ADK Talks

Would you spend the night in a haunted Adirondack hotel? Wander through a historic battlefield after dark? Or go looking for the legendary Lake Champlain monster?

The Adirondacks are full of fascinating history, but some of our favorite places have stories that don't quite fit into the history books. From mysterious footsteps in grand hotels to ghostly soldiers at Fort William Henry, there's no shortage of spooky tales hiding in these mountains.

Just in time for Halloween, we're revisiting one of our favorite conversations about the allegedly haunted Adirondacks. We'll take you from the historic Hotel Saranac to the ruins of a mysterious estate near Speculator, with stops in Lake George, Lake Placid, and the Lake Champlain Valley.

Along the way, Steve shares his experiences living in a supposedly haunted college dorm, we explore some rather unsettling Adirondack history, and we debate whether these encounters are supernatural or simply the product of an overactive imagination.

Whether you're planning a Halloween getaway, love a good ghost story, or enjoy discovering the lesser-known history of New York's Adirondack Park, this episode might inspire your next adventure. Just don't be surprised if you feel like someone's watching!

What you’ll hear in this episode

• The mysterious guests who may never have checked out of Hotel Saranac.
• A tragic love story behind the ruins of the Rhinelander Estate.
• Why Lake George is a hotspot for ghost hunters.
• Strange happenings at Fort William Henry and historic Adirondack battlefields.
• Steve's experiences in a supposedly haunted SUNY Plattsburgh dorm.
• Ghost stories surrounding John Brown Farm in Lake Placid.
• The legends of Champ, Bigfoot, and other Adirondack mysteries.

Resources:

• Haunted Places in the Adirondacks
• Hotel Saranac
• Saratoga Homestead, Rhinelander Estate & Other Adirondack Haunts
• More Tales of Ghosts and Spirits in the Adirondacks

Produced by NOVA

The Adirondacks are more than mountains, lakes, and spectacular scenery. They're also home to the people who run the restaurants, maintain the roads, staff the hospitals, operate the farms, and keep small towns alive. And the challenges facing those year-round communities affect everyone who loves spending time here.

Why is your favorite restaurant closed several days a week? Why are housing and healthcare increasingly difficult to access? And what will it take to ensure the next generation can afford to build a life in the North Country?

In this episode of ADK Talks, Jane and Steve welcome Blake Gendebien, a second-generation dairy farmer, owner of Twin Mill Farms, and Democratic congressional candidate in New York's 21st District.

NY-21 covers roughly 16,000 square miles, including the entire Adirondack Park. From the St. Lawrence River and Canadian border to Lake Champlain, Lake George, the Mohawk Valley, and communities such as Rome and Glens Falls, it encompasses remarkably different places facing many of the same challenges.

For perspective, that's bigger than the states of Maryland, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Drawing on his experiences running Twin Mill Farms in Lisbon and traveling extensively across the district, Blake shares what he's learned from farmers, small business owners, families, seniors, veterans, and young people throughout the North Country.

The conversation explores the economic realities behind the Adirondack experience, from housing and workforce shortages to rural healthcare, the skilled trades, Canadian trade, and the opportunities and challenges presented by new technologies.

And, as always, there's an Adirondack Gem—this one with a special family connection to Higley Flow.

What you'll hear in this episode

• How Blake's journey took him from the family farm to Germany and back to the North Country.
• What connects communities across a congressional district larger than several U.S. states.
• Why housing, healthcare, transportation, and workforce challenges matter to Adirondack residents and visitors alike.
• How Canadian trade, artificial intelligence, and economic development are shaping the region's future.
• What the next generation needs to thrive in the North Country—and Blake's favorite Adirondack family memories.

Whether you live in the Adirondacks, own a camp, visit every summer, or simply care about the region's future, this conversation offers a different perspective on the people and communities behind the landscape.

Learn more about our guest.

Blake Gendebien is a second-generation dairy farmer and owner of Twin Mill Farms in Lisbon, New York. He is also the Democratic candidate for Congress in New York's 21st Congressional District.

Learn more about his agricultural business at Twin Mill Farms or visit his campaign website for information about his candidacy and policy positions.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Washboard Donut Shoppe
• Higley Flow
• The Wild Center, Tupper Lake
• TROLLS: Save the Humans at The Wild Center
• Twin Mill Farms

Produced by NOVA

James Bond in the Adirondacks? Believe it or not, 007 once traded the glamour of London and Monte Carlo for Route 9 and Lake George.

In Ian Fleming’s 1962 novel The Spy Who Loved Me, a young woman named Vivienne Michel sets off from Montreal on a Vespa, eventually landing at a lonely Adirondack motor court near Lake George. That’s where Bond finally enters the story, in one of Fleming’s strangest and most fascinating departures from the usual 007 formula.

We sat down with Adirondack local and internationally recognized James Bond scholar Frieda Toth, who took her fascination with the book one step further: she retraced Vivienne’s journey through the Adirondacks herself on a vintage motor scooter.

Along the way, we explore the real Adirondack places Fleming worked into the novel, from Storytown and Route 9 to Glens Falls and Lake George. Frieda helps us separate Fleming’s remarkably accurate local details from the things he got hilariously wrong. October in the Adirondacks on a Vespa, anyone?

Whether you’re a James Bond fan, a Lake George history buff, or someone who loves discovering an unexpected Adirondack connection, this episode may change the way you look at Route 9.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• Why Ian Fleming set The Spy Who Loved Me in the Adirondacks.
• How the novel broke nearly every rule of the usual James Bond formula.
• What Fleming got surprisingly right, and wrong, about Lake George and Route 9.
• Why Frieda retraced Viv’s journey on a vintage motor scooter.
• The classic Adirondack attractions she discovered along the way.
• Why Fleming’s Adirondacks make more sense in August than October.
• How Lake George’s motels, roadside attractions, and pre-Northway traffic shaped the story.
• Why The Spy Who Loved Me deserves another look from Bond fans.

Resources:

• Ian Fleming Foundation
• The Spy Who Loved Me
• James Bond in the Adirondacks
• Storytown, Motels, and Summer Memories: How Lake George Became America's Vacation Paradise

Produced by NOVA

Pointed hats. Decorated broomsticks. Classic rock. And a whole lot of Adirondack joy.

If you’ve been to a fall festival, parade, or community celebration around North Creek, Indian Lake, Lake George, or Gore Mountain, there’s a good chance you’ve spotted the Adirondack Dancing Witches. But what looks like a wonderfully quirky performance from the crowd has a much bigger story behind it.

We sit down with Crystal, Raven, and Shabby to find out how an international dancing-witch phenomenon inspired their Adirondack group, how 18 women ranging in age from 45 to 85 put their own rock-and-roll spin on the tradition, and why becoming a witch can mean much more than putting on a costume.

There’s plenty of fun here, from witch names and glowing broomsticks to dancing at Gore Mountain. But there’s also something deeper: friendship, healing, freedom, and the simple pleasure of giving grown-ups permission to play.

And if you’re planning a fall trip to the Adirondacks, you’ll hear where you can catch the Dancing Witches in action.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• How the Dancing Witches found their way to the Adirondacks.
• Why every witch chooses her own name and costume.
• How classic rock became part of their signature performance.
• Why the group has become a genuine sisterhood.
• The unforgettable moments they’ve shared with children, seniors, and longtime fans.
• Where to see the Dancing Witches around the Adirondacks this fall.

Resources:

• Adirondack Dancing Witches / Gem Radio Theater
• Gore Mountain
• Tannery Pond Center
• Wiawaka Women’s Center

Produced by NOVA

Fifty years after Woodswoman introduced readers to a woman building an independent life in a remote Adirondack cabin, Anne LaBastille still captures the imagination. But the cabin on Twitchell Lake was only one part of her remarkable story.

We talk with seventh-generation Adirondacker and author Penny Harr about her new book, Anne LaBastille: A Biography of the Woodswoman, and the woman she discovered through years of interviews and archival research.

Anne was a wildlife ecologist, writer, licensed Adirondack guide, Adirondack Park Agency commissioner and international conservationist. She earned her Ph.D. from Cornell, conducted environmental work in Guatemala and elsewhere around the world, and built a career in fields where women were often expected to stay on the sidelines.

Penny takes us beyond the familiar legend to explore Anne’s fierce independence, complicated personality, relentless work ethic and lasting influence on the Adirondacks. We also visit the story behind her famous cabin, now preserved at Adirondack Experience in Blue Mountain Lake, and consider why her ideas about wilderness, silence, conservation and slowing down outdoors still feel so relevant 50 years later.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• How Anne LaBastille found her way to the Adirondacks.
• The reality behind building and living in her Twitchell Lake cabin.
• The scientist and conservationist behind the Woodswoman legend.
• How she broke barriers in male-dominated fields.
• Why Woodswoman became a symbol of independence for generations of women.
• How Anne’s cabin and conservation legacy are being preserved today.
• Why her message about wilderness, silence and protecting the Adirondacks still resonates.

Resources:

• Anne LaBastille: A Biography of the Woodswoman
• Anne LaBastille’s Cabin at Adirondack Experience 
• Woodswoman by Anne LaBastille
• Adirondack Center for Writing

Produced by NOVA

What if your next Adirondack adventure had no summit, mileage goal, or destination at all?

We sit down with New York State outdoor guide Nathan June, founder of Nathan’s Nature Navigations, to explore forest bathing and the simple practice of slowing down enough to really notice the woods around you.

Nathan’s relationship with nature changed dramatically after a major health crisis and liver transplant in 2016. During his recovery, quiet visits to parks and places around Lake George helped him experience the outdoors differently. That eventually led him to forest bathing, mindful outdoor guiding, and training through Kripalu’s School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership.

From “soft fascination” and sit spots to unexpected encounters with Adirondack wildlife, Nathan shares ways to experience the forest without worrying about conquering it. And you don’t need to disappear deep into the High Peaks to try it. A patch of woods, a local park, or even a quiet spot beneath a few trees can be enough to begin.

Whether you’re planning an Adirondack getaway, looking for a gentler outdoor experience, or simply curious about experiencing familiar trails differently, this conversation might convince you to leave the summit goals behind for an afternoon.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• What forest bathing actually looks like.
• How Nathan’s recovery changed his relationship with nature.
• Why slowing down outdoors can feel surprisingly difficult.
• The idea of “soft fascination” and learning to notice more.
• How sit spots can change the way you experience Adirondack wildlife.
• Why Inman Pond on Lake George’s east side remains special to Nathan.

Resources:

• Nathan’s Nature Navigations
• Inman Pond / Lake George Wild Forest
• Kripalu School of Mindful Outdoor Leadership
• SUNY Adirondack Outdoor Education
• Association of Nature and Forest Therapy

Produced by NOVA

What if the Adirondacks’ most famous mystery isn’t hiding in the history books, but somewhere just off the trail?

We’re heading back into Bigfoot country with John Sheridan, creator of Adirondack Bigfoot, who investigates eyewitness reports across the Adirondack Park. John talks with the people behind the encounters, visits the locations where they happened, and documents what he finds through video, audio, trail cameras, footprint casts and plenty of time in the woods.

From Whitehall and Lake George to Wells, Ticonderoga, Keeseville and the Lake Champlain corridor, John has collected stories that range from strange wood knocks and unexplained tracks to alleged roadside encounters and something throwing rocks at Adirondack campers.

And he has a theory about why so much of the activity seems to cluster along the eastern edge of the Adirondack Park.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• Why eyewitnesses sometimes wait decades to share their Bigfoot encounters.
• The Adirondack evidence John looks for, from footprints and wood knocks to trail-camera images.
• John’s theory about a Bigfoot migration route through the Lake Champlain corridor.
• Strange encounters from Whitehall, Wells, Lake George and beyond.
• Why caves, old mines and remote Adirondack terrain keep coming up in his investigations.
• What believers, skeptics and the Bigfoot-curious can discover by slowing down in the woods.

Resources:

• Adirondack Bigfoot
• Whitehall Sasquatch Festival & Calling Contest
• Tracking Legends: Sasquatch in the Adirondacks
• Sasquatch in the Adirondacks

Produced by NOVA

Ever wonder how a New York apple picked in October can still taste crisp the following summer?

We’re heading to Peru, New York, in the Champlain Valley to meet Jenna Mulbury, third-generation co-owner of Northern Orchard and our latest guest in the Women in Agriculture series with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Clinton County. Northern Orchard has been growing apples since 1906, and today its fruit travels from the Adirondack Coast to grocery stores across the country.

Jenna takes us beyond the farm stand and into the surprisingly scientific world of commercial apple growing. We learn how enormous low-oxygen storage rooms essentially put apples “to sleep,” why warm days and cool Adirondack nights help create that perfect red blush, and just how much work goes into growing the flawless fruit shoppers expect.

There’s plenty here for anyone planning a fall trip to the Adirondacks, too. Jenna shares what’s growing at the Northern Orchard Farm Stand, why you should venture beyond your usual Honeycrisp, and a few apple varieties worth hunting down this season.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• How Northern Orchard has grown apples since 1906
• How apples stay fresh nearly year-round
• Why the Champlain Valley is ideal for apple growing
• Jenna’s experience as a woman in agriculture
• New apple varieties worth trying
• How to choose and store apples at home
• What’s fresh at the Northern Orchard Farm Stand
• Why the Adirondacks extend beyond the Blue Line

Resources:

• Northern Orchard
• Cornell Cooperative Extension of Clinton County
• New York State Horticultural Society
• SUNY Cobleskill
• New York Apple Association

Produced by NOVA

Long before family vacations meant airport security and resort apps, there was Lake George.

In the 1950s and ’60s, families piled into their cars and headed north to the Adirondacks for cottage colonies, roadside attractions, speedboats, theme parks, elaborate nightlife and days spent on the Queen of American Lakes.

In this episode of ADK Talks, we visit Bolton Landing and the Bolton Museum’s “Welcome to Lake George: Vacation Paradise of the 50s & 60s” exhibit with curator Lisa Hall and Lake George Mirror publisher Toni Hall.

It’s a trip back to an era when Lake George was reinventing itself for America’s newly mobile middle class. Victorian hotels and private estates gave way to motels and vacation cottages. Story Town and Frontier Town became family destinations. Restaurants and nightclubs stayed open into the early morning. And projects like the Adirondack Northway and Prospect Mountain Veterans Memorial Highway made the region easier to reach than ever before.

But there’s more here than nostalgia.

Lisa and Toni reveal how that tourism boom changed Lake George, why the excitement surrounding massive development projects eventually began to fade, and how concerns about growth helped fuel a new appreciation for protecting the Adirondacks.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• How Lake George became a family vacation hotspot
• The motels, cottage colonies and attractions of the ’50s and ’60s
• Lake George nightlife during its mid-century heyday
• How the Northway reshaped Adirondack tourism
• The story behind the Bolton Museum exhibit
• Why Lake George history still sparks strong memories today

Resources:

• Lake George
• The Bolton Museum
• The Sembrich Opera Museum

Produced by NOVA

What happens when hundreds of hikers spread out across Lake George on the same summer morning?

We took the ADK Talks mobile studio to the Lake George Land Conservancy’s annual Hike-A-Thon after party to find out.

The result is a collection of field reports from around one of the Adirondacks’ most beautiful lakes. Some hikers discovered trails they had somehow missed after decades of visiting Lake George. Others spotted rare birds, introduced kids and grandkids to the mountains, found a new appreciation for protected land, or came face to face with a timber rattlesnake.

You’ll hear from lifelong Adirondackers, first-time hikers, photographers, conservationists, nurses, families, and people who travel hundreds of miles each year because Lake George keeps calling them back.

Along the way, we visit places like Pilot Knob, Amy’s Park, Sucker Brook Preserve, Up Yonda Farm, Wiawaka, Cat and Thomas Mountains, and some quieter corners of the northern lake.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• How Lake George can look completely different from the opposite shore
• A memorable timber rattlesnake encounter on the trail
• Why Amy’s Park is a hidden gem for Adirondack birding
• How hiking helped Glens Falls Hospital staff through the COVID years
• What 800 Hike-A-Thon participants look like from a helicopter
• Why protecting the land around Lake George helps protect the lake itself

Resources:

• Lake George Land Conservancy
• 2026 Lake George Hike-A-Thon

Produced by NOVA