Some places explain the Adirondacks. The Wild Center lets you feel them. Set on 115 acres of forest, marsh and riverbank on the edge of Tupper Lake, it is a museum that keeps sending you back outside, up into the treetops, down to the water and face to face with the animals that share these woods with our cabins.
Up into the canopy on Wild Walk
Wild Walk is the reason most families come, and the reason they come back. A trail of bridges lifts you gently off the forest floor and into the tops of the trees, until you are walking at the height of the birds with the woods spread out beneath your feet.
Along the way there is a four-storey twig tree house to climb, swinging bridges for the brave and a full-sized bald eagle's nest you can step right into, with the High Peaks lined up on the horizon. The main route is accessible, so grandparents, buggies and wheelchairs make the climb too.
Meet the neighbours
Inside, the living exhibits introduce the animals of the Adirondack Park. The river otters at Otter Falls steal the show, spiralling through the water and right up against the glass, and the daily Otter Talks are worth planning around.
Then there are the animal ambassadors: porcupines, owls, turtles and the fish of local rivers and lakes, often brought out by the keepers for close encounters. It is the best way we know to prepare children, and adults, for the wildlife they might spot from the dock back at Lake Flower.
Art, ideas and a little flying
The Wild Center is just as good at making you think. Climate Solutions looks at what is being done, here and around the world, to care for the places we love. Planet Adirondack brings the Earth to life on a giant globe, and the Flammer Theater shows nature films throughout the day.
Out on the grounds, Patrick Dougherty's Stickwork sculpture is woven entirely from saplings, Forest Music blends art, sound and the woods themselves, and Birdly lets you strap in and soar like a bird. Younger explorers can lose an hour on the Raquette River Roll, an all natural ball run, and in The Pines, a wild play area in the trees.
Trails by the Raquette River
Beyond the buildings, easy woodland trails wander through the forest and down to the Raquette River, one of the great rivers of the Adirondacks. They are quiet, beautifully kept and a lovely way to slow the day down before lunch.
When hunger arrives, the Waterside Café serves sustainably minded food with indoor and outdoor seating, so there is no need to rush back to the car.
Making a day of it from Colden Lodge
The drive west on Route 3 takes about half an hour and is a pleasure in itself, past ponds, bog and the Saranac chain. Arrive for opening at 10 am, walk the treetops while it is quiet, catch an Otter Talk and finish on the trails.
You will be back on Lake Flower by mid-afternoon with time for a paddle, a soak in the hot tub and a fire pit full of stories about eagles, otters and the porcupine everybody fell for. In autumn the view from Wild Walk across the turning forest is extraordinary, and in winter the campus is quiet, snowy and magical.
