Wednesday - Saturday, July 27 – 30th, 2022 … Two Lane Adventures Continue!

Yes, before we left Apple Island RV Resort, I took my last walk on their trails! Their trails were beautiful and the roadways were also great to walk on. There were some hills and it made my walks more challenging. This path I took was supposed to take me to a pond, but it just dead-ended. But, at least it was mowed and wide!

Today was a very short travel day from South Hero Vermont to Ausable Chasm in Keesville New York. The reason the travel day was so short, we took the Lake Champlain Ferry to get from Vermont to New York. 

There is daily, year-round ferry service for passengers, bike, cars and RV’s from Grand Isle, Vermont, to Plattsburgh, New York. It beats the trip up to the bridge. The ferry was $40.65 and is a 12-minute crossing. Total travel time today, including the ferry ride was 42 minutes!

We stopped to grocery shop in Plattsburgh and then arrived at Ausable Chasm campground. Our campsite was on the end of a row, with some shade. It is a basic campground with water and electric. No pads or gravel, but the site was spacious and clean.

I have been most excited to visit was the epic Ausable Chasm in Keesville NY. This natural attraction dubbed the “Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks” is a must for those exploring Upstate New York. But Ausable Chasm isn’t just for gazing upon. 

This gorge is packed with incredible scenery, waterfalls, hiking trails, and much, much more. There are a lot of things to do in Ausable Chasm, especially for those who love a little adrenaline!

Ausable Chasm New York is dubbed “the Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks”. But don’t confuse it with Letchworth State Park (we are camping there later in August!, which was given the moniker “the Grand Canyon of the East”. While both in Upstate New York and both are incredible places to visit, they are vastly different experiences. Ausable Chasm was first opened for tours back in 1870. This makes Ausable Chasm the oldest continuously operating natural attraction in America!

The Ausable Chasm itself is a long, narrow sandstone gorge that stretches for two miles. The gorge has been carved from the sandstone by a mixture of the power of the Ausable River and theorized tectonic activity over the past 15,000 years. The accessibility and beauty of Ausable Chasm have led it to become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Adirondacks.

Ausable Chasm is a mix of adventure trails, hiking trails, waterfalls, fossils, and river rides. This great variety of activities means there is something for everyone here! Charlie and I went for the basic entry which included access to all of the hiking trails, but none of the “adventure” aspects of the park. There was no way we were getting wet on this trip!

A few of the unique features at the Chasm, Elephant's Head. The elephant head is a prominent feature on the self-guided tour of Ausable Chasm. The composite nature of the rock walls in the 200-foot deep gorge have allowed much erosion in a vertical aspect, and this particular example has a tapered outline that does resemble the head and trunk of an elephant, if he was coming right at you.

Split Rock Tension Joint is a smaller fault that crosses the larger "Devil's Oven" fault line of the Ausable Chasm. Lateral thrusting weakens the rock and water erosion helps break it away, forming the gorge over thousands of years.

In the days of old, the Ausable Chasm boat crew would spend countless hours to pile rocks and raise the water levels through this section of the rapids. The walls were created to solve this problem and allow two ton wooden boats safe passage through the chasm. In 1996, the cable system that brought the boats back upstream by cable was destroyed by flooding. Now rafts are being used daily. Each raft weighs about 200 pounds and can run in very low water levels.  

At this location the walls of the chasm abruptly come to a stop. The current of the water forms a small whirlpool collecting the water in "The Grand Basin." The river water leaves the sheet of Potsdam sandstone and flows through glacial drift to the delta on the shores of Lake Champlain. 

One day, we took a pre-route trip on the road we want to take to Wellesley Island. Charlie wanted to check the road condition and if there were any issues on it. We drove almost to Malone and then turned around and came back.

Another day we took a trip to the Whiteface Mountain area. It is the site of the 1980 Winter Olympic alpine skiing events. But it is an attraction virtually year-round. Skiers and riders can tackle the greatest vertical drop in the East.

In summer, the mountain biking trails offer terrain for all level of bikers. Also, from May to October, just drive three miles beyond Whiteface Mountain on Rte. 86 into the town of Wilmington and take the eight-mile drive up the Veterans Memorial Highway to the top of the state’s fifth highest peak. On a clear day, you can see all the way to Montreal. For $20 you can drive the Veterans Memorial Highway to the top of the mountain, Charlie and I opted to spend the $20 on lunch, instead!

We enjoyed a portion of the Flume Trail and the flume at the West Branch Ausable River. The Flume Trail is a 2.4-mile loop trail near Wilmington, New York. It's generally considered a moderately challenging route. It's a popular trail for birding, hiking, and mountain biking, but you can still enjoy some solitude during quieter times of day. The first half is mostly groomed trail and is level with a few inclines. Approaching the midway point brings less of a groomed trail and the inclines are steady and get the blood flowing. 

The Flume Falls are beautiful and right near the trailhead. This is a gorgeous swimming hole.  There is a small 8 foot waterfall right by parking area, but the true gem is a downstream. First you’ll see massive fall with a giant rock in the middle that is the start of flume.

The second falls opens up into large swimming hole with large rocks. 

We traveled on a portion of the Olympic Trail, a scenic byway. It is an east and west route that goes for 170 miles from Lake Champlain to Lake Ontario while passing through the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Park in Northern New York. 

The Olympic Trail Scenic Byway winds through small towns. The Ausable River is a frequent companion on the drive, and at some points it flows mere feet from the road. We saw gorgeous views of the distant Adirondack Mountains. 

Every morning we were camped at Ausable Chasm I walked the the trails at the campground. Ausable Chasm offers 25 miles of mountain bike trails for people of all abilities, and it’s all waiting for you at the Ausable Chasm Campground and Recreation Center.

The easy beginner and intermediate loops are double wide trails, perfect for riding side-by-side with family and friends. Every morning I walked on the trails, I never saw any riders. I did see deer, rabbits and squirrels!

The single track, advanced loop features steeper hills and narrow paths through many miles of unspoiled forest. Expert riders can jump from our trail network to the Wickham Marsh State trails, which lead riders through the Marsh to Lake Champlain.

I enjoyed every walk I took in these woods and on the trails! It was beautiful and challenging all at the same time!