Customer Reviews

The Adirondack Book: A Complete Guide, Fifth Edition (A Great Destinations Guide)

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2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having spent much time in the Adirondacks, and with a child at school in Saratoga Springs, I was extermely disappointed with the scope of information in this "complete guide". While the historical, geographical and quasi-scientific narrative that Ms. Folwell has compiled is interesting, the information that a traveler/vacationer/tourist (especially one who's new to the area) would need is sorely lacking. The meager information that is available is unusually skewed toward what seems to be the author's limited personal taste in facilities, activities and likes.

Apparently, Ms. Folwell does not like hotels or resorts, since most of them (and there are several in the Adirondacks) were glaringly missing from this book. Also oddly missing were some of the best restaurants in Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Saratoga Springs. (I concede that "best" is subjective, but there were just too many missing from her book.)

The Adirondacks are a haven for camping, yet this book glossed over that topic with a minimum of information. What about the amazing campsites on the islands of Indian Lake? Or the available lean-to locations in the High Peaks region?

Finally, the organization of this book is antithetical to a good travel guide. Rather than approach the Adirondacks by region, the author divides the book by topic. Since the Adirondacks are relatively large, it's most likely that a visitor will be spending the bulk of her time in a single area. This guide offers no comprehensive list of data about any given area or town, and requires you to jump around and compile your own data sheet if you're staying in one area.

Rather than "A Complete Guide", it would be more appropriate for this book to be called "An Introduction to the Area," since that is in fact exactly what it is, and no more.

The Adirondack Book is an excellent guide to what to do, where to eat, etc., in the Adirondacks. The format is easy to follow, and the comments/recommendations are pretty much dead on. Not all of my personal favorites have found their way into these pages, but I've definitely been introduced to some new faves. Even if you own previous editions, I recommend buying the newest available--things change, and yesterday's hot spot may well have fizzled.

Whether you are first time or repeat visitor to the Adirondacks, this guide comes in handy on any visit to New York State's great preserve, forever wild.

The guide includes eight chapters. First is the park history, an important background for everyone. Second, comes a short guide on transportation to, from and through the wilderness area, including mileage and estimated traveling times. Third, you'll find an extensive 90-plus pages of accommodations, from the rawest of campsites to the most lavish inns and hotels. Personally, we're partial to the non-profit camp organizations, but there are plenty of choices to suit every taste.

A fourth 50-page chapter covers the theater, arts and museums in the Adirondacks, from Champlain Valley to Lake George. There are music festivals and the Six Indian Nations museum, for example, and the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake is not to be missed. One can also find storytelling sessions in high season.
And don't forget the writer's programs, for wordsmiths among the travelers.

Chapter Five offers 80 pages of eateries, in every category, from the classic Adirondack diner, the Noon Mark in Keene Valley, famous for its home baking (including excellent fruit pies) to the fabulous gourmet restaurants like Friends Lake Inn in Chestertown, a onetime boarding house for tannery workers with a fabulous menu. And of course there are a wide variety of food stores listed, for those who like to eat on the run, or need to stock their ice chests before heading to camp.

The 100-page sixth chapter, on recreational opportunities and listings, is one of the book's most useful, for it not only includes the obvious--like bike, ski, boat rental outlets and tours of every stripe--but also several suggestions on how to find private camping guides.

Chapter Seven keeps the shopaholics happy, I suppose, though I've never found much use for this set of listings. Unfortunately, some of the classic Adirondack stores, like the Bashful Bear bookstore in Keene Valley. Finally, in chapter Eight, is a "nuts and bolts" listing of emergency and medical centers, banks and cash machines, guided tours and an important and useful bibliography for further reading.

We've taken this guide along on every trip to the High Peaks, and it always comes in handy.

--Alyssa A. Lappen

I bought this book in 2003 when it first appeared and when my family and I first started coming to the "Dacks". I strongly agree with the criticism of the book's organization made by other reviewers: that it is arranged by topic rather than region. Perhaps the author thought of this as a "fresh idea," but in fact all it demonstrates is why the traditional approach is best. With this book you do a lot of page flipping, and the indices aren't that helpful. The fifth edition is also now out of date with respect to, e.g.,, restaurant listings in the areas we know.

Not much info on hiking or camping that I found useful. Book is better for history type info.

If this is the best guide for the region there is a wide opening for competition. The organization by topic rather than area makes this book virtually useless for planning a trip. Even if one focuses on a single topic (fishing, hiking, ..) there is little guidance for someone choosing where to go -- often there are lists of places with no descriptions or completely useless paragraphs that say, essentially, "there are many many places you can do X in the Adirondacks." So I agree that this hardly serves as a guide at all. There is some interesting history in the book that could make this worth buying as background reading.