Whiteface Mountaintop and Waterfalls - Friday, August 2, 2019

A visit to the Lake Placid/Wilmington area of upstate New York is not complete without a drive to the top of Whiteface Mountain. In 2019, you'll pay $25 for your car and two people for the honor. (No large RVs!) 

The road is open from 8:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and you have to be out of the gate by 6:15 p.m. At the entrance gate, they post the temperature at the top of the mountain, the weather, and visibility. Today, we will be able to see 50 miles (part of Canada and we will see Lake Champlain).

As we drive up and up, the plant life changes. The higher we go, the smaller the trees and plants get. This is because of the harsh weather conditions up high. Trees are stunted due to the short growing season.

I am fascinated by these pine cones that
grow straight up in clusters.

Looking up to the top of Whiteface Mountain.

Beauty looks great from this vantage point!

As soon as you arrive at the parking lot, the attendant has you go all the way to the end by the gift shop, turn around, and come back down to the angled parking spots. 

After you are parked, you have two choices for how to get to the top of the mountain: elevator ride up 27 floors or hike 1/5 mile up a steep trail. We opted to walk through the 426' tunnel to the elevator and save our soles for hiking later today.

Bob ready to enter the tunnel.

Our adventure continues into the mountain!

Mountain identifier sign at the summit.

I'm glad we didn't climb the stairs!

The photo below has a little story behind it. First, we had to wait for our turn to have our photo taken here. Second, the granite is slippery. We sat down for the photo. You can see our feet are jammed into a crack and that is holding us in place. It wasn't far down, but after the photo, I scooted down a bit and two guys helped me get up.

Lake Placid is the large horseshoe-shaped lake;
to the upper left is smaller Mirror Lake.

Bob inserting himself into the Adirondacks.

My handsome man. (You can see it's a bit hazy today.)

We wandered all over the rocks at the top so as not to miss any views. There are historical markers up here to be read as well. Whiteface Mountain is the fifth-highest peak in the state of New York.

The Adirondacks and Lake Placid. What a view!

The Summit House. The elevator opens up inside.

In the photo below, you can see the Depression-era Whiteface Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway which was entirely funded by the state of New York (as was Whiteface Castle). Then-State of New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt presided over the ground-breaking ceremony. 

Five-mile long Whiteface Mountain Veterans
Memorial Highway with 8% grades.

The Adirondack Mountains provide fresh water for millions of people in the Northeast. As you can see in the graphic below, the water flows from the mountains to Lake Champlain, and then northwest into the St. Lawrence River, west to Lake Ontario, and south to the Hudson River.

The Alpine Zone - life is tough up here.

The Stairway Ridge Trail is an alternative route
if you don't want to take the elevator.

The fireplace in the Summit House which has
not had a fire since the Beatles last played. 

This is why there are no more fires in this fireplace.

How Whiteface "Castle" in the parking area got its name is spelled out in the letter below. The castle is located at the end of the parking lot and contains restrooms, a cafe with splendid views, and a gift shop. It is currently undergoing a facelift but is open.

After a short visit to Whiteface Castle, we headed down the mountain. There are roadside reminders on the way down to use a low gear to save your brakes. Once again, the views are incredible.

Next, we decided to hike to Stag Brook Falls, which is at the Whiteface Mountain Ski Area. We hadn't had lunch so we each ate a power bar to tide us over. The directions said it was a short hike. The day was sunny and quite warm with no shade on the hike up to the trailhead from the parking lot.

From Whiteface Ski Area's parking lot, we had a great view of the top of Whiteface Mountain (where we had just been).

Whiteface Mountain Ski Area.
We were just at the very top!

We crossed the Ausable River on the way to our trail.

We found the trail right where the directions indicated. Thankfully, the trail was in deep shade, but it was very steep with lots of rocks and roots. 

Bob on the trail.

Stag Brook Falls

More about the Ausable River.

But wait, our day isn't over yet. All of the places we're going today are close to the Lake Placid/Whiteface Mountain KOA RV Park where we're staying. We figured we could pack a lot in.

Our next destination is just a few miles down the road from Whiteface Mountain Ski Area. We're headed to High Falls Gorge Waterfall Walk. This gorge has an admission fee of $12.50 per person.

The area is very dramatic with four waterfalls within one-half mile and many, many stairs!

The Ausable River before it drops.

Cute denizen of the gorge.

We just came down these to a viewpoint.

Deeper into the gorge we go!

Bob was far enough ahead for me
to show him at the head of more stairs.

Bob checking out a natural spring on the hillside.

All four falls in one photo!

These powerful rivers create deep potholes in
the granite.

Years of scouring action erode away the rock.

 Our walk finished with a climb out of the gorge. We thought it was a great photo-op spot.

After High Falls Gorge, we went back to the 5th wheel, put the cat in his carrier and listened to him cry all the way to the vet. It was time for his rabies shot. Campgrounds on the East Coast want the current rabies certificate and he was three days overdue for his shot.

An interesting factoid we found out from the vet in Ray Brook is that rabies shots in New York state are good for three years. In Texas, they're only good for one year. The vet told us they're exactly the same shot. Each state sets its own laws regarding the frequency of the shot. I asked Bob's sister, Laura (who was a vet tech for a number of years) about it. She said the rabies shot is good for three years and that states that require it more often are over-medicating the animals. That really ticks me off!

Anyway, Sunnie got a clean bill of health. We took him back to the fifth wheel where we changed out of our hiking clothes and into something nicer for dinner at The Hungry Trout. 

The interior of The Hungry Trout is decorated like
an upscale Adirondacks hunting lodge. 

Both of us ordered trout in different preparations. It was wonderful! We recommend it if you're in the area.

So, that was our last day in the Lake Placid area. Tomorrow, we are heading to Burlington, Vermont.