Blue Ridge Road Scenic Byway

One of 13 Scenic Byways of the Adirondack North Country

• North Hudson - Lumber, tanning, and tourism and a huge forest fire in 1903 shaped this community's history where now some 200 plus people live. The Town Beach on the Schroon River is typically quiet, as is much of this drive, on this, for the most part, sparsely populated and traveled road.
• And nature offers many photo opportunities along the Blue Ridge Road (Essex County Rte. 2), including those of buffalo! Another great shot, Branch Falls, also known as the Blue Ridge Falls, is a series of cascades of the Boreas River visible from the road.
• A hike through the Hoffman Notch Wilderness which is to the south of the road, as written by Phil Beamish, editor of the monthly Adirondack Explorer.
• Elk Lake, which lies north of the road, with over 12,000 primitive acres has numerous trailheads to the high peaks. Campers are served by campground facilities, including the State campsite at Sharp Bridge, which was the first of its kind to be built by the Conservation Department.
• Also north of the road, and number six in order of magnitude in the Adirondacks, is Dix, both the highest mountain in the Dix Mountain Wilderness and the only one with a marked and maintained trail leading to the summit. Much more remote that the Great or MacIntyre range this area sees few crowds and gives one a good chance to appreciate the silent natural beauty of the Adirondacks.
  As it is a mostly bald peak it offers some of the best views in the Adirondacks. One can see the entire Great Range to the NW and behind them the lesser peaks of the MacIntyre Range. To the NE is Giant and Rocky Peak Ridge, to the SW is Elk Lake and the East offers a good view of Lake Champlain and the Green Mountains. For more descriptions, visit Dix Mountain and Dix Mountain Wilderness Area.
• Newcomb contains the southern access to the High Peaks Region and has the largest number of trailheads in the Adirondacks. Trailheads to Marcy, Algonquin and Colden peaks are accessible from the Upper Works Trailhead near Tahawus. The history of the mine at Tahawus is complemented with a diorama and story of the Adirondack Iron Works and villages of MacIntyre and Tahawus, original magnetic ore separator of 1844-1854, plus a full-size photo mural of the 1854 blast furnace at the Adirondack Museum. These photos of Tahawus were taken in July 2002.
• The NY Governor's Office Press Release of May, 2003 declares changes in preservation to ... "approximately 10,000 acres in the heart of the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Mountains, including the headwaters of the Hudson River and the historic site of the abandoned Village of Adirondac in the Town of Newcomb, Essex County.
  The preservation of these lands, which includes the site of the former Tahawus Club and the first iron ore mining operations in the Adirondacks, protects the upper Hudson River watershed and the "southern gateway" to the High Peaks Wilderness Area.
  Of the remaining 4,000 acres, approximately 3,000 acres remain a working forest and several hundred acres comprising the historic Village of Adirondac will be managed as an historic district.
  Adirondack Council Executive Director Brian H. Houseal said, "We are thrilled that the Governor and OSI have joined forces to acquire thousands of acres of new public lands at the south end of the High Peaks Wilderness. The purchase will relieve enormous recreational pressure in the Park's most sensitive, and most heavily visited, wilderness area. At the same time, the Town of Newcomb will get a much-needed economic boost."
  Originally settled in 1826 as the Village of Adirondac, the historic site retains many important structures, including the McIntyre Works and other early blast furnaces, which illustrate the evolution of iron smelting technology. Also on the site are a dam and water wheel system, several domestic foundations, and the community cemetery. Industrial operations in the Village were abandoned in 1856, but a portion of the property was redeveloped 20 years later into a sportsmen's club, the Tahawus Club, the oldest such organization in the Adirondacks.
  In September 1901, then Vice President Theodore Roosevelt was staying at the McNaughton Cottage at the Tahawus Club when he received the news that President William McKinley had been shot. Roosevelt immediately embarked from the club on an historic midnight carriage ride along the back roads of the Adirondacks to the North Creek Railroad station. At the station, Roosevelt received a telegram informing him that President McKinley had died. As a result, Roosevelt became the nation's 26th president.
  The Tahawus Club and the Village of Adirondac (also known as McIntyre) are part of the Upper Works: Adirondack Iron, and Steel Company, a 400-acre site on the National Register of Historic Places.
  Included throughout the mountainous property are significant natural resources, including Mount Adams and Henderson Lake, as well as several peaks above 2,000 feet that offer scenic vistas. There also are eight additional lakes and ponds scattered throughout the forested land, as well as numerous rivers and streams.
• Newcomb - This village, which lines Route 28N for many miles, is the home of the Newcomb Interpretive Visitor's Center. And located off route 28N, just past the Overlook Monument (some of the best mountain views of the region), is the Hudson River Information Center, a small interpretive center about the history of lumbering in the Town of Newcomb. Picnic tables offer an opportunity to enjoy views of the Hudson River and High Peaks. The Hudson descends 1600 feet between here and the Atlantic Ocean. Although a few later Adirondack camps had more property or more or larger buildings, Santanoni's 12,900 acres, 45 or more buildings, fine rustic workmanship, and large farm operation, considered together, make Santanoni one of the grandest of the Adirondack Great Camps.

Maps of Adirondack North Country
and Tourist Oriented Signage