Lakes Champlain and George form the region's eastern border, while the Mohawk and St. Lawrence river valleys define its southern and northern limits.
You can access the region's mountainous interior by SRs 9N/86 and 73 from I-87; and SRs 30 and 12/28 from I-90.
Adventure travel enthusiasts will also enjoy Glens Falls, a popular spot for hot-air balloonists between the Hudson River and Lake George that also features the Hyde Collection of fine arts in a Florentine-style mansion. Hop on a cruise boat in the village of Lake George to explore the 365 islands of 32-mile-long Lake George.
You can use the village as a base for exploring such fun things to do as local lakeshore recreation and historical sites. Scenic Lake Shore Drive links the village to Fort Ticonderoga National Historic Landmark, which controlled the narrow isthmus between lakes Champlain and George during Colonial times.
Extending southward 120 miles from Canada, Lake Champlain varies in width from one-quarter of a mile to 12 miles. From Plattsburgh, Port Kent and Essex, ferries reach Vermont.
Off I-87, Ausable Chasm, often called the Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks, has a series of waterfalls which end in rapids that invite you to take a ride in a raft or go tubing, and rock climbing on 200 feet of sandstone walls is another fun thing to do. Plattsburgh, near the Canadian border, played a strategic role in the War of 1812.
SRs 9N/86 and 73 wind through about 50 miles of small farms, resort communities and rugged mountains before joining near Lake Placid. East of town is Wilmington, where 4,867-foot Whiteface Mountain ranks as the highest skiing peak in the East, perfect if you're looking for fun things to do with friends. West of Lake Placid is the town of Saranac Lake, where author Robert Louis Stevenson sought relief from tuberculosis and wrote extensively.
Blue Mountain Lake, at the junction of SRs 30 and 28, features the Adirondack Experience, which provides a thorough background on the region. Along Raquette Lake near the town of Tupper Lake lie the extravagant “Great Camps” of the Victorian-era industrialists.