Triumphrat

Markhp

I'm heading up to the Adirondak Park in a few weeks & trying to decide which route to take from NE PA.
Has anyone gone up that way on either NY10 or NY30?
I want to avoid Interstates, major truck routes & frequent stop & go stretches.
Thanks for the feedback..

ssevy

Okay, here's a tutorial for anyone putting together rides in the Adirondacks. I grew up in North Creek, and currently live in Queensbury, and my buddies and I have ridden every inch of blacktop roads (and many dirt ones too). First some suggestions about camping and fuel:
1- NYSDEC operates some very nice campgrounds throughout the Adirondack (and Catskill) Park. They are clean, inexpensive, and put you right in the middle of some excellent roads. Here's their link for a map:
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=http:...ps/gmcamps.kmz

2- There is a chain of convenience stores called Stewarts Shops throughout the Adirondacks. They have gas, quick foods, lots of drinks, and most importantly, clean bathrooms. (Tip: if you are near one of the NYSDEC campgrounds and need a bathroom, most will let you look for a campsite before you pay for it, so you can always drive in, use the restroom and then tell them you didn't find a site you liked on the way out. It may be slightly dishonest, but it is better than leaving a mess in the woods for someone's dog to roll in).

3- Logging is a common occupation here, so if you see any open sections in the woods nearby or other indicators of active logging going on, be on the lookout for slow moving logging trucks and clumps of mud in the road.

4- Whitetail are very common here, and may be seen anytime, but most especially around dusk and then during the night. We also have a small resident population of moose reestablishing themselves here, and their eyes don't relect light back like the whitetail, so use lots of caution if you must ride after dark. Honestly, the scenery is so good that it would be a shame to miss any of it by passing through after dark anyways.

5- The state police is the main police presence here, as the counties are pretty small and rural, and can't afford much of a county sheriff force. Some small towns may have a town force, and they pay their bills by writing traffic tickets. Route 30 from Long Lake to Tupper Lake has several hidden pull-offs for radar, and Route 28 from Blue Mountain Lake to Old Forge gets monitored pretty closely as well. Basically, any of these major routes have troopers patroling at various times, and if you see a trooper vehicle going in the opposite direction or sitting with a radar gun, it is a pretty safe bet that he or she is the only one around for miles.


6- Now for the routes. First of all, road conditions vary quite a bit, as some roads are state, some county, and some local. None of these have any money right now, so there are some rough patches here and there. Look at a map, and you'll notice there are 4 major east west routes, from north to south as follows:

• Route 3 crosses the northern portion. Very desolate but nice scenery all the way from Harrisville to Tupper Lake. Continuing east, it gets busier until you reach Saranac Lake, and then back to the more desolate stretch which ends in Plattsburg. Turning south in Saranac onto 86, you enter the busiest and most affluent section of the park, and the prices and traffic increase accordingly. The ride through Lake Placid and down Route 73 through the cascade lakes to Keene and Keene Valley are beautiful, but expect lots of traffic if you go on a weekend. Tail of the Pup barbecue in Raybrook is where we stopped during the classic triples rally, and it is always good. If you have time, go northeast on 86 to Wilmington, and then take the Veteran's Highway to the top of Whiteface Mtn. The road sucks, but the view is spectacular. Then take 86 to Jay, and turn right onto 9N, then onto 73 in Keene. Very nice ride.
• Route 28 from Alder Creek to Warrensburg is a very nice ride, with lots of variation in scenery as you go from the rolling sand hills and pines of Forestport to the western edge of the mountains at Blue Mtn, and then down through Indian Lake to North Creek and finally Warrensburg. Generally good roads, but again, lots of traffic on the weekends. Much of the road is pretty wide open though, so passing isn't a problem. Lots of great water here, and nice places to stop for a break. Check out the frozen custard in Inlet at the town park, and take a stroll down to the lake and walk the boardwalk. Beautiful. There is a restroom at 7th lake boat launch further east if you need it. By the way, there are several NYSDEC campgrounds on this route, and they are all nice. Most will have room weekdays, but fill up quickly on weekends.
• Route 8 from Prospect to Hague on Lake George is a great ride. The section west of Piseco Lake is pretty desolate, and a good place to check your speedometer against your GPS to see if the ton is accurate on your speedo. Shoulders are cut nice and wide in many sections, so the whitetails are not such a worry. The Speculator Inn on Rt. 8 just west of the intersection with Rt. 30 has great food. It is about halfway along this route. Route 8 from the bridge over the Sacandaga river to Bakers Mills is pretty rough, especially a short section just east of Bakers Mills next to Ross Lake. You get a great view of Gore mountain across the lake here though. Some nice twisty stuff east of Wevertown to Chestertown, but a troopers barracks is in Chestertown, so be careful. Brant Lake to Hague is sweet, sweet, sweet, but beware of the declining radius turns near Graphite, and the traffic on Rt. 9N. If you go this far, the ride south to Lake George Village over Tongue Mountain is great, but lots of traffic is possible. Taking a left and heading north on 9N to Ticonderoga is nice, and there is a great soft ice cream place you'll see on the right just before the village.
• Route 29 is the southern boundary, and has some very rough sections around Dolgeville. The other 3 choices above are much better.
• North south you have 12 on the western side, which is flat and boring. Route 30 bisects the park, and is great anywhere along its length. 28N from Long Lake to Newcomb is rough, but gets better south of Newcomb. The Blue Ridge road from Newcomb to 87 is great, and then you can get on 9 and go south to Schroon Lake to Pitkins for a great meal. Route 10 is one of my favorite rides, with lots of twisties and nice scenery. Just be wary of the tar snakes, which are as plentiful on 10 as I have ever seen.
• My favotite southern approach is Rt. 30 for quick and easy, or 10 for more scenic.
• Some other random recommendations: RT. 30 through Saranac Inn is a fantastic road, but the two busiest NYSDEC campgrounds are on this road, so weekends are too busy to enjoy it. Mid-week it's worth a try. The eastern end of 186 has a great ice cream stand with a nice view. The Sacandaga Reservoir has a great twisty road all around the perimeter, but lots of boat traffic. Again, mid-week might be worthwhile. Nice diner at Edinburg at the four corners. Good pie. Lake George Village sucks. It is Ocean City or Virginia Beach on a smaller scale. The lake itself is gorgeous, but the traffic during the summer sucks every day. You might want to drive through just to say that you did, but it truly sucks.

Good luck, and feel free to pm me if you have any questions.
PS- I just noticed you said NE PA. I always stay at the Little Pond campground when going to PA, and it is a great spot! MIddleburg and Schoharie on Route 30 got hammered with Irene last summer, but the roads are okay.

Tripps

@sevvy, great post, I am bookmarking this, thanks.

__________________
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance -- it is the illusion of knowledge. - Daniel J Boorstin

Markhp

Thanks, Ssevy.
This is a really good tutorial & I'm book marking it, too.
We've been staying (& riding) up @ Lake Adirondak for the last 7 years. I know the "Daks pretty well, but not this well!
My issue is getting there on the bike. We've been trailering the Bonnie up in years past on the 'slabs. This time I'm riding up on the Beemer.
Sounds like NY30 might be the better way to go.
BTW - in all my travels up there I've seen the Smokies most often on the stretch between Long Lake & Tupper Lake. There's that 2 miles straight away...

ssevy

I've been on both Rt. 10 and Rt. 30 from the Pepacton Reservoir all the way to the Adirondacks. You really can't go wrong with either one. We did a few passes through the Catskills last summer, and I have to say that was some of the most gorgeous country I have ever ridden through. Best of all, traffic was almost nonexistent. Depending on where you are coming from in PA, we have crossed the border at Hancock, and then ridden all backroads like 370. A nice corner of your state for sure. By the way, if you look at the Adirondacks Classic Triple rally thread, you'll find quite a few pictures of some of the places I mentioned.

ssevy

Having just attended the Triumph Come Home Rally in Oley PA, I have some new roads in PA to suggest for the best access to the Catskills.
Since folks may be picking up a route anywhere along its length, I'll list the roads we used, and add comments to each.
We left Oley on 662N, which passes some beautiful big farms, but no curves to speak of. Once we turned onto 143N, however, we discovered an absolute gem of a road, with lots of twisties and some nice shady runs along a brook. Definitely don't miss this one!
Continuing onto 309N, we proceeded without much traffic, and made good time. Then a right onto Mountain Road, which was both scenic and wide open with some nice sweepers. We did see one county cop running some radar, but a car flashed us a warning, so we passed by without receiving any paperwork. It does seem weird that the default speed limit for most of these is 45 MPH, where in NY they would be 55 MPH, but we ran them between 60 and 65 MPH, and it seemed fine.
Next turn was 248N, which is a divided road, but fortunately one which you don't stay upon very long. 209E is a major non-interstate east-west route, and the traffic was heavy, especially at the interstate underpass area. Once past there, however, we made good time again. Just past Kresgeville, we took a left onto 534 and ran this quiet road to 903N. Traffic got progressively more heavy as we approached the Poconos, and 115N and 940E both had additional traffic, but we still made good time...that is, until we got to the intersection for 196N. The engineer who designed this one must have been an idiot, because the arrangement of lights lets the southbound traffic plug up the intersection so that even when we had the green, we sat for several cycles before risking our necks darting between cars who kept refilling the intersection and not letting anyone coming in from the west through. This was the worst intersection I have ever seen, and I encourage anyone traveling through this area to look for back streets to avoid this spot. Our next trip we plan to avoid the Poconos clutter entirely, probably by going further west.
Once upon 196, it is a great ride, and then it becomes 296N, again great. You can make good time here and the traffic is thin. 247N was next, to 170, and then back on 247 again. These are all good.
Going to the rally, we ran 191 south from Hancock, and it is a great route, with some nice sweepers. You can pick this up easily from 209 when going north, and this is a direct and decent route to get to Hancock NY.
We ran Rt. 30 both directions, and it is in very good shape. Gas is available at convenient locations, as is food, and the ride around the south shore of the Pepacton Reservoir is just a gas! Just be wary of deer and tar snakes, as the DOT worker who applied it must have had the DTs the day he was working! The view dropping into the Schoharie Valley is especially gorgeous, and there was nearly no traffic at all either day we rode this route. You will need to briefly run some of 17, but by all means do the new divided highway and not the original, as you won't have any fillings left if you do!
Safe riding!