Into the Adirondacks: day trips and weekend bases

This guide is for Central New York readers who want the Adirondacks without a week off: a day trip up Route 28 from Utica, or a weekend based in Old Forge, Tupper Lake or Lake Placid. It covers how long the drives take, which places stay open after the leaves drop, and where to eat and sleep along the way.

The core of it is Old Forge and the Fulton Chain of Lakes in northern Herkimer County, the part of the park reached most directly from Utica on Route 12 and Route 28. From there it follows Route 28 and Route 30 deeper in, to Inlet, Raquette Lake, Blue Mountain Lake, Long Lake and Tupper Lake, then over to Saranac Lake and Lake Placid.

Getting there and how long it takes

From Utica, the route is Route 12 north to Route 28, then Route 28 north through Old Forge and Eagle Bay to Inlet, according to the Town of Inlet’s directions. From Syracuse, take the Thruway east to Utica and pick up the same route. Inlet’s visitor office puts Syracuse about two hours from Inlet, and Old Forge is on the way.

Past Inlet, Route 28 runs to Raquette Lake and meets Route 30 at Blue Mountain Lake; Route 30 then heads north through Long Lake into Tupper Lake. That is the route The Wild Center gives for visitors coming from Utica. For a sense of the distances, the Town of Webb notes that the Raquette Lake ambulance squad’s run to a Utica hospital is 76 miles.

For the High Peaks, the state’s I LOVE NY travel chart puts Syracuse to Lake Placid at 3 hours and 45 minutes. Once you are there, the Tri-Lakes towns are close together: Lake Placid to Saranac Lake is about 15 minutes, Saranac Lake to Tupper Lake about 30 minutes and Lake Placid to Tupper Lake about 40 minutes. Drivers from Syracuse and Watertown can also reach Tupper Lake on Route 3.

There is no regular bus or train service along the Route 28 corridor, so plan on driving. The exception is the Adirondack Railroad, an excursion line from Utica’s Union Station to a station in Thendara, just outside Old Forge. The railroad’s fall foliage “Gateway” trip runs Utica to Old Forge, and the longer High Peaks Limited continues to Tupper Lake; coach seats on the fall Gateway start at $55 for adults.

Old Forge and the Fulton Chain

The hamlet of Old Forge is the largest in the Town of Webb, and the town pitches it as a home base for Thendara, Eagle Bay, Big Moose and the Fulton Chain, the string of numbered lakes that runs northeast along Route 28 toward Inlet. The town runs a visitor center that is open daily, and the town’s tourism website keeps current lists of restaurants and lodging.

The McCauley Mountain Ski Center at 300 McCauley Mountain Road runs the scenic chairlift into fall, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For 2026 the lift is open Wednesday through Sunday through October 11, with a final day on Monday, October 12; adult tickets are $20.60. In winter the mountain has 21 slopes and trails and a 633-foot vertical drop, and McCauley lists average snowfall at 281 inches.

Down the road, Enchanted Forest Water Safari at 3183 State Route 28 is a summer water park, and the park is running a limited-ticket Autumn Adventure on Saturdays from September 19 through October 24, 2026.

For a rainy day, View Arts Center at 3273 State Route 28 is open year-round, with galleries, pottery classes and a wetlands walkway. The 2026 Quilts Unlimited exhibition runs October 2 through November 28. From Columbus Day to Memorial Day the center is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed Sundays.

Where to eat in Old Forge

For breakfast, Walt’s Diner at 3047 Main Street is known for oversized pancakes and omelets, closes on Tuesdays and adds a fish fry on Friday evenings.

For dinner, Tony Harper’s Pizza & Clam Shack at 3062 State Route 28 makes pizza two ways, traditional and an extra-thin “Broadway Style,” plus steamers and wings. The Old Forge location is open year-round; the company’s Inlet location is seasonal, and the Raquette Lake location has closed for the season.

Where to stay

Next to the water park, Water’s Edge Inn at 3188 State Route 28 has 76 rooms, according to the town’s lodging list, and is owned by the same company as the water park; Stay ‘N Play packages bundle the two.

On Fourth Lake, Great Pines Resort at 4920 State Route 28 has 29 rooms on 600 feet of waterfront, many pet-friendly, plus a seasonal lakeside restaurant. The resort sits next to snowmobile Trail 5, which makes the resort a winter base as well.

Inlet, Raquette Lake and Blue Mountain Lake

Inlet, farther along Route 28 past Eagle Bay, has two town parks, Arrowhead Park and Fern Park. The town’s Fall Festival is held the third weekend of September, and in winter Fern Park on Loomis Road has free groomed cross-country trails, sledding and an indoor skating rink.

On Raquette Lake, Great Camp Sagamore at 1105 Sagamore Road is a 27-building Great Camp built by William West Durant and later the Vanderbilt family’s summer retreat. The nonprofit runs guided history tours daily at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. through October 16, 2026. The camp sits on a remote lake, so allow time for the drive in. On the water, Raquette Lake Navigation runs dining and sightseeing cruises on the W.W. Durant; 2026 is the company’s 36th season.

At Blue Mountain Lake, the Adirondack Experience, the museum at 9097 State Route 30, has more than 20 buildings on about 120 acres overlooking the lake. Visitors can row a guideboat, climb a fire tower and hike to Minnow Pond. Adult admission is $22 online and $24 at the door, and active military get in free. The 2026 season runs through Monday, October 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

From Blue Mountain Lake, Route 30 passes through the hamlet of Long Lake on the way to Tupper Lake.

Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake and Lake Placid

In Tupper Lake, The Wild Center at 45 Museum Drive is a natural history center with 115 acres of trails and Wild Walk, a raised trail through the treetops. Thomas Dambo’s troll sculptures have brought some of the heaviest crowds in the center’s history, and weekends have been selling out, so buy timed tickets online. Adult tickets are $28. In September and October the center is open daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; from November through March the center is open Friday through Sunday.

In Lake Placid, the Lake Placid Olympic Museum inside the Olympic Center at 2634 Main St. covers the village’s two Winter Games, in 1932 and 1980, including the Miracle on Ice. The museum calls the collection the second-largest group of Winter Olympic artifacts in North America. Across Main Street, The Boat Tasting Room at 2617 Main St. pours beer from Wood Boat Brewery in Clayton and is open daily.

Saranac Lake is 15 minutes away. Its Winter Carnival, with an ice palace, is set for February 5 to 14, 2027, according to the carnival committee.

Good to know

These dates were checked on October 2, 2026:

• October 12 is the last day of the season for the Adirondack Experience and for McCauley’s scenic chairlift.
• Great Camp Sagamore’s history tours end October 16, and Water Safari’s Autumn Adventure Saturdays end October 24.
• The Wild Center switches to Friday through Sunday hours in November and closes December 25 and January 1.
• Old Forge’s local medical office is not an urgent care center, and the Town of Webb lists the nearest 24-hour emergency care at Mohawk Valley Health System‘s Wynn Hospital in Utica.
• Snowmobile trails in the Towns of Webb and Inlet require a Webb-Inlet trail permit in addition to state registration; the Town of Webb sells permits through its snowmobile site.

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