Adirondacks

The Adirondack Park is a publicly protected, elliptical area encompassing much of the northeastern lobe of Upstate New York. It is the largest park and the largest state-level protected area in the contiguous United States, and the largest National Historic Landmark. The park covers some 6.1 million acres (2.5Γ—106 ha), a land area roughly the size of Vermont and greater than the National Parks of Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, and Great Smoky Mountains combined.

The Adirondack Park boundary, commonly referred to as the ‘Blue Line,’ contains the entire Adirondack Mountain range, as well as some surrounding areas, all within the state of New York. The park includes all of Hamilton and Essex counties, as well as considerable portions of Clinton, Franklin, Fulton, Herkimer, St. Lawrence, and Warren counties and small portions of Lewis, Oneida, Saratoga, and Washington counties as well. (The Clinton County towns of Altona and Dannemora, despite being entirely within the park boundary, are specifically excluded from the park by statute, due to the large prison facilities in both towns.)

Not all of the land within the park is owned by the state, although new sections are frequently purchased or donated. State land comprises 2.7 million acres (1.1Γ—106 ha), about 45% of the park’s area, including the highest peaks in New York State, as well as Mount Marcy, the highest elevation in the state. About 1 million acres (400,000 ha) of this is classified as wilderness, with most of the remainder managed under the somewhat less stringent wild forest classification. Villages and hamlets comprise less than 1% of the area of the park; the remaining area of more than 3 million acres (1.2Γ—106 ha) is privately held but is generally sparsely developed.[3] There is often no clear demarcation between state, private, and wilderness lands in the park. Signs marking the Adirondack Park boundary can be found on most of the major roads in the region, but there are no entrance gates and no admission fee.

Great November 1950 Adirondack Blowdown

The Adirondacks are prone to powerful windstorms, isolated tornadoes, and occasional hurricanes, derechos, and microbursts. Perhaps the second most destructive of these in modern Adirondack history (next to the 1998 Ice Storm) occurred in November, 1950.

The Big Blowdown brought heavy rains and winds in excess of 100 mph. In a single day – November 25th – more than 800,000 acres of timber was heavily damaged. The storm caused a complete shutdown of the roads and trails across large swaths of the park, a historic suspension of the State Constitution, a temporary glut in the spruce market, and a political impact that continues to this day.

- From the New York Almanac

Data Source: Adirondack Park Agency.

The 90 Towns in the Adirondack Park 🏞

The 90 Towns in the Adirondack Park 🏞

Below is the listing of the towns in the Adirondack Park, including how much of the town is within the park’s boundaries by area.

Towns of the Adirondack Park

County Town Percent of
Area in Park
Clinton Altona 27.2
Clinton Au Sable 100.0
Clinton Black Brook 100.0
Clinton Dannemora 100.0
Clinton Ellenburg 72.4
Clinton Peru 52.9
Clinton Saranac 97.2
Essex Chesterfield 100.0
Essex Crown Point 100.0
Essex Elizabethtown 100.0
Essex Essex 100.0
Essex Jay 100.0
Essex Keene 100.0
Essex Lewis 100.0
Essex Minerva 100.0
Essex Moriah 99.2
Essex Newcomb 100.0
Essex North Elba 100.0
Essex North Hudson 100.0
Essex Schroon 100.0
Essex St. Armand 100.0
Essex Ticonderoga 100.0
Essex Westport 99.5
Essex Willsboro 99.2
Essex Wilmington 100.0
Franklin Bellmont 91.2
Franklin Brighton 100.0
Franklin Duane 100.0
Franklin Franklin 100.0
Franklin Harrietstown 100.0
Franklin Santa Clara 100.0
Franklin Tupper Lake 100.0
Franklin Waverly 100.0
Fulton Bleecker 100.0
Fulton Broadalbin 52.8
Fulton Caroga 100.0
Fulton Ephratah 21.6
Fulton Johnstown 10.8
Fulton Mayfield 70.8
Fulton Northampton 100.0
Fulton Oppenheim 17.2
Fulton Stratford 100.0
Hamilton Arietta 100.0
Hamilton Benson 100.0
Hamilton Hope 100.0
Hamilton Indian Lake 100.0
Hamilton Inlet 100.0
Hamilton Lake Pleasant 100.0
Hamilton Long Lake 100.0
Hamilton Morehouse 100.0
Hamilton Wells 100.0
Herkimer Ohio 100.0
Herkimer Russia 41.3
Herkimer Salisbury 53.2
Herkimer Webb 100.0
Lewis Croghan 16.1
Lewis Diana 19.1
Lewis Greig 73.1
Lewis Lyonsdale 66.5
Lewis Watson 74.3
Oneida Forestport 32.5
Saratoga Corinth 66.2
Saratoga Day 100.0
Saratoga Edinburg 100.0
Saratoga Greenfield 2.3
Saratoga Hadley 100.0
Saratoga Providence 41.7
St. Lawrence Clare 99.3
St. Lawrence Clifton 100.0
St. Lawrence Colton 84.9
St. Lawrence Fine 100.0
St. Lawrence Hopkinton 85.6
St. Lawrence Lawrence 3.7
St. Lawrence Parishville 52.7
St. Lawrence Piercefield 100.0
St. Lawrence Pitcairn 24.9
Warren Bolton 100.0
Warren Chester 100.0
Warren Dresden 100.0
Warren Fort Ann 62.3
Warren Hague 100.0
Warren Horicon 100.0
Warren Johnsburg 100.0
Warren Lake George 100.0
Warren Lake Luzerne 72.4
Warren Putnam 100.0
Warren Queensbury 35.6
Warren Stony Creek 100.0
Warren Thurman 100.0
Warren Warrensburg 100.0