Fall Foliage in Upstate NY: Lake Placid and High Falls Gorge

Leaf peeping season has officially begun in upstate New York! The sights were definitely many different shades of orange, yellow, red, and green on my family’s day trip to Lake Placid and the surrounding areas this past Saturday. If you’ve never made the trip up North to this small Olympic Village I recommend putting it on your list, especially during the fall.

My family and I left early on Saturday morning and made the two hour trip from Albany, NY to the High Peaks region for our first stop at High Falls Gorge which is a beautiful spot on the Ausable River that has multiple waterfalls. There are a bunch of bridges to overlook the gorge at various vantage points. The views are spectacular and Whiteface mountain is just breathtaking in the distance. The foliage was also on point making for even nicer picture opts.

After admiring the views at High Falls Gorge, my family and I took the quick and scenic drive to the town of Lake Placid for a lovely stroll along main street. We peeked into the many different shops and restaurants before grabbing a quick lunch at Big Mountain Deli which had tons of sandwich options named after the 46 Adirondack High Peaks. The bread was homemade and delicious I definitely recommend it! We walked off our lunch by wandering around town some more and admiring Mirror Lake from Mid’s Park. Mirror Lake is the lake that is visible from the shoreline of Lake Placid village and is simply stunning!

Before leaving the village, we made a quick stop at a local bakery for a few apple cider donuts to get into the fall spirit and then made a short drive to a nature trail that leads to the Lake Placid lake. The trail is called the Peninsula Nature Trail and leads right to a dam and wooden bridge that you can cross to admire the lake from a different view point. The trail takes about 10 minutes to reach the lake and is super flat, making it a nice walk for anyone of any fitness level.

At this point, we began to head home but stopped a few times along the way to check out the huge ski jumps visible from the road, the olympic bobsled complex, and various scenic vistas of the Adirondacks.

If you’ve never had the chance to explore the town of Lake Placid and the surrounding area in the Keene Valley, especially during the autumn season, I recommend it! The colors and views were spectacular and being in the mountains is always such a breath of fresh air. I’m so happy my parents and siblings were able to experience the beautiful Adirondacks with me during the most wonderful time of the year. Be sure to grab a pumpkin spiced latte, an apple cider donut, and a fully charged camera battery before heading out to your next fall adventure.

What fall activities do you have planned? Let me know in the comments below!

Crane Mountain, Adirondacks, NY: Getting Back Out There

After doing some research into which mountain in the Adirondacks to hike next, my boyfriend and I decided on a less well known mountain in the Southern Adirondacks that’s only an hour and a half away from my apartment. Crane Mountain is located in Warrensburg, NY and is a 3.2 mile loop (but was actually slightly longer for us) that features amazing views of the more northern Adirondacks as well as a beautiful pond. The roads leading to the trailhead are winding and get very steep the closer you get, so I definitely recommend bringing a car with 4-wheel drive if there is any chance of inclement weather. The directions we found online were very clear though and we were able to easily find the trailhead and parking lot.

We quickly strapped on our hiking bags and laced up our boots before signing in at the trailhead and starting the hike. The hike immediately got rocky and steep which was surprising, but not unmanageable. There was a lot of tree cover and some puddles making the trail a cool escape from the sun. We saw so many little orange salamanders along the trail which I had never seen before (so cute!) and some we even moved out of the way of other hikers that might not notice them. The trail continued to get steeper and rockier, but the views began peaking out from behind the trees.

Steep rock scrambles started to test me at this point, since I am not in the shape that I was last year, but the views at every turn made it more and more worth it. We soon came upon the first ladder of the hike which was pretty small, but still added a little something extra. A little while later, we found a second much larger ladder that honestly was a bit scary, but super cool once we reached the top of it. The ladders added a nice touch to an otherwise normal hike and also made the trip to the summit undoubtedly easier.

The summit was only a little farther from the second ladder and it was truly breathtaking. There was only one other person at the top when we reached it and it made me feel like I was all alone in the world. You could see for miles and miles. There are tons of other Adirondack mountains in the distance as well as small lakes and if you peek through some evergreens on the summit you can even catch a glimpse of the High Peak Region to the north. It’s truly a breathtaking summit.

We spent about 30 minutes just taking in the view up there and enjoying a quick snack before heading down the loop trail on the other side of the summit. The trail passes along some other amazing vistas before going back down into the woods and becoming rockier once again. The trail was slippery in some parts which posed a challenge, but there was nothing too technical that would prevent an average hiker from doing it.

After a while more, we reached a quiet and lovely mountain pond surrounded by evergreen trees and reeds. It was a nice view and definitely worth seeing if you have the time for a slightly longer hike. The flat portion of the hike around the pond was a nice break from the tough downhill, rocky sections which quickly picked back up. I was struggling a bit as we descended to some of the steeper sections, reminding me just how out of shape I am (haha). Once we reached the end of the trail, I was sad that it was over. We signed out at the trailhead and wished some other ascending hikers good luck before stripping off our sweaty socks and backpacks and heading home (aka to Chipotle to stuff our faces first then home!).

Overall, this hike was one of the best ones I have ever done. It had everything you could ask for including amazing views, tough rock scrambles, interesting ladder sections, serene forest trails, and even a quiet mountain pond. It has definitely become one of my favorites. The summit was peaceful and empty, making it all that more memorable. It reminded me why I love hiking so much and why it’s so important to step back from the world and recharge every once in a while.

Happy Hiking!! What hikes do you have planned for this upcoming fall season?

Keep Exploring: Barberville Falls, NY

When life gets busy and work gets in the way of fun plans and weekend getaways, it’s always nice to fit in a little adventure here and there especially when the temperature in upstate New York has been stuck in the teens with a windchill of zero. I’ve been meaning to get in a winter hike recently, but with working most weekends it’s been hard to find time to fit a trip to the Adirondacks or Catskills into my schedule (soon though!). This weekend though, I decided I wanted to get outside at least for a little while and brave the cold. Sometimes I just need even a few minutes to spend outside to appreciate nature to remember that spring is on its way and I’ll be back to hiking and exploring in the near future!

Today I did a little research and discovered that there was a beautiful waterfall in a nature preserve only a 15 minute drive from my apartment complex. I’ve been meaning to get to a frozen waterfall while I still had time and this one was so close I couldn’t pass it up. I convinced my boyfriend to join me (who has been sick the past few days so I really appreciate him coming with me), I grabbed my camera, and we quickly drove along the twisty back roads of Rensselaer county until we got to the small parking area for Barberville Falls Nature Preserve. After a short walk to the entrance to the preserve, we headed down a path and could hear the falls immediately. The path to the top of the falls is very short and flat, very doable for anyone. There’s also another path down to the base of the falls that we took to get a better look which was a little more difficult simply because it was covered in leaves and a little icy, but once we got to the bottom the view of the falls was beautiful.

It was so unexpected to find a place like this so close to where I live and not even know it was there until today. The falls were huge, about 90 feet tall, and partially frozen in some spots which was something I had never seen before. I snapped several pictures and admired the falls before heading back since I was freezing. Although it was only a short trip, spending some time outside today definitely lifted my mood and made me more hopeful for the week ahead.

No matter how busy life gets and no matter how little time you think that you have, its very important to make some time for the things that you enjoy the most in your schedule. For me today, that was exploring and taking photos of something beautiful. Taking an adventure doesn’t have to be an all weekend or even an all day event. It can be as short as you want it to be and still be just as amazing and just as meaningful to you.

Canon EOS Rebel T6 Review

As a side note to this post, I wanted to give a quick review of my very first DSLR camera that I purchased back in January. It is a Canon EOS Rebel T6 and I have been using it pretty often in various locations since I bought it. I have always enjoyed taking photos, but moving to New York and being surrounded by lakes, mountains, waterfalls, etc. made me more inspired to take nature photos and videos. I knew I wanted to start some sort of online presence whether it was a Youtube channel or a blog so I wanted to purchase a camera that I could use for either of those endeavors and this one fit my budget and had very good reviews online. Being new to DSLR cameras, I’m still learning a lot about all the different settings but having a camera like the Canon T6 has made me want to get outside and explore and experiment like never before. If you’ve been thinking of buying a DSLR camera just make sure it will be something that you actually get use out of because it is definitely not cheap. Also, your first DSLR does not have to be something extremely fancy since you don’t know if it will be a hobby you stick with forever. Mine is a basic model and if I continue with photography I can purchase other lenses and accessories along the way so keep that in mind as well. If you do a lot of traveling or outdoor trips and want to use something other than an iPhone camera then I definitely recommend getting a DSLR camera for high quality photos.

What was your favorite adventure this winter? Are you looking forward to any new adventures when the weather gets warmer? What do you use to take photos when you’re out and about? Let me know in the comments below!