Now is the time to escape to an Adirondack Great Camp: retreat, relax and recreate
How history repeats itself and how to escape to an Adirondack Great Camp
Thoughts of escaping to an Adirondack chair these days
………on a remote lake someplace in the Adirondack mountains. A persistent desire to soak in the solitude and peacefulness of the mountains far away from all that is going on in the world.
As I relax in the chair gazing at the reflections on the lake, I imagine hearing the eerie sounds of the loons purring to each other and wonder what they could be wailing about. The sound of the water rippling against the shore beckons a paddle. Distractions like these right now are welcoming.
Into the mountains, I go to lose my mind and find my soul. - John Muir
As I paddle into the weeds, nothing else matters but the soft sounds of water and what kind of waterfowl is around the bend.
History repeats itself again and again: retreat to your own great camp like our ancestors did
In the late 1800’s, the Durant family of railroad barons built several great camps in the Adirondacks. The Vanderbilts joined them as did the Rockefellers. The Whitneys arrived and never left. Many other wealthy families traveled to remote camps in the Adirondack wilderness to escape the city heat and to find privacy to pursue their passions.
What is a great camp?
Adirondack great camps were built in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s and called “great camps” because they offered everything their residents would need, without leaving the camp - for recreation, entertainment and sustenance. Most great camps had a small farm to grow their own plants and vegetables. Typical outbuildings included a kitchen, barn, chicken coop, boathouse, guesthouses, bowling alley and housing for the servants. Fishing, hunting and boating were the typical past-times.
Below: Camp Kora Great Camp
My own introduction to “great camping” in the Adirondacks
In the 1960’s, my parents would load all six of us into our station wagon and head to the mountains - in particular to Raquette Lake. We rented a rustic cabin for a week and enjoyed swimming, hiking and sitting around a campfire in the evenings. After a few years, we “moved up” and brought a pop-up camper to a lake front site. Today, you can still camp on Raquette Lake - at Golden Beach or Tioga Point.
Raquette Lake was home to Great Camp Pine Knot - considered the original Adirondack Great Camp - designed and built by William West Durant, part of the wealthy railroad industrialist family.
Durant designed Pine Knot as a cluster of buildings that allowed privacy to coexist with a sense of community. Today, Camp Pine Knot is part of SUNY-Cortland’s outdoor education program. Pine Knot was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986 and further honored as a National Historic Landmark in 2004. (via VisitAdirondacks)
Below: Camp Pine Knot on Raquette Lake (Photo via Wikipedia)
A lake carries you into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable. - William Wordsworth
Great camps you can escape to today
My favorite destinations in the Adirondacks usually include a place with water access and proximity to hiking trails. Here are just three great camps with historical significance that offer opportunities for relaxation and recreation.
The White Pine Camp in Paul Smiths, New York
Located at the end of a dead-end road, White Pine Camp is situated on 35 acres adjacent to Osgood Pond. Originally built in 1907, the camp had 20 buildings - a main hall, dining hall, boathouses, cabins, indoor tennis house, a bowling alley and a Japanese tea house.
White Pine Camp was the summer White House of President Calvin Coolidge in 1926.
Below: the Japanese Tea House at White Pine Camp was built in 1908 and still stands today for lodging guests to use.
White Pine Camp is a paddler’s dream destination - located directly on Osgood Pond which is a perfect place to start your paddling exploration as it borders the St Regis wilderness area - with over 18,000 acres including 50 ponds and lakes - many accessible through portaging and/or short hikes.
Read more about paddling on Osgood Pond from Richard Macha here.
Book your great camp escape to White Pine Camp here.
Great Camp Sagamore near Raquette Lake
I visited Camp Sagamore as a young girl when my two older siblings attended a summer reading camp there. Today, Camp Sagamore continues that tradition of offering educational retreats in writing, fly fishing, guided hikes, paddling, history tours and more.
Great Camp Sagamore was built by William West Durant around 1897 and included several buildings - the main lodge, many cabins, a boat house, bowling alley and barns - designed for the richest families to relax and be close to nature - all in a comfortable style.
In 1901, Durant was forced to sell Sagamore due to a family dispute. The Vanderbilt family purchased the property and improved it - adding a sewer system, hot and cold running water, indoor bowling alley, hydroelectric plant, tennis courts and more.
Today, Great Camp Sagamore is designated as a National Historic Landmark and is run by the Sagamore Institute of the Adirondacks offering accommodations and programming from May to October.
Visit the website of Great Camp Sagamore to learn more about their lodging and retreats.
The Hedges on Blue Mountain Lake
Situated right on Blue Mountain Lake, this rustic lodge is close to paddling, angling, hiking and offers lodging in both cabins and the main lodge. Guests have direct access to Blue Mountain lake with its own boathouse (canoes, kayaks and SUP) and launching area.
The Hedges resort, built around 1881, was originally known as the Duryea Camp as it was named after Colonel Duryea who commanded the 5th New York Infantry division during the civil war. After the war, Duryea joined the family business becoming President of the National Starch Company. The stone lodge at Hedges was made with large hand-cut stones and California Cyprus shingles.
Blue Mountain Lake is an ideal lake for families - offering swimming, paddling and other kinds of water sports.
Book your escape to the Hedges here.
Some of my favorite things to do around Blue Mountain Lake
Visit the Adirondack Experience: the Museum on Blue Mountain Lake where you can see historical exhibits on boats, canoes, and how life was like long ago living and surviving in the mountains . Note: only open from May through October.
Hiking to the summit of Blue Mountain (4.2 miles roundtrip) to climb the Blue Mountain fire tower. The views of the Adirondack lakes and the mountains are well-worth the steep climb. More details on the hike here.
Read about my paddle (last summer) from Blue Mountain Lake to Eagle Lake on the trail of Ned Buntline, the infamous desperado of the 1800's here.
Your own great camp - private rentals that offer similar experiences
Secluded lakefront cabin on small lake
Below on Lake Abanakee - a private cabin with direct access to a small lake that offers paddling and angling opportunities. Everything you need - canoes, kayaks, SUP, private dock and your own fire pit. The loons call out to you morning and evening. Close to other lakes and hiking trails.
Note: the photo at the beginning of this post (above) is the view from the deck when we stayed here in July 2024.
Link to rental listing: Secluded lakeside retreat
Your own great camp on Star Lake
What I like about this place - named the Stone House - is that it is located on a 40+ acre private wooded point of land over a quarter mile from the main road so you can get away from it all.
This camp offers a sleeping porch, a private dock, stone fireplace, private garage, covered terrace, kayaks/canoe and proximity to local hiking trails.
Link to rental listing: Star Lake Camp
Need some respite today? Listen to the loons.
So many beautiful options, Jenn! My brother has take his family to the area several times as it is an easy trip from Cornwall, Ontario. They mostly stayed around the Lake Placid area and really loved it. The 1 hour track of Loons and nighttime at the campfire is so peaceful. Thank you for sharing.
Jenn, what a wonderful round-up of these historic camps! Makes me want to take a vacation and head east!