NYFalls.com Talk

I will be hosting a friend (from China) for two weeks next summer.
I would love to make sure I cover all the good stuff the Rochester region has (also creating topics for Finger Lakes, Rochester, and Buffalo)
If you were hosting someone from outside the country and you wanted to impress them, where would you take them?

Is the goal to hike or canoe/kayak while visiting the Adirondacks? If not, IMO much of what is within the park can be experienced outside the park. I know youre not a huge hiker, so if you wanted to just see the sights...a drive along the scenic byway would be nice. And there are plenty of short hikes to nice views and waterfalls. Guess you would have to be a little more specific on what you would like to do and how long you plan on visiting.

You could drive to the top (almost) of Whiteface and then make the short walk or use the elevator to reach the summit. The 5th tallest in the state, and offers a commanding view of the high peaks as well as views into Vermont and Canada. Lake Placid and Whiteface offer many activities that would make for a great few days.

http://www.whiteface.com/summer/activities/hiway.php

Yeah, without hiking or a stay overnight, a drive from exit 30 to Lake Placid and Whiteface is what I'd recommend as well. That takes you past Split Rock (a small detour and very short walk) then the north fork of the Boquet river where you can see one of the falls as you drive by. Then Chapel Pond and the Beer Walls, though the falls there don't run all the time, and is a bit more of a walk. Then just down the hill you have Roaring Brook, also viewable from the road. A short detour up to the Ausable Club and it's view from the golf course would be nice, but you can't get out of the car there, all private, but you can drive through. Into Keene Valley which is very nice and a couple places for lunch, depending on timing. Down into Keene, more places for lunch, up past the Cascade Lakes, and now that the falls are visible from the road due to the floods, a bonus. It's also a shortish walk now, and even less since the trees are all gone, you can see the falls from farther down the stream. There won't be too much plant growth by next year I don't think.

Into Lake Placid, which is a nice scenic town, even more choices for lunch. If you want to skip the town, take River Road and cut over to just about where Monument Falls is, down the Wilmington notch, where you can stop at High Falls Gorge if you want an easy tourist waterfall, if not, the Wilmington Flume is easy to see from the bridge, new parking lot as well. Next is the Whiteface ski center where you can get a gondola ride to the top of Little Whiteface, then past my favorite fast food spot, the A&W burger stand. The burgers are decent, but the root beer is made fresh on site, get the tall frosted mug. Then up to Whiteface itself, as hobkyl mentioned, the easiest of the 46 high peaks to climb.

From there, it's either back the way you came, or you can cut across to Ausable Chasm, another tourist spot, but you can get the best view for free from the bridge. From there, back down the Northway.

hobkyl wrote:You could drive to the top (almost) of Whiteface and then make the short walk or use the elevator to reach the summit. The 5th tallest in the state, and offers a commanding view of the high peaks as well as views into Vermont and Canada. Lake Placid and Whiteface offer many activities that would make for a great few days.

http://www.whiteface.com/summer/activities/hiway.php

That's one for Matt.

LGD covered it well the drive up the northway from route 8 is nice then take exit 30 and enjoy!! Old Forge is a nice stop as is the Adirondack Museum in blue mountain.

If you're in Keene Valley between meals, stop at the Noonmark Diner for pie. Ditto on the drive up Whiteface.

stop at the Noonmark Diner for pie.

I can vouch for this!

The Wild Center is a very interesting museum.
http://www.wildcenter.org/

Yeah, forgot about the museums, both Blue Mtn Lake and the Wild Center are nice.

IMO...unless you are really interested in fish, I'd skip the trip to the Wild Center. I didn't think the $15 admission was worth the experience.