New York City to the Cabins: Route & Miles

From Midtown Manhattan the cabins are 337 road miles north, about five and a half hours of driving on a clear road. Most of the trip is interstate, the Thruway up the west side of the Hudson Valley to Albany and then the Northway into the Adirondacks, and the last 81 miles leave the interstate for roads through Keene, Saranac Lake and Paul Smiths. New York, New York is the hometown that turns up most often in the cabins' guest reviews. Here is the drive in stretches, with the stops, the tolls, the seasons, and the train and the plane for anyone who would rather leave the car at home.

337 milesby road from New York City

five and a half hourstypical driving time

Saranac Lake or Malonethe last town, depending on your route: groceries, fuel, a hospital

4 guestsper cabin, each with its own hot tub

The route in stretches

The 337 miles are measured from Times Square on OpenStreetMap's road network. That routing leaves Manhattan through the Lincoln Tunnel, crosses Bergen County on NJ 17 and joins the Thruway at Suffern. Each time in the table assumes an empty road and no breaks, so add whatever traffic you meet getting out of the city and the stops you make.

Stretch	Roads	Places on the way	Road miles	About
Midtown to Suffern	The Lincoln Tunnel, NJ 495, NJ 3 and NJ 17	Weehawken, North Bergen, Secaucus, Rutherford, Hasbrouck Heights, Paramus, Ramsey, Mahwah	32	35 minutes
Suffern to Albany	The New York State Thruway, I-87	Sloatsburg, Woodbury, New Windsor, New Paltz, Kingston, Saugerties, Catskill, Coxsackie, Ravena	112	1 hour 40 minutes
Albany to exit 30	I-787, NY 7 and the Adirondack Northway	Colonie, Clifton Park, Saratoga Springs, Queensbury, Lake George, Warrensburg, Schroon Lake, North Hudson	112	1 hour 45 minutes
North Hudson to Saranac Lake	US 9, then NY 73 through the High Peaks, County Route 35 and NY 86	Keene Valley, Keene, Upper Cascade Lake, the edge of Lake Placid, Ray Brook	38	45 minutes
Saranac Lake to the cabins	NY 86 to Paul Smiths, NY 30 north, then County Route 25	Lake Colby, the towns of Harrietstown and Brighton, Meacham Lake	43	55 minutes

Saratoga Springs, about 180 road miles up the route and 158 from the cabins, is a little past halfway. At exit 30 you leave the interstate for good, and from there the road runs through the towns of Keene and North Elba to Saranac Lake.

Leaving the city

The measured route takes the Lincoln Tunnel under the Hudson to Weehawken, climbs through Union City and North Bergen on NJ 495, follows NJ 3 west through Secaucus and Rutherford, and turns north on NJ 17 through Hasbrouck Heights, Paramus, Saddle River and Ramsey. The road crosses into New York at Hillburn and meets the Thruway at Suffern, 32 miles from Times Square. There are three other ways out, and the best one depends on where you start:

The George Washington Bridge and the Palisades Interstate Parkway. From the Upper West Side or Washington Heights, the parkway runs north along the Palisades through Alpine and meets the Thruway near Bardonia, in the Town of Clarkstown. From Times Square it is about seven miles longer than the tunnel route.
The Major Deegan and the Cuomo Bridge. From the Bronx or Westchester, I-87 itself runs up the Major Deegan Expressway, becomes the Thruway at the Yonkers line and crosses the Hudson on the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge. From Times Square it is about 15 miles longer. Ardsley, at milepost 6 between exits 6A and 7, is the first service area on this way, and it has eight EV chargers.
The Taconic State Parkway. East of the Hudson, the Sprain Brook Parkway leads to the Taconic, which runs north through Westchester and Dutchess counties into Columbia County; from there NY 82, NY 9H and US 9 lead through Livingston and Kinderhook to I-90 at Schodack and on into Albany. The mileage from Times Square is about the same, 337, but the trip runs about 20 minutes longer on paper, and commercial vehicles are banned from the parkway.

None of these ways charges a toll for a river crossing on the way north. The Port Authority collects its tolls, at the Lincoln Tunnel and the George Washington Bridge among others, only from traffic entering New York, and the Cuomo Bridge toll is collected southbound only. The Thruway has been cashless since November 14, 2020: overhead gantries read your E-ZPass tag, and a car without one gets the bill by mail. New York E-ZPass holders pay 30 percent less than the Tolls by Mail rate.

The Thruway to Albany

From Suffern, I-87 runs north through the top of Rockland County and on through Orange, Ulster and Greene counties, past the exits for Harriman, Newburgh and I-84, New Paltz, Kingston, Saugerties and Catskill, then past Coxsackie and New Baltimore, and enters Albany County at Ravena. It is 112 miles from Suffern to Albany.

All 27 of the Thruway's service areas were rebuilt or renovated under a $450 million investment plan from Empire State Thruway Partners, which runs them on a 33-year lease: 23 restaurant buildings were replaced and four renovated, and every one had reopened by the end of 2025. Each is open 24 hours, with gas and diesel, restrooms, free Wi-Fi, an ATM and an Applegreen shop. Four sit on the northbound side between Suffern and Albany:

Service area	Milepost and exits	Fuel	Food	EV chargers
Sloatsburg	33, between exits 15A and 16	Sunoco	Shake Shack, Chick-fil-A, Panda Express, Dunkin', Starbucks	None listed
Plattekill	65, between exits 17 and 18	Sunoco	Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Panera Bread, Auntie Anne's, Starbucks	6
Malden	103, between exits 20 and 21	Mobil	Burger King, Popeyes, Dunkin'	4
New Baltimore	127, between exits 21B and 21A	Mobil	Shake Shack, Chick-fil-A, Panera Bread, Starbucks	4 on each side

Sloatsburg, the first stop after you join at Suffern, reopened in September 2024, and Malden a month later; Plattekill and New Baltimore reopened in 2023. With an electric car, Plattekill has the most chargers between Suffern and Albany, six. Vendors change, so check the Thruway's service area list before you plan a meal around one.

North of Albany

At Albany the route joins the Adirondack Northway, the stretch of I-87 between Albany and the Canadian border. Its run past Clifton Park, Saratoga Springs, Queensbury, Lake George, Warrensburg and Schroon Lake has stops of its own, and the drive from Albany and the drive from Saratoga Springs cover them.

Near the top comes the one real choice of the trip. Exit 30 leads to NY 73 and the High Peaks, the measured route. Staying on the Northway to exit 37 at Plattsburgh and taking NY 3, NY 190 and US 11 west makes the trip about 363 road miles instead of 337, and keeps you on the interstate longer. That ending tops out at about 1,340 feet, on US 11 in the Town of Clinton, while NY 73 reaches about 2,200. The drive from Plattsburgh covers it.

Through Keene to Saranac Lake

From exit 30 in North Hudson, US 9 runs north for about two miles to NY 73, which the route follows for 26 miles through the High Peaks. It gains almost 600 feet in its first four miles, to about 1,650, drops to about 1,000 feet at Keene Valley and 840 at Keene, and climbs again to about 2,200 feet just west of Upper Cascade Lake, by the trailhead for Cascade Mountain. Short of Lake Placid village, Old Military Road, County Route 35, cuts across to NY 86, which runs on through Ray Brook to Saranac Lake.

NY 73 is also the road to many High Peaks trailheads. Parking at the Adirondack Mountain Reserve lot near Keene Valley takes a free advance reservation in season, from April 17 to October 31 in 2026, under a system the reserve runs with DEC partly to protect people walking and driving on that busy stretch, so watch for hikers along the shoulder on summer and fall weekends.

Shop before the last stretch. For groceries, stay on NY 73 into Lake Placid instead of turning onto Old Military Road, then follow Saranac Avenue, which is NY 86, west past the Price Chopper at number 1930; it lists its hours as 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, and you rejoin the route where Old Military Road comes in. In Saranac Lake the Grand Union on Church Street sits right on the route and lists 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Check both before a late arrival. Saranac Lake is also the place to fill the tank, since this route reaches the cabins before it reaches Malone.

The last 43 miles

From Saranac Lake, NY 86 heads north past Lake Colby to Paul Smiths, and NY 30 carries on past Meacham Lake, 20 road miles from the cabins, before county and town roads take over; the drive from Lake Placid covers that stretch stop by stop, and getting to the cabins explains why the host's directions beat a phone map for the final miles.

Winter on this route

The snow changes as you go north. On the 1991 to 2020 normals, Central Park averages 8.8 inches of snow in January and about 30 inches a winter; Malone, ten miles from the cabins, averages about 22 inches in January and 95 a winter. The High Peaks stretch is the high ground of the drive: near Upper Cascade Lake, NY 73 runs about 900 feet higher than the cabins.

Before a winter drive, look at road conditions on 511NY and at the mountain forecast as well as the city's. If snow is falling on the Northway, take exit 37 and the Plattsburgh ending instead of exit 30. The winter driving guide covers tires, plowing and the kit for the car.

Fall color and holiday weekends

In I LOVE NY's report for the week of October 7 to 13, 2026, the Hudson Valley stretch of the Thruway was close to its best: New Paltz had passed 75 percent change and Kingston had reached 70 percent, both near peak, Saratoga Springs stood at 70 percent, and the upper slopes around Windham, in the Catskills, were at peak to past peak. The 2026 Columbus Day weekend sits in that same week, ending on Monday, October 12; in 2027 the holiday is Monday, October 11. The fall foliage guide covers the timing around the cabins.

On the big holiday weekends the hour you leave matters. For Memorial Day weekend 2026, AAA's national forecast, built on INRIX data, named Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. as the worst time to drive and before 11 a.m. as the best, and on the Monday, noon to 5 p.m. as the worst. For Thanksgiving 2025 the state kept construction lane closures off its highways from 6 a.m. on the Wednesday until 6 a.m. on the Monday after. In 2027 Memorial Day falls on May 31 and Labor Day on September 6; the events calendar lists what is on near the cabins.

Breaking the trip

Five and a half hours fits in a day with a stop or two at a service area. A night on the road makes sense only if you cannot leave until evening: book the cabin from Saturday, sleep Friday near Albany or Saratoga Springs, and drive the last 158 to 188 miles in daylight on Saturday morning. Check-in is after 4 p.m., so a Saturday start leaves time for a hike or a long lunch on the way.

The Adirondack from Penn Station

Amtrak's Adirondack runs once a day from Moynihan Train Hall at Penn Station up the Hudson and along Lake Champlain to Montreal. On Amtrak's October 2026 timetable, train 69 leaves New York at 8:15 a.m., stops at Yonkers, Croton-Harmon, Poughkeepsie, Rhinecliff and Hudson, and is due at Albany-Rensselaer at 11:45 a.m., Saratoga Springs at 12:35 p.m. and Plattsburgh at 4:02 p.m. Train 68 heads south from Plattsburgh at 2:45 p.m. and is due back in New York at 10:15 p.m. Amtrak lists Plattsburgh as an unstaffed station, with no ticket office and no parking.

Plattsburgh is the stop to aim for, 61 road miles from the cabins, about an hour and a quarter. The rental counters, Avis, Budget and Enterprise, are at the airport about three miles south of downtown, not at the station. The Avis counter lists daily hours of 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., so book the car and a taxi from the train before you leave home. Add the drive and you reach the cabin about 6 p.m., some three and a half hours after a driver who left Manhattan at 8:15.

The Ethan Allen Express is the other train north. It leaves Moynihan at 2:19 p.m. and reaches Burlington, Vermont, at 9:26 p.m., and the southbound train leaves Burlington at 9:25 a.m. and reaches New York at 4:27 p.m. Burlington is 115 road miles from the cabins, so the train suits a night in Burlington and a Saturday-morning drive. Trailways also sells bus trips from New York to Lake Placid, usually two a day and about ten hours long; check the current schedule.

Flying from New York

Cape Air flies once a day each way between JFK and Adirondack Regional Airport at Lake Clear, about 40 road miles from the cabins, on nine-seat planes. The one rental desk on that field belongs to Adirondack Rental Cars, so book the car with the flight. Burlington, 115 road miles away, has Delta flights from JFK and LaGuardia and United flights from Newark, and seven rental companies at the airport. Plattsburgh's flights go to Florida, to Myrtle Beach in season and to Washington Dulles, so they are no help from New York. The airports guide compares them all.

A Friday evening arrival

The listings set check-in after 4 p.m. Allow about six and a quarter hours from Midtown to the cabin door with one fuel and meal stop, more if you leave on a Friday afternoon. To be off the county roads before dark, count back from the cabins' sunset. The table follows the long weekends through the year, with a few ordinary Fridays:

Leaving on	Sunset at the cabins	Leave Midtown by
Saturday, November 28, 2026, Thanksgiving weekend	4:19 p.m.	About 10:05 a.m.
Saturday, December 26, 2026, the day after Christmas	4:22 p.m.	About 10:05 a.m.
Friday, January 15, 2027, Martin Luther King Jr. weekend	4:42 p.m.	About 10:30 a.m.
Friday, April 9, 2027	7:34 p.m.	About 1:20 p.m.
Friday, July 16, 2027	8:39 p.m.	About 2:25 p.m.
Friday, September 3, 2027, Labor Day weekend	7:30 p.m.	About 1:15 p.m.
Friday, October 8, 2027, Columbus Day weekend	6:25 p.m.	About 12:10 p.m.

From November into February, a daylight arrival means a morning start. Leave Midtown at 5 p.m. after work and you reach Lake Placid around 10 p.m. and the cabin at about 11:15 or 11:30. On that schedule the Grand Union in Saranac Lake, which closes at 9, is no use, so shop in the city or at the Lake Placid Price Chopper, open until 11. Message the host your arrival time from Saranac Lake, before the signal gaps of the last stretch. Getting to the cabins covers arriving after dark.

What New Yorkers come for

Eleven of the cabins' guest reviews come from guests who give New York, New York as home, more than from any other city, and they have come in every season. A January 2022 guest at The Modern Pine wrote:

We really felt secluded and lost in the wild with all the comfort we needed.

A New Yorker who stayed at the Tiny Home in September 2026 said it in one line: "If you want somewhere quiet, relaxing and a gorgeous view of the mountains this is the place."

Some stay much longer. A New York family spent eight weeks at the Tiny Home in the summer of 2020 with two teenagers, and their review lists how the days went: "We enjoyed hiking the nearby Owl’s Head trail, making day trips into Adirondack Park, and shopping for produce and crafts from local farm stands." The long stays page covers working from the cabins, the Owls Head guide the hike, and the Titus Mountain guide the skiing three and a half road miles away. All three cabins sleep four, each with a hot tub, a fire pit and a full kitchen of its own, and none is suitable for children under 10.

The drive home

Checkout is before 11 a.m., which puts you back in the city by late afternoon or early evening. Southbound, the Thruway's service areas are New Baltimore at milepost 127, Ulster at 96, Modena at 66 and Ramapo at 33, all open around the clock. The three that serve only southbound traffic sell Sunoco fuel. Ulster has Burger King, Panda Express and Starbucks; Modena has Burger King, Popeyes, Pret A Manger, Auntie Anne's and Dunkin'; Ramapo has Shake Shack, Panda Express, Panera Bread and Starbucks.

One July Sunday needs a different way out. On the day of Ironman Lake Placid in 2026, Sunday, July 19, NY 73 was shut to cars heading from Lake Placid toward Keene between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. If your checkout falls on race day, head home by US 11, NY 190 and the Northway at Plattsburgh, and look up the race date before you book a July weekend.

The tolls you skipped on the way up come due on the way back. The Cuomo Bridge charges southbound, and the Lincoln Tunnel and the George Washington Bridge charge drivers entering New York, at the higher peak rate from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. If friends from Philadelphia are meeting you at the cabins, their New Jersey route joins yours at Suffern; the drive from Philadelphia has it.

Questions

How long is the drive from New York City to the cabins?

From Midtown it is 337 road miles, about five and a half hours of driving on a clear road, by the Lincoln Tunnel and NJ 17, the Thruway, the Northway to exit 30 and NY 73 through Keene. With a fuel and meal stop, allow about six and a quarter hours, more on a Friday afternoon or a holiday weekend.

Which way should we take in winter?

If snow is falling, stay on the Northway to exit 37 at Plattsburgh and take NY 3, NY 190 and US 11 west. It is about 363 road miles from Midtown instead of 337, but it keeps you on the interstate longer and tops out at about 1,340 feet, while NY 73 near Upper Cascade Lake reaches about 2,200. Check 511NY and see winter driving.

Where can we stop on the Thruway?

Northbound between Suffern and Albany: Sloatsburg at milepost 33, Plattekill at 65, Malden at 103 and New Baltimore at 127. All are open 24 hours with fuel, restrooms and Wi-Fi, each has food counters, and Plattekill has six EV chargers. After Albany, the last supermarkets on the High Peaks route are in Lake Placid and Saranac Lake.

Do we pay a toll to leave Manhattan?

Not at the river. The Port Authority collects its tolls only from traffic entering New York, and the Cuomo Bridge toll is collected southbound, so you pay them on the way home. The Thruway is cashless: gantries read your E-ZPass tag, and a car without one gets a bill by mail at a higher rate.

Can we get to the cabins without driving from the city?

Part of the way. Amtrak's Adirondack leaves Moynihan Train Hall at 8:15 a.m. and reaches Plattsburgh at 4:02 p.m., and Cape Air flies once a day from JFK to Lake Clear, about 40 road miles from the cabins. Either way you need a rental car for the rest; the listings call a car or SUV essential. See airports near the cabins.

What time should we leave on a Friday?

Check-in is after 4 p.m. To arrive in daylight, leave Midtown about six and a quarter hours before sunset at the cabins: about 10:30 a.m. on the Friday of Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2027, when the sun sets at 4:42 p.m., and about 1:15 p.m. on the Friday of Labor Day weekend 2027. On holiday Fridays, leave before 11 a.m. if you can; AAA's 2026 Memorial Day forecast put the worst Friday traffic between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m.

Sources

Facts on this page were checked against these sources in October 2026. Hours, fees and schedules change; confirm before you go.

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From New York City to the cabins