jeff51

hi, much appreciate advice from bicyclists who've ridden the adventure cycling adirondack loop. i'm thinking of riding it early-mid sept, and wondered about traffic, food and ice cream, camping possibilities, and also suggestions on things to do along the way. usually i tour on car free long distance bike paths, but the adirondack loop looks like a great trip. how much of it is along lakes? thanks, appreciate the help,

jeff

https://bicycletouringoncarfreepaths.org/

Steve B.

The link you provided does not have any Adirondack routes on it, but I looked at the Adventure Cycling site which shows a basic map for the route that starts/ends in Albany. It pretty much covers all the ADK's but I personally would skip Albany and start/stop somewhere else, like Warrensberg, just off I87, for ease of access. The sections where you are riding with a view of a lakes are along Lake Champlain near Port Henry, for a bit along the Saranacs, along Tupper Lake, good view of Blue Mt. Lake as you come down the hill off the shoulder of Blue Mt. then you cross over and see Long Lake, then along Indian Lake, but mostly you see trees and a lot of them.

Al the roads are good for biking and there's rarely any bad traffic anywhere. Most of the towns have some sort of general store for supplies. It's a good time of year to tour, the kids are all back in school so fewer tourists, excepting the seniors in barely mobile homes. It can also get cool and bring rain gear for when it rains, it gets cold up here at this time of year.

This is one loop I'm planning:

A 4 day credit card/B&B/Hotel trip would be park a car in Warrensberg, NY. Each of the towns on the 4 day loop has motel(s) and restaurants.

Day 1 to Port Henry, NY on Lake Champlain, via Rts 9 north, then Rt 8 east, then 9N North to Rt 22N (57m or so),

Day 2 to Saranac Lake, via County Hwy 7 to Lincoln Pond Rd. to Elizibethtown then 9N to Rt73 to and thru Lake Placid then Rt86 to Saranac (52m). Note that I skip heading west from Port Henry to the Northway and Rt's 9 & 73 and up to Keene Valley. It's less hill climbing up the Lincoln Pond Rd. to Elizibethtown, then 9N to Keene.

Day 3 to Blue Mt. Lake via Rts 3 and 30 (54m),

Day 4 to Warrensberg on Rt28 (48m).

Note that there are options to camp as well, with NY State Campgrounds at Crown Point, NY, just south of Port Henry, Fish Creek Pond, W of Saranac Lake on Rt 30, as well as Lake Durant campground, just west of Blue Mt. Lake, but best check for closure dates as the DEC tends to shut stuff down early due to budget cuts.

A good on-line mapping program can let you determine routes and options. The webs is good for determining the possibilities for hotels/motels and food. The NY State DEC site has the campground listings.

indyfabz

Is this an honest post or are you trying to advertise your website? You made a very similar post (much of it is verbatim) regarding AC's Green Mountains Loop.

Pistard

Warrensburg is exit 23 off I87 1 hour drive north of Albany. I would agree that traffic is non existant, some leaf peeping, and moose hanging around Blue Mt Lake...

Steve B.

I87, thank you as I could not recall, having driven the road a zillion times in every kind of weather..... I'll edit my post

SB

Steve B.

I got the impression he's undecided as to NY or VT, thus the dual posts and that the link is a site he's developing, not necessarily selling as anything.

Kip

I rode most of the ACA Adirondack loop in September 2008. We started in Albany and rode the route CCW. We picked up the Erie Canal near Rome and continued on to Rochester. One of the highlights of the trip that I encourage you not to miss is the Adirondack Museum. You won't be disappointed if you set aside some time to visit it. We found the campgrounds to be great on this route and enjoyed our tour very much. Have a great time.

jeff51

i'm a little amazed to see this question, but as i've gotten some really good suggestions in this forum on both loops, the fact is i've got much of sept off, and am thinking of riding one or both loops. as the link to the website shows, most of my touring in the last decade has been on car free paths, because i'm not crazy about riding with cars, and i don't think i'm alone in that respect. but i'm running out of car free paths that are not too far away to ride this fall. advertise the website? it's non-commercial, no ads or anything else, possibly some useful information about touring on car free paths. that work? fwiw, i made the same posts on the adventure cycling site, hoping to get some information, and no replies yet. but based on comments i've gotten here, i went ahead and ordered the maps. and to those who have made really helpful suggestions on planning for the trip, much appreciate the advice. and if anyone's interested in going with, adirondacks and/or vermont, leisurely trip, mostly camping, pls email me here. jeff

Philly Tandem

Just got back from a week in the Adirondacks (not bike touring). Beautiful country to tour in, but be prepared for rolling hills and some long climbs. Traffic should be pretty light in September, but many summer tourist facilities will likely be closed.

+1 for the Adirondack Museum. It's a must-see and very well presented. $2 off coupons can be found in some of the local tourist brochures.