From Saratoga Springs to the cabins

Saratoga Springs is 158 road miles from the cabins, about three hours by car. The main route is the Northway from exit 15 to exit 30, then NY 73 through Keene, NY 86 through Saranac Lake to Paul Smiths and finally NY 30 north past Meacham Lake. The other way stays on the Northway to Plattsburgh, a little slower but lower and easier in snow. Guests from Ballston Lake, Mechanicville and Stony Creek have written about the birds, the hot tub and the quiet at the end of it.

The route from Saratoga Springs

From downtown, NY 50 leads out to exit 15, and the Northway carries you north for a little over an hour, to exit 30. From there it is mountain road. Saratoga is 158 road miles from the cabins and Lake Placid 52, so by Lake Placid you have done about two-thirds of the distance.

That adds up to a little over three hours without stops. Near the end, trust the host's directions over a phone map; getting to the cabins explains the last few turns.

Leaving Saratoga Springs

The city has three Northway exits. Exit 13N is on US 9 south of the city, exit 14 serves NY 9P and NY 29 on the east side, toward Saratoga Lake and Schuylerville, and exit 15 is for NY 50. From downtown the quickest way onto the interstate is NY 50 to exit 15. North of the city, the Northway runs through Wilton and Moreau and crosses into Warren County, and between exits 17 and 18 the northbound lanes pass the state's Adirondacks Welcome Center, only about 20 minutes from downtown. That is early for a break; the drive from Albany lists what it has and the other rest areas on the way.

Glens Falls, Lake George and the scenic stretch

Exits 18 and 19 serve Glens Falls, and exits 21 and 22 serve Lake George Village. North of Lake George the interstate climbs into the hills. You join it at about 300 feet at exit 15; it reaches about 950 feet a few miles past Lake George, and from there it stays between about 700 and 1,100 feet all the way to exit 30.

The 23 miles from Lake George to Pottersville were named Parade magazine's Scenic Highway for 1966, the year before the whole Northway opened. The magazine called it "the new road that best embodies the principles of good design, beauty, and utility." The last section of the 176-mile highway opened on August 30, 1967, and it was the first long-distance, toll-free interstate finished in New York. On this stretch, exit 23 is for Warrensburg, exit 24 for Bolton Landing, exit 25 for Chestertown and NY 8, and exit 26 for Pottersville.

Schroon Lake and North Hudson

Schroon Lake, about an hour from Saratoga, is the natural place for a stop. The Stewart's at 1068 Main Street is on US 9 in the hamlet: leave at exit 27, follow US 9 north past the shop and rejoin the Northway at exit 28, which costs about five minutes. Its pumps have regular, diesel and 91 premium without ethanol. Inside are an ATM, restrooms, coffee, hot food, ice cream and booths, and there are picnic tables outside in warm weather. The state's own Schroon Lake rest area, northbound between exits 27 and 28, is listed as temporarily closed.

Exit 29, North Hudson, is the site of Frontier Town, a Wild West theme park for more than 40 years until it closed in the 1990s. The state has since built the Frontier Town campground and day-use area there, beside the Schroon River. The day-use area has a pavilion and a bathroom building, and short trails end at four low stone viewpoints, two over the river and two over an oxbow wetland. Its season runs from mid-May to mid-October, so in those months it makes a quiet place to stretch your legs a few minutes off the interstate. By the exit, the state power authority opened four fast chargers for electric cars at the Frontier Town Gateway in 2024.

Schroon Lake is also where the forecast changes hands. The National Weather Service office in Albany covers Saratoga and Warren counties; from the Essex County line north, including all of NY 73 and the cabins' end of Franklin County, the forecast comes from the office in Burlington, Vermont.

Exit 30 and the High Peaks road

The main route leaves the interstate at exit 30 for US 9 and then NY 73, the road through the High Peaks. It climbs past Chapel Pond, drops through Keene Valley to Keene, where the Stewart's on NY 73 has gas, diesel and EV chargers, and climbs again to the Cascade Lakes, at about 2,200 feet the highest point of the drive. In Keene Valley the Noon Mark Diner, open since 1981 and known for its homemade pies, makes a good lunch stop; check its hours first. The drive from Albany takes NY 73 stop by stop, with the parking rules and the places to pull over.

Past the Cascade Lakes, the road drops toward Lake Placid, and the quickest line skirts the village on Old Military Road to NY 86. From there NY 86 runs through Ray Brook to Saranac Lake, which has the last supermarkets and the last gas on the route, and on to Paul Smiths, where NY 30 turns north past Meacham Lake. That last hour is described in the drive from Lake Placid.

The Plattsburgh way

Stay on the Northway past exit 30 and you are on the other route. North of exit 30 the interstate reaches about 1,250 feet, its highest ground, then drops into the Champlain Valley past exit 31 for Elizabethtown and Westport, exit 32 for Lewis, exits 33 and 34 for Keeseville, exit 35 for Peru and exit 36 for the Plattsburgh airport. Leave at exit 37, turn west on NY 3 for a short way, then onto NY 190, the Military Turnpike, and follow it to US 11 and the Malone area; the drive from Plattsburgh covers that last hour.

From Saratoga this way adds about 20 minutes on a clear road, and it never climbs above about 1,340 feet, a height it reaches on US 11 in Clinton, against about 2,200 on NY 73. Choose it in a snowstorm, on a winter evening, or when the NY 73 trailhead lots are overflowing on a fall holiday weekend. It also passes Ausable Chasm: from exit 34, the US 9 bridge just outside Keeseville gives a free view of Rainbow Falls, and the Ausable Chasm guide has the trails and the season.

Stops on the way

• Fuel. The Stewart's in Schroon Lake, between exits 27 and 28, then the Stewart's in Keene on NY 73, the last pumps before Lake Placid. Lake Placid's stations sit about a mile off Old Military Road, and Ray Brook and Saranac Lake have the last gas on the main route. On the Plattsburgh way, the drive from Plattsburgh lists the pumps on the turnpike and US 11.
• Food. The Stewart's shops sell coffee and hot food. In Keene Valley, the Noon Mark Diner; in Lake Placid and Saranac Lake, a choice of restaurants.
• A stretch. The Frontier Town day-use area at exit 29 from mid-May to mid-October, Chapel Pond on NY 73, or the picnic tables between the Cascade Lakes.
• Charging an electric car. The state's fast chargers at the Frontier Town Gateway by exit 29, then the EV chargers at the Stewart's in Keene; check each network's app before you count on them. After you arrive, Malone has fast chargers at the Aldi on State Route 11; winter driving has the details and the cold-weather range warning.
• Groceries. Shop before you leave Saratoga, or in Lake Placid or Saranac Lake. North of Saranac Lake this route has no supermarket before the cabins, and Malone's stores, about ten road miles north of the cabins, are listed in groceries and supplies.

The seasons on this drive

Winter

Saratoga Springs averages about 63 inches of snow a year, and the cabins are in snowier country: Malone, ten road miles north of them, averages about 95 inches. The big difference on this drive is height. NY 73 climbs about 1,350 feet from Keene to the Cascade Lakes, while the Plattsburgh way never gets much above 1,300 feet. Before a winter trip, read the Burlington office's forecast for the Western Essex zone, which covers NY 73, and check road conditions on 511NY. The winter driving guide has the tires, the plows and the kit, and its advice on deer, which are most often hit from October through December, applies all the way up the Northway.

Fall

In the state's foliage report for October 7 to 13, 2026, the mountains were already at peak, with Wilmington and Saranac Lake both at 95 percent change, while Saratoga Springs and Greenfield were at about 70 percent, Queensbury at 50 to 60 and Lake George at 35. Columbus Day is Monday, October 12, in 2026 and Monday, October 11, in 2027; on that weekend the trailhead lots along NY 73 fill early, so leave Saratoga early or take the Plattsburgh way. The Frontier Town day-use area closes for the season in mid-October, and the Adirondack Mountain Reserve's reservation-only parking at St. Huberts runs through October 31. The fall foliage guide has more on the timing.

Amtrak and the bus from Saratoga

Saratoga Springs has its own Amtrak station at 26 Station Lane, a 1956 depot remodeled in 2004, with a coffee and news stand. The Adirondack calls there once a day in each direction: northbound at 12:35 p.m., arriving in Plattsburgh at 4:02 p.m., and southbound back into Saratoga at 6:02 p.m. after leaving Plattsburgh at 2:45 p.m., on Amtrak's timetable as of October 2026. From Plattsburgh you still have 61 road miles to go, and the rental counters are at the airport, so arrange the car and a ride from the station first; airports near the cabins has the details.

The Ethan Allen Express also stops in Saratoga, at 5:56 p.m. northbound, but it turns east into Vermont and ends in Burlington at 9:26 p.m., 115 road miles from the cabins. Greyhound runs three buses a day from the Saratoga station to Plattsburgh, the fastest in about an hour and 25 minutes; the last leaves at 12:40 p.m., which still gets you to the rental counter in daylight. No airline flies from the Capital Region to Plattsburgh or Lake Clear.

Leaving Saratoga on a Friday

The cabins take arrivals after 4 p.m., so a Friday start at 4 works well. On a clear road that puts you at Lake George about 4:25, exit 30 about 5:10, Keene about 5:30 and Saranac Lake about 6. Allow twenty minutes for groceries there, and you reach the cabin at about 7:25.

How much of it is in daylight depends on the month. On Friday, August 13, 2027, the sun sets at the cabins at 8:06 p.m., so the whole drive is in daylight. On October 30, 2026, and February 26, 2027, sunset comes at 5:48 and 5:40 p.m., so you meet dusk on NY 73. On December 11, 2026, the sun sets at 4:16 p.m. and dusk is over by 4:49, so from exit 30 on you drive in the dark; to do the mountain roads in daylight that week, leave Saratoga by about 12:45. In the dark months the Plattsburgh way is the easier evening drive. The Tiny Home and The Aviator ask guests to keep things quiet from 10 p.m., which leaves plenty of room even after a late start. Message the host from Saranac Lake with your arrival time.

Guests from the Saratoga area

A Ballston Lake couple stayed at The Aviator in September 2024 for a quiet weekend away and wrote, "For hours all we could hear were birds!" A Mechanicville guest at The Modern Tiny Home in January 2022 put it in one line: "From the moment you get there it’s everything you had hoped it was going to be."

From Stony Creek, in Warren County, a couple wrote in September 2024, "We enjoyed the hot tub and fire pit as well as the nearby golf course and hiking trails," and a Stony Creek guest's September 2025 review said it was their second year at the cabin. The Malone Golf Club is about 15 minutes from the cabins, the hiking guide has the trails, and in winter Titus Mountain's ski trails are about 3.5 road miles away. Each of the three cabins sleeps four and has its own hot tub and fire pit; they suit couples, friends and families with children 10 and older.

The drive back to Saratoga

Checkout is before 11 a.m., so you are home by mid-afternoon on the main route. For a change on the way back, go home the Plattsburgh way and stop at Ausable Chasm, or take the main route and stop at Lake Placid; the Lake Placid and Whiteface day trip has ideas. Ironman Lake Placid, held on a Sunday in July and set to stay in Lake Placid through 2027, shuts NY 73 eastbound from Lake Placid to Keene for most of race day: in 2026 it was closed from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 19. If you leave on race day, the Plattsburgh way is the way home.

Questions

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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