ADK Talks

In this episode of ADK Talks, we head out on the water with Aaron Gaza of Aaron’s Guide Service, a licensed New York State guide who helps anglers discover the beauty, challenge, and thrill of fishing in the Adirondacks. Aaron takes us from Great Sacandaga Lake to Saranac Lake, Long Lake, Tupper Lake, and beyond, sharing what makes Adirondack fishing so special: thousands of lakes and ponds, tens...

Loons are one of the defining sounds of an Adirondack summer, but protecting them takes far more than admiration from afar. In this episode of ADK Talks, we welcome back Denise Silfee of the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation, along with Dr. Lizz Schuyler, the organization’s new Senior Director of Science and Conservation, for a fascinating conversation about what loons can teach us about the...

In this episode of ADK Talks, we talk with Jacob McCoola and Nicole Panek about St. Lawrence University’s Adirondack Semester, an immersive fall program where students live off-grid in a yurt village on Massawepie Lake. They share what daily life looks like without phones or laptops, how students learn through outdoor leadership and place-based study, and why the experience leaves such a lasting i...

In this episode of ADK Talks, Jane and Steve welcome Nolan Cool and Christine Bush from Adirondack Architectural Heritage (ARRCH) to talk about the buildings, landscapes, and local stories that shape the Adirondacks. They share how ARRCH helps people connect with the region through popular tours, hands-on workshops, and practical preservation guidance for homeowners and communities. From Great Cam...

In part two of our conversation with the Adirondack Park Paranormal Society, we move from Big Moose Lake to the old Herkimer County Jail, where Chester Gillette awaited trial after the 1906 murder of Grace Brown. APPS shares what they experienced inside the jail, how they approached the investigation, and why they believe some of the building’s most infamous former inmates may still make their pre...

More than a century ago, a quiet Adirondack lake became the setting for one of the most infamous true crime stories in American history. In this episode of ADK Talks, we dive into the tragic case of Chester Gillette and Grace Brown—a story of ambition, deception, love, and murder that unfolded at Big Moose Lake in the early 1900s. What began as a secret romance in a Cortland skirt factory ended in...

From Hill to Stage: Seagle Festival’s Next Act in the Adirondacks For more than a century, the Seagle Festival has been a summer tradition on the shores of Schroon Lake—where emerging artists arrive with big voices and leave ready for the world stage. In this episode of ADK Talks, we welcome back Artistic Director Darren Woods along with Director of Education and Community Outreach Josh Cook. Toge...

For many Adirondack families, maple syrup is simply part of life. It’s on the breakfast table, in the kitchen, and woven into generations of seasonal tradition but behind every bottle of pure maple syrup is a remarkable blend of forestry, science, craftsmanship, and patience. In this episode of ADK Talks, we head to Thurman, New York to visit with Randy Galusha, owner of Toad Hill Maple Farm. Rand...

In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re revisiting a conversation that still resonates: our interview with Peggy Lynn and Sandra Weber, co-authors of Breaking Trail: Remarkable Women of the Adirondacks . For generations, Adirondack history has centered on guides, industrialists, conservationists, and explorers — most of them men. But women were here all along. They were lumber camp cooks and lobb...

What’s really happening behind the kitchen doors of an Adirondack restaurant in the dead of winter? In this episode of ADK Talks, we welcome back Chef Billy Trudsoe of Lizzie Keays in Warrensburg for an honest, energetic, and eye-opening conversation about restaurant life in the Adirondacks. We jokingly dubbed this one “Kitchen Confidential: Adirondack Edition,” and Billy delivers. From skeleton c...

It’s mailbag time. Jane and Steve tackle your winter questions, from Presidents’ Week ski picks to the Mirror Lake Toboggan chute, smart winter hiking basics, and crowd-dodging ideas across the Park. Along the way: loon parenting truths, BrewSki intel, full-moon ski nights, cardboard sled chaos, and a reminder that a quiet walk on a frozen lake can be the most magical “activity” of all. What you’l...

In this episode of ADK Talks, we step inside one of the most important scientific sites you’ve probably never heard of: the tuberculosis laboratory that helped put Saranac Lake on the global medical map. We’re joined by Amy Catania, Executive Director of Historic Saranac Lake, who helps us trace how a small Adirondack village became a worldwide center for healing, research, and compassion at the t...

What if one of the Northeast’s most remarkable art museums wasn’t in New York City or Boston, but tucked into the foothills of the Adirondacks? In this episode of ADK Talks, we head to Glens Falls, NY to explore The Hyde Collection—an intimate house museum where Old Masters, modern icons, and deeply personal stories live side by side. We’re joined by Bryn Schockmel, Curator of the Permanent Collec...

Winter at The Sagamore Resort is anything but quiet. Each January, the lakeside terrace transforms into a frozen spectacle where 300-pound blocks of ice, chainsaws, blowtorches, and a lot of muscle come together as one of the Adirondacks’ most anticipated winter traditions: the Glacier Ice Bar. In this episode of ADK Talks, we’re joined by Tom Guay, General Manager of The Sagamore, whose career at...

Rick Vidal left global boardrooms for a forgotten ski mountain and found something much bigger than a renovation project. In this episode of ADK Talks, we head to Jay, New York, to explore the remarkable reinvention of the former Pale Face Ski Area, now reborn as NewVida Preserve. Rick shares the deeply personal story behind buying a long-closed resort, reopening land that had been private for dec...

Winter in the Adirondacks can feel otherworldly. Snow-draped trees, hushed trails, bluebird summit days, and the kind of stillness that only comes when the temperature drops. It can also turn dangerous fast. In this episode of ADK Talks, we welcome back Jeff Berry and Elena Lumby from Search and Rescue of the Northern Adirondacks (SARNAK) for an honest, practical, and sometimes chilling conversati...

If you’ve ever chased a storm on your phone and wondered where all that snow actually lands, this episode is for you. Jane and Steve head west of the Blue Line to the Tug Hill Plateau—one of the snowiest corners of the East—and sit down with Snow Ridge co-owner and general manager Nick Mir to talk powder mornings, small-mountain grit, and why “Ice Coast” doesn’t always apply. Nick shares what it’s...

A woman walks away from toxic-tort law in Oakland, loads four Nigerian dwarf goats into a Honda Element, and drives 3,000 miles with her partner to a scruffy little farm in Thurman, NY. Two decades later, that leap of faith has become Nettle Meadow: a sanctuary for hundreds of animals and the home of Kunik, one of the most celebrated cheeses in America.  In this episode, we sit down with Sheila Fl...

Where else can your morning class involve snowshoes, your lab take place in a 100-year-old white pine stand, and your campus stretch across 14,000 acres of Adirondack wilderness? Paul Smith’s College is a place where learning happens in the field — sometimes literally — and that’s precisely why we love it. This week on ADK Talks, we head to the shores of Lower St. Regis Lake with Dr. Brett McLeod,...

In this episode of ADK Talks, we climb aboard what we’re calling the Holiday Express and take you on a whirlwind tour of the Adirondacks in winter. From Old Forge to Lake Placid, Tupper Lake to Ticonderoga and Lake George, we share our favorite ways to spend the holidays in the Park: where to ski, where to shop small, and where to find the kind of pie that could start a family rivalry. We talk thr...

In this episode, we explore what it really means to eat locally in the Adirondacks — not just during summer’s peak produce season, but all year long, even through deep winter. We sit down with Bella Susino, Program Leader of Adirondack Harvest , the regional initiative (housed within Cornell Cooperative Extension of Essex County) connecting people, farms, forests, and communities across the North...

In this episode, we crack open the ADK Talks mailbag — and you did not hold back. From the mysteries of the blue line to the origins of the word Adirondack, from Great Camps you can actually stay in to the surprisingly wholesome truth about nudists in the Adirondacks… you kept us laughing, thinking, and occasionally Googling just to make sure we weren’t making things up. We share the questions tha...

From Great Pines on Fourth Lake to the rebirth of North Creek’s Phoenix Inn, Weekender Hotels is rewriting the script on where (and how) we stay in the Adirondacks. In this episode of ADK Talks, we sit down with Keir Weimer, CEO of Weekender Hotels, whose mission is to breathe new life into classic Adirondack motels and resorts while keeping them rooted in place, history, and the outdoors. Keir sh...

The Rough Rider rides again—right through the heart of the High Peaks. In this episode, we sit down with nationally known Theodore Roosevelt repriser Joe Wiegand to relive T.R.’s deep Adirondack ties—from youthful birding trips and great-camp visits to the legendary midnight ride that began at Mount Marcy and ended with the oath of office in Buffalo. Joe shares how he “becomes” Roosevelt on stage,...

From deep, cold-water mysteries in Lake Placid to candlelit marches at Fort William Henry, this Halloween-season episode serves up more true (and truly fun) tales of Adirondack ghosts, legends, and oddities. Jane leans into lore, Steve brings the “Acker facts,” and together they map a spine-tingling route you can actually visit—if you dare. What you’ll hear in this episode: The Lady of the Lake (L...