Camping in the Adirondacks for 2 nights
 

Hi there -

My husband & I will be driving from Chicago to the Bay of Fundy next summer & I'm currently researching our route. I was thinking a couple of nights camping in the Adirondacks would be nice. I know it's a huge area & we'll only be able to see a small portion in that amount of time, but we'd still like to do it. Does anybody who's familiar with the area have any suggestions? We'd like to stick fairly close to the highway & would prefer to avoid the most touristy areas (i.e. Lake Placid). We don't have any kids, but will be traveling with our dog. Thanks!

Hmm...let's try this again. Anyone? :)

Since you are headed all the way to Maine the route you need to take will be I-90 through Mass. Any of the more rural routes through VT & NH will take you far longer to drive.

In NY, the DEC runs state camprgrounds. www.dec.ny.gov. The are generally clean, well kept and a good deal. Amenities range from nothing more than a picnic table and fire pit on the simple end to bathrooms, hot showers & tent platforms at the other end.

There are several distinct regions of the Adirondacks.

Western side, near Old Forge. Pretty Lakes, meadows, smaller hills. No large mtns.

NW. Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake. Larger lakes, lots of water activities, more wilderness. Some mtns, but not high peaks.

High Peaks - right in the middle, south of Lake placid. Serious hiking and wilderness camping

Lake Placid.

Lake George region.

Southern end - Piseco Lake, Indian Lake & Great Sacandage Lake area.

Anything but the southern end and Lake George area will take you out of your way quite a bit.

Even though Lake George village is touristy, there is a lot of open space, and you get away from crowds pretty quickly.

If you have your own tent and your goal is a couple of quiet nights outdoors, consider a campground on Piseco lake or lake pleasant. They aren't too far from some small towns and easy to get to from I90.

I don't know those specific areas myself, so I can't recommend a specific campground.

Thanks J62...we'll definitely look into your suggestions for the southern area.

In the Adirondacks, I would recommend the NY State campgrounds. These are usually well-maintained with good facilities. We've camped in the Old Forge area at the 8th Lake Campground, and also in the Saranac Area at Rolands Creek/Fish Creek Campground (my favorite). However, I'm not that familiar with particular campgrounds in the southern part.

Thanks Cher...yes, it looks like NY State campgrounds are definitely the way to go. Thanks for your recommendations.

Nicole