Skip to main content

NY 30 through the Adirondacks

Image
By
In April 2005, Doug Kerr, Chris Jordan, and I spent the day traveling through the Adirondack Mountains.  For most of the trip, we took NY 30 from Amsterdam to Horseshoe Lake stopping numerous times along the way.  NY 30 runs through the heart of the Adirondack's and is one of New York State's most scenic routes.  It is part of the Adirondack Trail Touring Route.

Sacandaga River near Northville: 


Our first stop was near Northville where the Sacandaga River flows on the west side of the highway.  This is just north of Great Sacandaga Lake - which is a very popular recreation area.  On this warm spring day, this first stop was a taste of some of the great scenery to come.




Lake Algonquin at Wells:
 
Over a pony truss bridge, NY 30 crosses the Sacandaga River again in Wells.  To its west, the man-made Lake Algonquin sits with Mount Dunham and Mount Orrey in the background.  Just north of Lake Algonquin, NY 8 joins NY 30 on its way to Speculator.



Lake Pleasant and Speculator:

The Village of Speculator is located in the heart of the Southern Adirondacks and is one of the more popular areas to visit.  One of its key attractions is Lake Pleasant which is along the southern border of the village.  Also nearby is the Oak Mountain Ski Center.




Speculator to Indian Lake:


In Speculator, NY 8 leaves NY 30 to head west towards Higgins Bay.  Meanwhile, NY 30 continues north through the central part of the Adirondacks.  Here is where NY 30 begins to have a more rugged mountainous feel.  Just north of Speculator is Mason Lake, a small lake on the west side of NY 30.  Near Indian Lake, a trail to the summit of Snowy Mountain begins at NY 30.  NY 30 runs at an elevation approaching 2000 feet here.  Snowy Mountain's summit is just shy of 4,000 feet at 3,995'.




Indian Lake:

 
Indian Lake is one of the longer lakes that are along the Adirondack Trail.  A source of the Lake Abankee Indian River - a branch of the Hudson.  Indian Lake is one of the many natural lakes within the Adirondacks.  The length of Indian Lake is 14 miles.  One of the best views of Indian Lake is off of NY 30.  In the tiny hamlet of Sabael, a small loop road of vacation homes provides access to some spectacular views.
 




Lake Durant:

At Indian Lake, NY 30 joins NY 28 and heads northwest towards Blue Mountain Lake.  As you are approaching Blue Mountain Lake from the south or east, the Adirondack Trail runs along the northern shores of Lake Durant.



Long Lake:

 
At Blue Mountain Lake, NY 30 leaves NY 28 only to quickly pick up NY Route 28N.  The combined routes then head north to one of the most popular areas of the Adirondacks, the Village of Long Lake.  Long Lake along with the lake that shares its name is home to numerous inns and vacation homes drawing visitors seeking a refreshing break of civilization.  Camping, fishing, swimming, and hiking are just some of the recreational offerings of the area.  Even in the middle of April, Long Lake was a popular draw, as many people headed out to the mountains to enjoy a beautiful weekend.






NY 421:

 
NY 30 leaves NY 28N at Long Lake and continues north towards Tupper Lake and Malone from Long Lake.  After crossing into Franklin County, NY 30 briefly enters St. Lawrence County near NY 421.  We headed onto NY 421, a short access road to Horseshoe Lake.  Along NY 421, there is a nicely rehabilitated decorative arch bridge over the Bog River as it flows into Tupper Lake.


 
From here, we returned south along NY 30 to Long Lake.  At Long Lake, we took NY 28N through Newcomb and joined NY 28 at Holcombville.  We were briefly on NY 28 to NY 8 and stopped at the Riparius Bridge over the Hudson before joining I-87 south back to Albany.  Unfortunately after the second visit to Long Lake, the batteries in my camera ran out of juice.  I did return to Riparius the following October to take photos of the bridge, that is covered on the NY 8 Adirondack Roadtrip.

All photos taken by post author, April 2005.

Sources & Links:
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more