ADK Talks

Think the Adirondacks are too far away for a weekend getaway? Or that there's nothing to do once the fall foliage disappears? We've got a few things to say about that! We're opening the ADK Talks mailbag to answer your questions about planning an Adirondack vacation, finding the best places to stay, and discovering what makes this six-million-acre playground worth visiting in every...

Would you spend the night in a haunted Adirondack hotel? Wander through a historic battlefield after dark? Or go looking for the legendary Lake Champlain monster? The Adirondacks are full of fascinating history, but some of our favorite places have stories that don't quite fit into the history books. From mysterious footsteps in grand hotels to ghostly soldiers at Fort William Henry, there&ap...

The Adirondacks are more than mountains, lakes, and spectacular scenery. They're also home to the people who run the restaurants, maintain the roads, staff the hospitals, operate the farms, and keep small towns alive. And the challenges facing those year-round communities affect everyone who loves spending time here. Why is your favorite restaurant closed several days a week? Why are housing...

James Bond in the Adirondacks? Believe it or not, 007 once traded the glamour of London and Monte Carlo for Route 9 and Lake George. In Ian Fleming’s 1962 novel The Spy Who Loved Me , a young woman named Vivienne Michel sets off from Montreal on a Vespa, eventually landing at a lonely Adirondack motor court near Lake George. That’s where Bond finally enters the story, in one of Fleming’s strangest...

Pointed hats. Decorated broomsticks. Classic rock. And a whole lot of Adirondack joy. If you’ve been to a fall festival, parade, or community celebration around North Creek, Indian Lake, Lake George, or Gore Mountain, there’s a good chance you’ve spotted the Adirondack Dancing Witches. But what looks like a wonderfully quirky performance from the crowd has a much bigger story behind it. We sit dow...

Fifty years after Woodswoman introduced readers to a woman building an independent life in a remote Adirondack cabin, Anne LaBastille still captures the imagination. But the cabin on Twitchell Lake was only one part of her remarkable story. We talk with seventh-generation Adirondacker and author Penny Harr about her new book, Anne LaBastille: A Biography of the Woodswoman , and the woman she disco...

What if your next Adirondack adventure had no summit, mileage goal, or destination at all? We sit down with New York State outdoor guide Nathan June, founder of Nathan’s Nature Navigations, to explore forest bathing and the simple practice of slowing down enough to really notice the woods around you. Nathan’s relationship with nature changed dramatically after a major health crisis and liver trans...

What if the Adirondacks’ most famous mystery isn’t hiding in the history books, but somewhere just off the trail? We’re heading back into Bigfoot country with John Sheridan, creator of Adirondack Bigfoot, who investigates eyewitness reports across the Adirondack Park. John talks with the people behind the encounters, visits the locations where they happened, and documents what he finds through vid...

Ever wonder how a New York apple picked in October can still taste crisp the following summer? We’re heading to Peru, New York, in the Champlain Valley to meet Jenna Mulbury, third-generation co-owner of Northern Orchard and our latest guest in the Women in Agriculture series with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Clinton County. Northern Orchard has been growing apples since 1906, and today its fr...

Long before family vacations meant airport security and resort apps, there was Lake George. In the 1950s and ’60s, families piled into their cars and headed north to the Adirondacks for cottage colonies, roadside attractions, speedboats, theme parks, elaborate nightlife and days spent on the Queen of American Lakes. In this episode of ADK Talks, we visit Bolton Landing and the Bolton Museum’s “Wel...

What happens when hundreds of hikers spread out across Lake George on the same summer morning? We took the ADK Talks mobile studio to the Lake George Land Conservancy’s annual Hike-A-Thon after party to find out. The result is a collection of field reports from around one of the Adirondacks’ most beautiful lakes. Some hikers discovered trails they had somehow missed after decades of visiting Lake...

What if sheep could help preserve farmland, support renewable energy, and make family farming more sustainable? We’re kicking off our Women in Agriculture series with Rebekah Pierce, co-owner of J&R Pierce Family Farm in West Chazy, New York. Rebekah and her husband, Josh, never planned to become farmers. What began with a few chickens grew into a pasture-based farm raising sheep, cattle, pigs...

In September 1901, Theodore Roosevelt began the day near the summit of Mount Marcy. By the following morning, he was president of the United States. Now, 125 years later, Newcomb and neighboring Adirondack communities are bringing that dramatic journey back to life. The world’s premier Theodore Roosevelt repriser, Joe Wiegand, returns to ADK Talks with Mary Monaghan, chair of Newcomb’s 2026 Teddy...

What does Adirondack food taste like? Chef, author, forager, and wine expert Susi Gott Séguret answers that question in Adirondack Appetite , a new cookbook featuring 150 recipes inspired by Adirondack camps, cabins, forests, farms, and family tables. In this episode of ADK Talks, discover how Indigenous traditions, French-Canadian influences, logging camps, Great Camps, wild ingredients, and mode...

This summer, Glens Falls becomes an open-air art studio. The Hyde Collection’s first Glens Falls Plein Air Festival invites more than 30 artists to capture the Southern Adirondacks as it happens, from the changing light on Lake George to the energy of downtown streets, historic buildings, gardens, bike paths, and summer gatherings. In this episode of ADK Talks, Caitlin Foley, Curator of Education...

Looking for one of the most unforgettable ways to experience the Adirondacks? Start on the water. The Northern Forest Canoe Trail begins in Old Forge, New York, and travels 740 miles through the Adirondacks, Vermont, Quebec, New Hampshire, and Maine. Along the way, it connects wild lakes, winding rivers, historic travel routes, welcoming small towns, remote campsites, and some of the most scenic p...

In this episode of ADK Talks, we head to Tupper Lake to celebrate 20 years of The Wild Center with Nick Gunn, Director of Marketing and Visitor Experience. Part natural history museum, part science center, part aquarium, part outdoor adventure, The Wild Center has become one of the Adirondacks’ signature destinations. Nick shares how the idea grew from post-ice storm interpretive exhibits into a n...

In this episode of ADK Talks, we head to Schroon Lake for a night at the movies with Liz McNamara of The Strand Theater and silent film accompanist Ben Model. The Strand has been bringing people together for more than 100 years, and each summer its Classic Movie Mondays series turns a night out into something special: vintage films, guest speakers, community conversation, and the kind of shared bi...

Doug Haney of BikeADK joins ADK Talks to share why the Adirondacks may be one of the Northeast’s best places to ride. From gravel roads and quiet backroads to the fully opened Adirondack Rail Trail, Doug makes the case that cycling in the Park is not just for hardcore riders. Whether you’re dusting off an old bike, planning a weekend ride, or curious about e-bikes, there’s a route, event, or trail...

In this episode of ADK Talks, we return to the John Brown Farm State Historic Site near Lake Placid with Adirondack historian and author Sandra Weber. Sandra’s new book, John Brown Farm: From Abolitionist Vision to Memorial Site , traces how a rocky North Elba farm became an internationally recognized place of remembrance, reflection, and activism. We explore John Brown’s vision of an integrated A...

In this episode of ADK Talks, we head to Old Forge to visit View Arts Center, one of the Adirondacks’ longtime homes for art, performance, classes, exhibitions, and community gathering. Jane and Steve sit down with Bernadette “Bernie” Sunderland, Executive Director of View, and Travis Kiefer, Director of Operations, to talk about the organization’s 75th anniversary, its roots in a front-lawn art s...

In this episode of ADK Talks, Jane and Steve head to Westport, New York, for a behind-the-scenes look at the Depot Theatre, a professional theatre housed inside a restored 19th-century train station on the shores of Lake Champlain. Guests Erin Jodwin, Artistic Director at the Depot Theatre, and Gigi Mason, Director of the Depot Theatre Academy, share what makes this small, intimate venue such a me...

Silver Bay YMCA has long been one of the north end of Lake George’s most beloved destinations, but there is much more happening there than many visitors realize. In this episode of ADK Talks, Jane and Steve welcome back Lindsay Butler, VP of Sales and Marketing at Silver Bay YMCA Conference and Family Retreat Center, for a fresh look at what makes Silver Bay such a special Adirondack gathering pla...

Memorial Day weekend in the Adirondacks can mean sunshine, dock weather, chilly rain, black flies, parades, boats on trailers, and the first real feeling that summer is almost here. In this episode of ADK Talks, Jane and Steve kick off the season with a Memorial Day weekend guide and a listener mailbag. They talk about what the Adirondacks feel like as seasonal businesses reopen, favorite early-su...

In this episode of ADK Talks, we sit down with Chef Robert Dumas, Director of the Institute of Adventure, Hospitality, and Food at Paul Smith’s College. Chef Dumas brings a remarkable perspective to the table. His career has taken him from washing dishes in a neighborhood Chinese restaurant to cooking aboard a Navy submarine, serving at the White House, teaching at the collegiate level, and now he...