Hike, paddle, bike, or cross-country ski along beautiful trails through sites made famous by Adirondack guides, artists, writers, entrepreneurs, colonial settlers, and combatants in the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars. Visit abandoned iron mines and the ruins of tanneries, famous Adirondack great camps and old resorts, lost villages, Native American battlegrounds, and the homestead of John Brown, catalyst for the Civil War. Visit the scene of America¿s first naval battle and marvel at geological wonders like Indian Pass, Canajoharie Gorge, Chimney Mountain, and the tufa caves of Van Hornesville. Detailed directions, maps, photographs, and vintage postcards. Hikes include: Valcour Island ¿ Coon Mountain ¿ Crown Point: Fort St. Frederic & His Majesty¿s Fort of Crown Point ¿ Fort Ticonderoga ¿ Ironville & Penfield Homestead ¿ Rock Pond ¿ Rogers Rock ¿ Shelving Rock Mountain & Shelving Rock Falls ¿ Prospect Mountain ¿ Fort George and Bloody Pond ¿ Cooper¿s Cave & Betar Byway ¿ John Brown¿s Farm ¿ Mt. Jo & Mt. Van Hoevenberg ¿ Adirondac & Indian Pass ¿ East Branch of the Ausable River & Adirondack Mountain Reserve ¿ Santanoni ¿ The Sagamore ¿ Paul Smiths ¿ Hooper Garnet Mine ¿ Chimney Mountain ¿ Kunjamuk Cave ¿ Griffin, Griffin Falls, & Auger Falls ¿ Moss Island ¿ Tufa Caves & Waterfalls of Van Hornesville ¿ Canajoharie Gorge ¿ Wolf Hollow

30 HIKES INCLUDE -- Starks Knob & Schuylerville Champlain Canal Towpath -- Saratoga National Historic Park -- Geyser Park -- Vischer Ferry Nature & Historic Preserve -- Peebles Island State Park -- Oakwood Cemetery -- Burden Pond Environmental Park -- Ann Lee Pond -- Indian Ladder -- Bennett Hill Preserve -- Clarksville Cave Preserve -- Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve -- Balanced Rocks -- Shaker Mountain -- No Bottom Pond -- Tyringham Cobble -- Ice Glen & Laura's Tower -- Ashintully Estate & McLennan Preserve -- Vroman's Nose -- Pratt Rock -- Lindenwald & Martin Van Buren Nature Trail -- Rogers Island -- Olana -- Montgomery Place -- Ravena Falls -- Hudson River School Art Trail -- Catskill Mountain House Escarpment -- Saugerties Lighthouse -- Overlook Mountain -- Sky Top & Mohonk Lake

Native Americans called the area Couxsaxrage, "beaver hunting ground." Professor Ebenezer Emmons named it Adirondack, after one of the native tribes. Along the Adirondack Trail traces the history and lore of the Adirondacks up the scenic roadway through the heart of New York's mountain-and-lake country. Included are tales of the Mohawk Indians and their beatified princess, Tekakwitha; the site of the mansion of Sir William Johnson, one of America's most influential citizens of the 1700s; and an important battleground of the Revolution. Rare original photographs portray each of the twenty settlements on the trail from Fonda to Malone, reflecting the lives of the guides, loggers, trappers, sportsmen, camp owners, tourists, leather workers, and health seekers who opened up the unknown county.

The unique geological history of the Adirondacks can be found in a pebble. So discovers humorist and outdoorsman Tim Rowland as he chronicles the evolution of hiking in the howling wilderness of the High Peaks. From nineteenth-century guides random scoots to Melville Deweys Adirondaks Loj to todays technologically enhanced weekenders, Rowland, who has climbed the forty-six himself, incorporates personal anecdotes and laugh-out-loud wit to capture the appeal and beauty of this beloved region, all the while reminding us of the importance of keeping these stunning mountains, and their attendant neat rocks, Forever Wild.

Eighty-six true tales by more than 75 hikers including Forty-Sixers and members of the Adirondack Mountain Club about the dangers, challenges, and joys of all-season hiking and backpacking in the Adirondacks. Included are unforgettable climbs, extreme weather, animal encounters, getting lost, accidents, injuries, rescues, inspirations and enchantments in an awe-inspiring wilderness. Book jacket.