Patricia Foulke - Adventure Guide to the Champlain & Hudson River Valleys

The Champlain & Hudson River Valleys Adventure Guide

Robert & Patricia Foulke

HUNTER PUBLISHING, INC.

www.hunterpublishing.com

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Patricia and Robert Foulke

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This guide focuses on recreational activities. As all such activities contain elements of risk, the publisher, author, affiliated individuals and companies disclaim any responsibility for any injury, harm, or illness that may occur to anyone through, or by use of, the information in this book. Every effort was made to insure the accuracy of information in this book, but the publisher and author do not assume, and hereby disclaim, any liability for loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, misleading information or potential travel problems caused by this guide, even if such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident or any other cause.

1. Introduction
   1. The Champlain-Hudson Waterway
      1. History
      2. Geology
      3. Climate
      4. Ecology
   2. About This Book
      1. Scope
      2. Using This Book
   3. Travel Information
      1. When to Go
      2. Clothing & Equipment
      3. Transportation
      4. Costs
   4. Information Sources
      1. Heritage Travel
      2. Connecticut
      3. New York
      4. Vermont
      5. Massachusetts
2. Lake Champlain
   1. The Vermont Side
      1. History of Lake Champlain
      2. Getting Here & Getting Around
      3. Information Sources
      4. Adventures
      5. Sightseeing
      6. Festivals & Events
      7. Where to Stay
      8. Where to Eat
   2. The New York Side
      1. Getting Here & Getting Around
      2. Information Sources
      3. Adventures
      4. Sightseeing
      5. Where to Stay
      6. Where to Eat
3. Green Mountains of Vermont
   1. Getting Here & Getting Around
   2. Information Sources
   3. Adventures
   4. Festivals & Events
   5. Where to Stay
   6. Where to Eat
4. The Adirondacks
   1. History
      1. Preservation Efforts
   2. Geography
   3. Getting Here & Getting Around
   4. Information Sources
   5. Adventures
   6. Sightseeing
   7. Festivals & Events
   8. Where to Stay
   9. Where to Eat
5. Capital District
   1. History
   2. Getting Here & Getting Around
   3. Information Sources
   4. Adventures
   5. Sightseeing
      1. Albany
      2. Schenectady
      3. Troy
   6. Festivals & Events
   7. Where to Stay
   8. Where to Eat
6. Upper River & Foothill Towns
   1. History
   2. Getting Here & Getting Around
   3. Information Sources
   4. Adventures
      1. On Foot
      2. On Wheels
      3. On Snow
      4. In the Air
   5. Sightseeing
      1. Glens Falls
      2. Fort Edward
      3. Saratoga Springs
      4. Schuylerville
      5. Whitehall
   6. Festivals & Events
   7. Where to Stay
   8. Where to Eat
7. The Berkshires & Taconics
   1. The Berkshires
      1. Getting Here & Getting Around
      2. Information Sources
      3. Adventures
         1. On Foot
         2. On Wheels
         3. On Water
         4. On Horseback
         5. On Snow
      4. Sightseeing
      5. Performing Arts
      6. Festivals & Events
      7. Where to Stay
      8. Where to Eat
   2. The Taconics
      1. Northwestern Connecticuts Litchfield Hills
      2. Getting Here & Getting Around
      3. Information Sources
      4. Adventures
         1. On Foot
         2. On Wheels
         3. On Water
         4. On Horseback
         5. On Snow
      5. Sightseeing
      6. Where to Stay
      7. Where to Eat
8. The Catskills
   1. History
   2. Getting Here & Getting Around
   3. Information Sources
   4. Adventures
      1. On Foot
      2. On Wheels
      3. On Water
      4. On Horseback
      5. On Snow
      6. Eco-Travel
   5. Sightseeing
   6. Festivals & Events
   7. Where to Stay
   8. Where to Eat
9. The Mid-Hudson
   1. Getting Here & Getting Around
   2. Information Sources
   3. Ulster County
      1. Adventures
         1. On Foot
         2. On Wheels
         3. On Water
         4. On Snow
      2. Sightseeing in Ulster County
      3. Where to Stay
      4. Where to Eat
   4. Dutchess & Columbia Counties
      1. Adventures
         1. On Foot
         2. On Wheels
         3. On Water
         4. Eco-Travel
      2. Sightseeing in Columbia County
      3. Sightseeing in Duchess County
      4. Festivals & Events
      5. Where to Stay
      6. Where to Eat
10. The Hudson Highlands & Northern Palisades
    1. The Hudson Highlands
       1. History
       2. Getting Here & Getting Around
       3. Information Sources
       4. Adventures
          1. On Foot
          2. On Wheels
          3. On Water
          4. On Snow
          5. Eco-travel
       5. Sightseeing
       6. Festivals & Events
       7. Where to Stay
       8. Where to Eat
    2. The Palisades
       1. Getting Here & Getting Around
       2. Information Sources
       3. Adventures
          1. On Foot
          2. On Wheels
          3. On Water
          4. On Horseback
          5. On Snow
          6. In the Air
       4. Sightseeing
       5. Festivals & Events
       6. Where to Stay
       7. Where to Eat
11. Sleepy Hollow Country
    1. Getting Here & Getting Around
    2. Information Sources
    3. Adventures
       1. On Foot
       2. On Wheels
       3. On Rails
       4. On Water
       5. On Snow
    4. Sightseeing
    5. Performing Arts
    6. Festivals & Events
    7. Where to Stay
    8. Where to Eat

Introduction

A beautiful, large lake and a mighty river, linked together, form a water corridor with enormous influence on the geography, economy, politics, history and culture of the northeastern United States. At times it has been a highway for war between Native American tribes, and later between Britain and France, and between Britain and its colonies as each sought control of the continent. It still serves as the political boundary between New York and New England a boundary that also has cultural implications.

The Champlain-Hudson Waterway

Until late in the 19th century the Champlain-Hudson waterway, the north-south passage through the valleys of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River, was the principal means of transportation and shipping between the Canadian border and the ocean port of New York. Originally, a gap in the middle required portages either into and out of Lake George or directly from Whitehall to the Hudson. That gap was permanently closed during the canal-building era in the early 19th century, when the Champlain Canal connected Whitehall with the Hudson; the navigable status of the waterway was completed by the Richelieu Canal connecting the northern outlet of Lake Champlain with the St. Lawrence River. Though commerce shifted to railroad and road transportation, the completed waterway remains, now as a resource for recreation.

High in the Adirondacks, Lake Tear of the Clouds on the southwestern slope of Mount Marcy spawns a trickle that eventually turns into the Hudson. Feldspar Brook is the outlet, flowing into the Opalescent River or main branch of the Hudson. It continues south, receiving water from several branches, past North River, Riparius, Stony Creek, Luzerne and on to the dam and falls at Glens Falls . The distance is 115 miles from Lake Tear of the Clouds to Glens Falls, via the Hudson River, which for many years was the major artery of the logging industry. The waterway bounces along over rapids through Hudson Falls and Fort Edward, meeting the Champlain Canal and continuing on to Troy. The river below the last dam becomes tidewater, clearly brackish just north of Poughkeepsie and salty near Newburgh.