2 Best Sights in The Adirondacks and Thousand Islands, New York

The field station, part of a Cornell University extension program, encompasses more than 200 forested acres, a greenhouse, and orchards. An exhibit here explains how maple syrup is made. You may buy some syrup to take home with you. Tours are available by appointment and are recommended during the production season, February through April. The station is also sometimes open on weekends in March and April.

The center has natural-history exhibits and hosts lectures and classes on wildlife and other nature-related and outdoorsy subjects. Nature trails here double as cross-country-skiing and snowshoeing trails in winter. From June through Labor Day you may observe butterflies in the Butterfly House, a greenhouse-like structure. The center is in Paul Smiths, 12 mi north of Saranac Lake.