders stop by on their way down....

And we continue towards the summit...

Finally, we are at the summit of Prospect mountain. After parking the bike in the parking lot at the end of the road, we hiked up to the summit.

View of the parking lot from the summit...spot the bike in the picture...

Here's the answer:

The leaves had not started changing yet but getting there...

The remains of the ropeway that used to operate a 100 years ago to bring tourists to the summit before the road was built.

Northbound views of Adirondack mountains and lake George.

As the sun was setting, it was time to get back and find a place to stay.
Getting ready to leave....

"Lets gooooo...!!!"

As we descend downhill...

Now all we had to do was a find a place to stay for the night. Not a problem... Lake George has numerous hotels, we'd stay in one.

We went to the first one of our choice..."sorry sir, we are sold out"
We went to the second one.."sorry sir, no rooms available"
The third, fourth... same answer... we were like WTF..????

We found out all the hotels in Lake George and nearby towns were all sold out.

It was already 9 PM by now and still we could not find a place to stay.
We decided to go to Plattsburgh 110 miles further north where we would definitely find a room. The only problem was that we had to drive through Adirondacks park where the chance of crashing into deer or any other animal was quite high during the night as they all come out after dark. Some of them graze next to the road and panic when you are approaching and jump right in front of you causing numerous crashes and quite a few biker fatalities every year.

But we said what the hell....we decided to go to Plattsburgh anyway. We reached there in a couple of hours and landed directly in the Hotels parking lot. there also the same story... all hotels - no vacancy. We had dinner at a Subway and asked the attendent there if he knew about some non-chain hotel/motel that might have a room available. He was kind enough to call up a few hotels but even he was surprised that there was no rooms available. We get the Yellow book and started calling all the places listed. We were told that there is nothing available in a 2-hour radius of Plattsburgh. it was the Columbus day weekend and with Oktoberfest events going on all over the place, this weekend is always sold out with tourists.
It was now past midnight and we were exhaused and sleepy. I thought of getting a tent & sleeping bags from a nearby 24-hr Walmart and camping out somewhere. So we set out on the road again and came to Valcour Visitor center/rest area on I-87. Inside the visitor center, there were two benches. I said, "this is it... just drop your stuff and go to sleep".

So these were our beds for the night:

Though it looks like, I'm in police lock-up... I'm not.
A lot of cops came by, but no one disturbed us

Our "suite"

So that was the first part of the travelogue...Hope you enjoyed the pictures.

In the next installment we ride up the Whiteface mountain.

Noor · 11-08-2011, 02:40 PM

Trip log approved

rakesh_zmr · 11-08-2011, 02:57 PM

Great picture there, and great ride!

abhijitkn · 11-08-2011, 02:58 PM

Nice photographs, nice ride..waiting for more

Sunny · 11-08-2011, 04:26 PM

I missed seeing your bike in NY, but here it is! Looking good! Good to see you back on the road. It is a pity that even motorcyclists cant use the shoulder lane in heavy traffic, it is pretty frustrating sometimes.

I missed seeing the Blue ridge parkway in all its splendor in the falls - but i can see you are enjoying the colors!

Power to JLA!

Picky · 11-08-2011, 11:17 PM

@Rakesh & @Abhijit: thanks guys..!!

@Sunny: Thanks man...getting to find the time to go on a trip becomes tough with so many family/social obligations. But once on the road, its a different world.
Riding on the shoulder can result in a hefty fine if you're caught. Even filtering thru cars (lane splitting) is illegel everywhere except California, but most riders (including me) do that during a traffic jam/crawl.
When you come to the US next time, we can plan a trip to Blue Ridge pkwy or New England region.

And Yeah...!! More power to JLA

Picky · 11-09-2011, 12:21 AM

Ok.. so after an uneasy 3-4 hr sleep on a wooden bench we got up and started to pack for the ride onwards...

And we started riding towards Whiteface mtn. which was just 45 miles away.

Whiteface ski slopes are now visible in the distance.

Village of Wilmington - Gateway to Whiteface.

Then we reached the entrance to Whiteface Mtn Auto Road when another group of bikers was waiting to buy the tickets.

Enjoy the view while waiting in the ticket line.

After buying the tickets we ride on towards the summit.

An interesting accidental shutter press shot.

View from the road to the summit.

Most of the leaves have changed colors. too bad I did not have a SLR.

Lake Placid point.

The famous lake Placid.

Reached the parking at the end of the road. From here we could either hike up to the summit or walk into a 425 feet long tunnel in the mountain and then take the elevator to go 275 feet to the summit.

the road that we took to reach the summit.

We decided to hike up the Stairway ridge trail.

That is where we have to go

And we are at the summit. It was quite windy....

On the other side of the mountain we could see the bare ski slopes.

"Occupy Lake Placid"

Time to leave. Starting descent.

Another stop at lake placid point.

After visiting Whiteface, the plan was to ride the roads in the Adirondacks and head back home. So following are pics of some awsome roads that we rode on.

The bigger picture.

Would love to live at a place like that.

This is the famous Tracy road. Search youtube for "Tracy Road" and you'll see what fun this road is.

After riding for a few hours, it was time to head home.
We got back on the thruway and reached home at around 11PM.

Here's are the odometers at the beginning and the end of the ride.
Starting Mileage: 13172
Ending Mileage: 13900
Total trip : 728 Miles (1165 Kms)

suhaib.faizy · 11-09-2011, 12:03 PM

Wonderful pics there. nice roads. amazing trip.

Haroon · 11-09-2011, 03:09 PM

Picky- This is absolute bliss. I have numerous Americade DVDs and all the names and places you visited sound so familiar (seeing them on DVD I mean!). Sure its on my bucket list.....Will the summits/roads be open during mid-April?

Thanks for sharing and tempting us more...

Lonely Rider · 11-09-2011, 03:33 PM

Brilliant Travelogue and Amazing pics. Great ride there

Watching the pics for "N"th time now

11-08-2011, 03:43 AM	#1 (permalink)
Picky Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: New York City Suburbs Posts: 245	Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York Last month, me and my wife went on a weekend ride to the Adirodacks park in Upstate New York. It is the largest park in the USA and home to some of best riding roads with beautiful views from its numerous mountains. Its not too far from where I live, about 330 miles(500km). I had been there twice earlier this year(by car) during winters as it is the winter sports capital of the country. The main objective was to go on the summit of Whiteface mountain, which we could not visit last time as it was closed during winters. Also, the winding roads were all the more inviting that I had to come back again on the bike. Here are a few teasers: So, the ride was planned to coincide with fall foliage viewing as well as the last day of the year when the road to the summit is open. The original intent of leaving early saturday moring 7AM was foiled by the wedding party we went to on Friday night. We returned back at 4AM and woke up at 10AM. So much for precision planning... Anyways, we somehow managed to leave at 12 noon and immidiately hit traffic as we approached Tappan Zee bridge. After crawling at speeds of 5 - 10mph for about an hour, the New York State Thruway (I-87) opened up. First stop at a rest area at 100 miles. After another 100 miles, we reached the town of Lake George, which is the beginning of Adirondacks park and a huge tourist destination. We had been to the lake many times but only on the shore. This time we wanted a different view of the lake, from the summit of Prospect mountain. We got off the thruway and headed straight to Prospect Mountain highway. This is right after the toll both that the road starts going uphill. There are many scenic viewpoints of the way to the summit, we stopped at the first one with barely a glimpse of the lake. On closer inspection.. Then we stopped at the second viewpoint, also time to give the backside some rest after riding 125 miles. A better view of the lake... Going uphill a little more... Stopped at the third viewpoint. Here we can see the southern end of Lake George along with the town. As we get ready to move on to go to the summit... A group of Harley riders stop by on their way down.... And we continue towards the summit... Finally, we are at the summit of Prospect mountain. After parking the bike in the parking lot at the end of the road, we hiked up to the summit. View of the parking lot from the summit...spot the bike in the picture... Here's the answer: The leaves had not started changing yet but getting there... The remains of the ropeway that used to operate a 100 years ago to bring tourists to the summit before the road was built. Northbound views of Adirondack mountains and lake George. As the sun was setting, it was time to get back and find a place to stay. Getting ready to leave.... "Lets gooooo...!!!" As we descend downhill... Now all we had to do was a find a place to stay for the night. Not a problem... Lake George has numerous hotels, we'd stay in one. We went to the first one of our choice..."sorry sir, we are sold out" We went to the second one.."sorry sir, no rooms available" The third, fourth... same answer... we were like WTF..???? We found out all the hotels in Lake George and nearby towns were all sold out. It was already 9 PM by now and still we could not find a place to stay. We decided to go to Plattsburgh 110 miles further north where we would definitely find a room. The only problem was that we had to drive through Adirondacks park where the chance of crashing into deer or any other animal was quite high during the night as they all come out after dark. Some of them graze next to the road and panic when you are approaching and jump right in front of you causing numerous crashes and quite a few biker fatalities every year. But we said what the hell....we decided to go to Plattsburgh anyway. We reached there in a couple of hours and landed directly in the Hotels parking lot. there also the same story... all hotels - no vacancy. We had dinner at a Subway and asked the attendent there if he knew about some non-chain hotel/motel that might have a room available. He was kind enough to call up a few hotels but even he was surprised that there was no rooms available. We get the Yellow book and started calling all the places listed. We were told that there is nothing available in a 2-hour radius of Plattsburgh. it was the Columbus day weekend and with Oktoberfest events going on all over the place, this weekend is always sold out with tourists. It was now past midnight and we were exhaused and sleepy. I thought of getting a tent & sleeping bags from a nearby 24-hr Walmart and camping out somewhere. So we set out on the road again and came to Valcour Visitor center/rest area on I-87. Inside the visitor center, there were two benches. I said, "this is it... just drop your stuff and go to sleep". So these were our beds for the night: Though it looks like, I'm in police lock-up... I'm not. A lot of cops came by, but no one disturbed us Our "suite" So that was the first part of the travelogue...Hope you enjoyed the pictures. In the next installment we ride up the Whiteface mountain. Last edited by Picky; 11-09-2011 at 12:26 AM. Reason: Fixed Typos

11-08-2011, 02:40 PM	#2 (permalink)
Noor Administrator Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Posts: 2,336	Trip log approved __________________ Happiness is finding you have another Gear left.... Join xBhp On

11-08-2011, 02:57 PM	#3 (permalink)
rakesh_zmr Rider Join Date: May 2010 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 507	Great picture there, and great ride! __________________ All the wise men of the world are called wise only after they spoke their mind, so dont keep the ideas to yourselves!

11-08-2011, 04:26 PM	#5 (permalink)
Sunny SlowMotionInfinity Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Delhi Posts: 7,292	I missed seeing your bike in NY, but here it is! Looking good! Good to see you back on the road. It is a pity that even motorcyclists cant use the shoulder lane in heavy traffic, it is pretty frustrating sometimes. I missed seeing the Blue ridge parkway in all its splendor in the falls - but i can see you are enjoying the colors! Power to JLA! __________________ Join xBhp On

11-09-2011, 12:21 AM	#7 (permalink)
Picky Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: New York City Suburbs Posts: 245	Whiteface Mountain Ok.. so after an uneasy 3-4 hr sleep on a wooden bench we got up and started to pack for the ride onwards... And we started riding towards Whiteface mtn. which was just 45 miles away. Whiteface ski slopes are now visible in the distance. Village of Wilmington - Gateway to Whiteface. Then we reached the entrance to Whiteface Mtn Auto Road when another group of bikers was waiting to buy the tickets. Enjoy the view while waiting in the ticket line. After buying the tickets we ride on towards the summit. An interesting accidental shutter press shot. View from the road to the summit. Most of the leaves have changed colors. too bad I did not have a SLR. Lake Placid point. The famous lake Placid. Reached the parking at the end of the road. From here we could either hike up to the summit or walk into a 425 feet long tunnel in the mountain and then take the elevator to go 275 feet to the summit. the road that we took to reach the summit. We decided to hike up the Stairway ridge trail. That is where we have to go And we are at the summit. It was quite windy.... On the other side of the mountain we could see the bare ski slopes. "Occupy Lake Placid" Time to leave. Starting descent. Another stop at lake placid point. After visiting Whiteface, the plan was to ride the roads in the Adirondacks and head back home. So following are pics of some awsome roads that we rode on. The bigger picture. Would love to live at a place like that. This is the famous Tracy road. Search youtube for "Tracy Road" and you'll see what fun this road is. After riding for a few hours, it was time to head home. We got back on the thruway and reached home at around 11PM. Here's are the odometers at the beginning and the end of the ride. Starting Mileage: 13172 Ending Mileage: 13900 Total trip : 728 Miles (1165 Kms) Last edited by Picky; 11-10-2011 at 08:45 PM.

11-08-2011, 02:58 PM	#4 (permalink)
abhijitkn Tour, Hike & Wander Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Pune, Mumbai Posts: 493	Nice photographs, nice ride..waiting for more

11-08-2011, 11:17 PM	#6 (permalink)
Picky Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: New York City Suburbs Posts: 245	@Rakesh & @Abhijit: thanks guys..!! @Sunny: Thanks man...getting to find the time to go on a trip becomes tough with so many family/social obligations. But once on the road, its a different world. Riding on the shoulder can result in a hefty fine if you're caught. Even filtering thru cars (lane splitting) is illegel everywhere except California, but most riders (including me) do that during a traffic jam/crawl. When you come to the US next time, we can plan a trip to Blue Ridge pkwy or New England region. And Yeah...!! More power to JLA

11-09-2011, 12:03 PM	#8 (permalink)
suhaib.faizy Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: New Delhi Posts: 21	Wonderful pics there. nice roads. amazing trip. __________________ Life is what happens to us when we are busy making other plans.

11-09-2011, 03:09 PM	#9 (permalink)
Haroon RIDE for PASSION Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bangalorean, but now in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Posts: 794	Picky- This is absolute bliss. I have numerous Americade DVDs and all the names and places you visited sound so familiar (seeing them on DVD I mean!). Sure its on my bucket list.....Will the summits/roads be open during mid-April? Thanks for sharing and tempting us more... __________________ Growing old is compulsory - growing up is optional *So many roads, So little time* RIDE for PASSION See us & our rides at: www.rideforpassion.com

11-09-2011, 03:33 PM	#10 (permalink)
Lonely Rider Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 251	Brilliant Travelogue and Amazing pics. Great ride there Watching the pics for "N"th time now __________________ RE Thunderbird Since Jan 09 onwards Suzuki Zeus Jan -Dec 08 -- Sold Honda Unicorn Oct 06-Dec 08 -- Sold New edition : BSA Mach 19" 6 Speed-- Sold Schwinn Sporterra -- Up and running

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