1 night trip to Adironacks/Lake PLacid

ZX600

ZX600

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Hi Guys, I have a week off at the end of the month and I would like to take a 2 day 1 night trip somewhere.

I am thinking Adironacks/lake placid area but never been or know anything about it. I have looked at http://www.motorcycleroads.com/ at it seems that there are many good roads in the area, but for the guys that know the area, what would it be a good route/ roads so I can put a route together?

I assume starting from Kingston.

Appreciate any input, thanks!
 
From Kingston cross at thousand islands, take the road that runs along the southern side of Fort drum that connects with route 3....this is only slower by a few minutes than slabbing it to Ogdensberg or Cornwall to cross there and I find riding around the Fort Drum area pretty interesting at times. There's low flying aircraft signs and I once came across some freaky military hardware moving about. You'll go through Cranberry Lake, Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake and then Lake Placid this way. The route into Lake Placid is pretty nice , twisty and alongside water for most of the way, but I liked the roads past Lake Placid on up to and including route 73 and 9 and 9N a little better. Ride up Whiteface for fun. I've never found good, cheap accommodation in Lake Placid but Saranac Lake is a bit cheaper and for a really long trip (from the GTA) I had good fun and great roads when I stayed at a $50 motel in Lake George. For Lake Placid itself I find the town to be a bit more snobby and pricey than other towns nearby.

Only one small thing....the thousand islands crossing has building work going on around the customs post and bridge which is slowing things down a bit. If you check online and see it's getting worse then I'd either go to Ogdensberg and do a little detour or catch the two ferries from Kingston and Wolf Island to the U.S.

I'm probably going to take a short trip down that way again soon.

One last thing...I only really found cops sitting in cop cars on the outskirts/entrances to towns....some in pretty sneaky positions down dirt tracks. Keep your eyes open.
 
^^what he said. Route 3 is awesome. Cops will hide anywhere usually right before entering a town. I could live in the area of cranberry lake. I had a really wicked time doing this route. Might actually try to go one more time before the end of the season.
 
FFrom talking to friends that tour . Two days maybe really tight .
 
I know some friends that have gone yearly for a few days. I think they use Shaheen's Motel as a staging ground...it's by Tupper Lake:

http://www.shaheensmotel.com/
 
3 is fun, mostly sweepers. For a nice loop, try this: https://goo.gl/maps/TxMNH

When in Lake Placid, I like the Hampton Inn, right on the lake and strategically placed right next to a micro-brewery...
 
That's a good loop...I also went on the 30 from Tupper Lake to Long Lake and the 28N to 9N to Lake George and those were good roads too. In fact, Long Lake was right in the middle of a few nice roads and the town itself didn't seem too bad. Also the upper Hudson River is nearby and runs along a few of the roads.
 
jc100 said:
That's a good loop...I also went on the 30 from Tupper Lake to Long Lake and the 28N to 9N to Lake George and those were good roads too. In fact, Long Lake was right in the middle of a few nice roads and the town itself didn't seem too bad. Also the upper Hudson River is nearby and runs along a few of the roads.
Click to expand...
Done this as well. I think the whole area is pretty great to ride in and very not far from home.
 
Two days is really tight - can you leave the night before and slab to Kingston at least?.

PA makes more sense for that length.

Depending on where you are in Toronto it's 500+ km to Lake Placid and days are getting shorter.
https://goo.gl/maps/Xh8E3

Versus 330 to Coudersport and not all slab.
https://goo.gl/maps/kVH7w

I find leaving at 6-7 am I'm in Coudersport by noon and a good half day riding the area.

Then another 1/2 day and head home.
Riding the QEW after dusk is not an issue ( you don't want to ride NY at dusk ...too many deer )
 
Question -- I can't believe it is true, but I have heard rumors that police in New York state can arrest you for speeding, if they wish. A quick Google seems to state they have the power to do this, but based on comments from friends it almost sounds like Ontario license + sportbike + 10-20mph over the limit could mean getting arrested...similar to how Quebec police seem to like to hassle people with Ontario licenses/plates. Does anyone know if there is any truth to that?
 
MacDoc said:
Two days is really tight - can you leave the night before and slab to Kingston at least?.

PA makes more sense for that length.

Depending on where you are in Toronto it's 500+ km to Lake Placid and days are getting shorter.
https://goo.gl/maps/Xh8E3

Versus 330 to Coudersport and not all slab.
https://goo.gl/maps/kVH7w

I find leaving at 6-7 am I'm in Coudersport by noon and a good half day riding the area.

Then another 1/2 day and head home.
Riding the QEW after dusk is not an issue ( you don't want to ride NY at dusk ...too many deer )
Click to expand...

Macdoc , how many of these sort of trips do you do per year?


"If i was educated, I'd be a damn fool"
 
Yes, almost all good roads around there. One to avoid though is 10 just south of Piseco Lake, between 8 and 29. It looks very tempting (read twisty) on the map but the pavement is in very poor shape: frost heaves, bumps, holes, tons of tar snakes. Did that in a heavy downpour last October, no fun at all...
 
Thank you very much, I was looking today and will probably take the 2 ferries, I got plenty of time and If I need to take 3 days it is no problem.
jc100 said:
From Kingston cross at thousand islands, take the road that runs along the southern side of Fort drum that connects with route 3....this is only slower by a few minutes than slabbing it to Ogdensberg or Cornwall to cross there and I find riding around the Fort Drum area pretty interesting at times. There's low flying aircraft signs and I once came across some freaky military hardware moving about. You'll go through Cranberry Lake, Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake and then Lake Placid this way. The route into Lake Placid is pretty nice , twisty and alongside water for most of the way, but I liked the roads past Lake Placid on up to and including route 73 and 9 and 9N a little better. Ride up Whiteface for fun. I've never found good, cheap accommodation in Lake Placid but Saranac Lake is a bit cheaper and for a really long trip (from the GTA) I had good fun and great roads when I stayed at a $50 motel in Lake George. For Lake Placid itself I find the town to be a bit more snobby and pricey than other towns nearby.

Only one small thing....the thousand islands crossing has building work going on around the customs post and bridge which is slowing things down a bit. If you check online and see it's getting worse then I'd either go to Ogdensberg and do a little detour or catch the two ferries from Kingston and Wolf Island to the U.S.

I'm probably going to take a short trip down that way again soon.

One last thing...I only really found cops sitting in cop cars on the outskirts/entrances to towns....some in pretty sneaky positions down dirt tracks. Keep your eyes open.
Click to expand...
 
Roomie said:
^^what he said. Route 3 is awesome. Cops will hide anywhere usually right before entering a town. I could live in the area of cranberry lake. I had a really wicked time doing this route. Might actually try to go one more time before the end of the season.
Click to expand...
Well, tag along last week of this month ;)

pfbmgd said:
FFrom talking to friends that tour . Two days maybe really tight .
Click to expand...

Yea, I might take 3, it seems by what you guys saying that there are some nice places in the area.
boooya said:
Make sure you go to Whiteface..
Watch out for wildlife at dusk.
Click to expand...
I look at it today and for sure I will go up there. That is the kind of stuff I like

conundrum said:
I know some friends that have gone yearly for a few days. I think they use Shaheen's Motel as a staging ground...it's by Tupper Lake:

http://www.shaheensmotel.com/
Click to expand...
Thanks

fearlessbob said:
3 is fun, mostly sweepers. For a nice loop, try this: https://goo.gl/maps/TxMNH

When in Lake Placid, I like the Hampton Inn, right on the lake and strategically placed right next to a micro-brewery...
Click to expand...
lol, thanks

MacDoc said:
Two days is really tight - can you leave the night before and slab to Kingston at least?.

PA makes more sense for that length.

Depending on where you are in Toronto it's 500+ km to Lake Placid and days are getting shorter.
https://goo.gl/maps/Xh8E3

Versus 330 to Coudersport and not all slab.
https://goo.gl/maps/kVH7w

I find leaving at 6-7 am I'm in Coudersport by noon and a good half day riding the area.

Then another 1/2 day and head home.
Riding the QEW after dusk is not an issue ( you don't want to ride NY at dusk ...too many deer )
Click to expand...
I did PA a few weeks ago and have done it a few times, this time I really want to go to lake placid, like I said, I might end up taking 3 days.

fearlessbob said:
Yes, almost all good roads around there. One to avoid though is 10 just south of Piseco Lake, between 8 and 29. It looks very tempting (read twisty) on the map but the pavement is in very poor shape: frost heaves, bumps, holes, tons of tar snakes. Did that in a heavy downpour last October, no fun at all...
Click to expand...
Thanks
 
3 days you are fine - even get a jump by slabbing the night before to the Thousand Islands Bridge....there are cheap motels just on the other side.
401 in the evening is pretty safe....NY Thruway not so much.
Saves you riding into the sun the next morning ....something I hate.
 
conundrum said:
Question -- I can't believe it is true, but I have heard rumors that police in New York state can arrest you for speeding, if they wish. A quick Google seems to state they have the power to do this, but based on comments from friends it almost sounds like Ontario license + sportbike + 10-20mph over the limit could mean getting arrested...similar to how Quebec police seem to like to hassle people with Ontario licenses/plates. Does anyone know if there is any truth to that?
Click to expand...

From what I've seen with NY State and somewhere like 5mph or more over the limit can be bad news if the cops are around but for what it's worth I think it's worse on the Syracuse side than the Adirondack side. I saw way less cops on the roads in the Adirondacks than near Syracuse with the exception of Lake Placid town...I saw a ton there and some were in the process of ticketing some bikes but that seemed to be for parking violations I think.

Only near the towns did you really need to be careful but the warning was when the state limit went to 40mph. Elsewhere things were fine...I was on interstate 87 for a little while I think and may have got carried away as I saw little bobbles of melted rubber on my tires after a run tying to ge home before the deer came out to play. Watch what the locals do is the key, luckily I had plenty of decoys.

Good call on taking an extra day, you can have way more fun that way. Ride to Ausable Chasm and have a mooch about (look on the web to see if it's your kind of thing) or Fort Ticonderoga or down to Lake George on the 9N. If you go to Lake George head to the Montreal Motel and see if you can pay cash for a room...should be about $50 and it's pretty clean. Lots of places to eat nearby, you're a 5 min walk to town. South of Lake George is a 6 flags resort too I think.
 
Don't get too agressive there JC - he's still 2 hours west of you. :D

I saw one very annoying SUV owner get his come uppance ....was tailgating and passing dangerously - came around a curve right into a radar trap.

This on a weekend,
This time of year there is a change over each weekend with families leaving to get back to New York City area and a new crop arriving for the next week plus now school so I'd suspect Sunday afternoon Monday day might be pretty frenetic.

New York has an agreement with Ontario for sharing ticketing info.....one reason I prefer PA and points south.
 
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