A Week at the Cabins, Day by Day

A week is long enough for the big drives south to Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake and still leaves days when the only trip is from the deck to the hot tub. Below are a full summer week and a full winter week from the cabins, about ten road miles south of Malone, each with a rest day, a plan for bad weather and the drive time for every outing, followed by notes for spring and fall, a grocery plan for Malone, and how the week changes for a couple, a family with older children or a group of eight across two cabins.

How to shape a week here

Three rules make a week at the cabins work. First, alternate long days and short ones. The big day trips, to Lake Placid, Tupper Lake or Whiteface, run an hour and a quarter to an hour and a half each way, and two of them back to back put you in the car more than out of it. Second, keep one day in the middle with no driving at all; each cabin has its own hot tub, fire pit and grill, which is most of what a rest day needs. Third, check which days things close, because a small region keeps short hours.

These are the closing days that shape the plans below. In summer the Almanzo Wilder Farm gives tours Wednesday to Sunday, so it is shut on Mondays and Tuesdays, and Bokie's Drive-In in Malone is closed on Mondays. The Wild Center in Tupper Lake opens every day from late spring through October, then only Friday to Sunday from November through March. The lodge at Paul Smith's College's Visitor Interpretive Center opens Thursday to Monday, Historic Saranac Lake's museums open Tuesday to Saturday, and Titus Mountain's last posted night-skiing schedule ran on Fridays and Saturdays.

Weekends matter too. Weekend tickets at The Wild Center sell out, and the lots at well-known trailheads fill early, so the plans put the popular places midweek and keep the close-to-home days for Saturday and Sunday. On a first visit, plan to reach the cabins in daylight; getting to the cabins covers the last miles.

Drive times from the cabins

These are the road miles and the driving times this site uses for every outing in the two plans. Add time for a stop in Malone, for summer weekends around Lake Placid and for snow.

A summer week

This plan fits a week in July or August, from Saturday to Saturday. It puts the short days first, so they can absorb a late arrival or a wet morning, and saves the fire tower for the end, when legs have had a week of practice.

Saturday arrival through Malone

Stop in Malone on the way in for the week's groceries, wine if you want it and a full tank; the grocery plan is further down. Price Chopper is open until 11 p.m. every day, so a late start still works. At the cabin, light the grill, then the fire pit, and finish in the hot tub.

Sunday hikes close to home

Keep the first full day short on driving. Two walks sit within a quarter of an hour of the door: Owls Head, 1.3 miles and about 725 feet up to ledges above Indian Lake and Mountain View Lake, and High Falls, a nearly level three quarters of a mile each way beside the Salmon River. Do one in the morning and the other after a packed lunch; hiking near Malone has both trailheads, including the landmarks for Owls Head, which has no sign. The evening is free for the fire pit, or for dinner in Malone at Riverside Steak and Seafood on West Main Street, which has listed dinner from 4 p.m. every day; call before you drive in.

Monday at Meacham Lake

Monday is the day to leave Malone alone, since the farm, Bokie's and Donovan's Steak and Ale are all closed. Drive about 35 minutes south to Meacham Lake, where the state campground has a sand beach. In 2026 the day-use fee was $8 a car and the campground season ran from May 15 to October 12. Swimming there has been unsupervised since 2023, as at every DEC campground beach, so go in only from the designated beach area; dogs are not allowed on the beach or in the day-use area. The cabins have no boats, so bring your own canoe or kayak if you want to paddle; the Meacham Lake guide has the launches. Hikers can climb Loon Lake Mountain first, a 2.8-mile trail to open ledges at about 3,340 feet whose tower is closed to climbing, and cool off at the beach after.

Tuesday at the cabin

No driving today. Sleep late, run a load in the cabin's washer and dryer, read on the porch, whether that is The Modern Pine's large screened room or The Aviator's open deck, and use the hot tub at hours a day trip never allows, such as noon. If you want a dinner out, Donovan's Steak and Ale on Route 11 at the east end of Malone posted dinner hours of 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in the fall of 2026. Tonight is also the night to read the Farmer Boy chapters for tomorrow.

Wednesday at the Wilder farm

Wednesday is the best day of the week for the Almanzo Wilder Farm, about 13 road miles away. The farm gave tours Wednesday to Sunday in the 2026 summer season, and the Malone Farmers Market runs from noon to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays from mid-May to early October. A Farmer Boy day around Malone lays out the reading, the tour, lunch, the walk through the book's Malone and the evening, so none of that is repeated here. In August the Franklin County Fair can fill the evening.

Thursday in Tupper Lake or Lake Placid

Go to Tupper Lake on a weekday. The Wild Center is about an hour and a half away, opens at 10 a.m. and sells timed single-day tickets online; dogs are not allowed on its campus. Its Wild Walk is more than 1,000 feet of bridges and platforms up in the treetops, and its indoor exhibits, river otters included, make it the right choice if the forecast is wet. On a clear day, Lake Placid is the other choice, about an hour and a quarter away: drive the Whiteface Veterans' Memorial Highway, open daily from mid-May to mid-October, toward the 4,867-foot summit, then walk the Olympic sites in the village. From Lake Placid the road home passes through Saranac Lake, the place to stop for dinner.

Friday on St. Regis Mountain

Leave by 8 a.m. for St. Regis Mountain, about an hour away. The trail starts on Keese Mill Road about two and a half miles west of NY 30 at Paul Smiths and makes a round trip of 6.8 miles and about 1,650 feet of climbing to a bare summit and a 35-foot steel fire tower that has stood there since 1918, with the ponds of the Saint Regis Canoe Area below. Give it half a day. On the way home, stop at Paul Smith's College's Visitor Interpretive Center on NY 30 for an easy hour on its boardwalks; its trails are open from dawn to dusk every day and free in summer. For a shorter climb on another day, Azure Mountain, about 42 road miles from the cabins, is a mile and 944 feet to a restored tower that is open to climb. End the week at the fire pit.

Saturday departure

If you leave north through Malone, one more short walk is a small detour. The Elephant's Head trailhead, about nine road miles from the cabins, sits at the top of a 1.5-mile gravel road off NY 30 that is hard on low cars, and from the upper lot it is 0.8 mile and 320 feet, about twenty minutes, to a lookout over Lake Titus. Fill the tank in Malone after.

When it rains in summer

Swap days instead of losing them. A wet Thursday is the easy case: The Wild Center's exhibits are indoors. In Lake Placid, the Olympic Museum in the Olympic Center opens daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and at Mt Van Hoevenberg the Hi Notch indoor climbing center has more than 1,500 feet of climbing space, with the gear supplied and climbing shoes for rent; in the fall of 2026 it opened Tuesday to Sunday afternoons. In Saranac Lake, Historic Saranac Lake opened its restored Trudeau Building at 118 Main Street in August 2026, with rooms on guiding, logging, the great camps and the railroad, and its museum opens Tuesday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Closer to the cabins, the Wead Library on Elm Street in Malone is open six days a week, and the House of History on Milwaukee Street opens its museum to visitors who book ahead. A light rain is no reason to skip High Falls, a nearly level walk in the woods, but stay off open summits in a thunderstorm and wait 30 minutes after the last thunder before you go up. Every cabin has wifi and a TV for the wettest afternoons.

A winter week

This plan fits a February week, Saturday to Saturday, and in 2027 it can take in the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, which runs from February 5 to 14. The ski days are at Titus Mountain, five to seven minutes from the door, and the long drive goes to Whiteface or Lake Placid. Winter days are short, so the plans start early and aim to have you on the county roads home by dark, except for the carnival evening; winter driving covers the roads, the plows and the tires.

Saturday arrival before dark

Shop in Malone, then drive the last ten miles in daylight. At The Modern Pine and The Aviator, a Jotul gas stove heats the living room, with the flame showing through glass on three sides; The Modern Tiny Home has no stove. The hot tubs run all winter, and guests at all three cabins have written about soaking in the snow, so the first soak can be in falling snow.

Sunday at Titus Mountain

Ski the morning at Titus, drive back for lunch and a soak, and return for the afternoon; ski Titus, then soak has that day in detail. Titus has 53 trails on three connected mountains and 1,200 feet of vertical, and non-skiers can spend the day on its tubing hill, which has its own conveyor lift and runs on weekends and holidays. Titus had not posted its 2026-27 opening date in early October 2026, and it asks skiers to check its daily conditions report before every ski day.

Monday at the Paul Smith's ski trails

Paul Smith's College's Visitor Interpretive Center, about 45 minutes south on NY 30, turns into a ski and snowshoe center from December 1 to April 1, with 25 miles of trails, classic tracks set beside skating lanes on the wider loops, and packed paths for snowshoers. Its Hutchins Lodge opens Thursday to Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., so Monday works. A day pass is $20 for adults and $10 for ages 5 to 17, and the lodge rents snowshoes for $10 a day and cross-country skis, boots and poles for $20. Downtown Saranac Lake, about 13 miles farther south, has lunch.

Tuesday snow day near the cabin

Stay close. The 7,566-acre Titusville Mountain State Forest, a few miles away, is open to cross-country skiing and snowshoeing all winter, but the cabins do not supply skis or snowshoes, so bring a pair or rent at the VIC the day before. Cross-country skiers can also use the trails the local Fish and Game Club grooms beside Titus Mountain, where the lodge sells discounted lift tickets to skiers and snowshoers who want a warm-up and a ride back. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing has the trails. Otherwise keep the stove on, cook a long dinner in the oven, and save your legs for tomorrow.

Wednesday at Whiteface or Lake Placid

Whiteface, about an hour and a half away, has 3,430 feet of vertical, the most of any ski area in the East. Buy tickets online ahead and check the day's lift hours; Titus season-pass holders get 20 percent off Whiteface lift tickets in 2026-27, and parking is free in the mountain's main lots, with shuttles running from them. Non-skiers can spend the day in Lake Placid instead: the Olympic Museum, public skating in the Olympic Center, the free skating track on Mirror Lake when conditions allow, and the toboggan chute on Mirror Lake, which opens once the ice is 12 inches thick and costs $20 for adults and $10 for students.

Thursday in Saranac Lake

Saranac Lake is about an hour away. During carnival week in 2027, February 5 to 14, with the theme Wizards and Dragons, the ice palace built from Lake Flower's ice is lit every night, weather permitting, and the big parade is on Saturday, February 13. Check the carnival schedule closer to the date; the carnival guide covers the palace, the fireworks and the parking. In other weeks, Historic Saranac Lake's museums are open Tuesday to Saturday, and outfitters in Saranac Lake and Lake Placid rent snowmobiles, with helmets, for guided or self-guided rides. Riders who bring their own sled can pick up the C7 corridor near the cabins.

Friday at The Wild Center or under the lights at Titus

From November through March The Wild Center opens only Friday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., so Friday is its winter day, and kicksleds, a Scandinavian push sled, are free to borrow with admission all winter. Or stay near home and ski Titus under the lights: its last posted schedule, for 2024-25, ran night skiing on Fridays and Saturdays from 4:30 to 9 p.m. on 15 lit trails, included with an all-day ticket.

When a storm comes through

Malone averages about 95 inches of snow a year, and a storm day is a day to stay put. Every way out ends on county and town roads and a private gravel drive, each cleared by a different crew, so give the plows time to work before you head out. Titus on the morning after a storm is often the best skiing of the week, if it is open. The Malone Civic Center on State Street keeps ice from October to May and holds public skating sessions on its calendar, and the Wead Library closes whenever the Malone schools close or go remote for weather, which is a fair sign of the roads. One guest summed up a storm at the cabins:

Soaking in the hot tub during a snow storm was the highlight of our trip

Spring weeks

March still skis. In recent seasons Titus has closed between March 21 and April 7, and the trails at Paul Smith's VIC stay a ski center until April 1. New York's Maple Weekends fall on March 13 and 14 and March 20 and 21 in 2027, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., when sugarhouses open for tastings and tours. A March week is a winter week with longer days.

April and May are mud season, which runs from late March into mid-June. The state asks hikers to keep off trails above 2,500 feet until mid-June, and to walk through the mud in the middle of the trail, never around it. The walks near the cabins are low enough: Owls Head's summit is about 2,250 feet, High Falls is nearly level, and the VIC's boardwalks are open dawn to dusk. The gravel road to Elephant's Head is gated each spring, which adds about three miles of walking. The Wild Center closes each spring for its cleaning, usually through April, and in 2026 its daily season began on May 22, so check before you drive. Black flies come out in mid-May and last into early July; bugs, ticks and black flies has the defenses. By the end of May the summer plan opens up: the Meacham Lake campground and the Whiteface summit road open in mid-May, and the Wilder farm opened on May 24 in 2026.

Fall weeks

A week from the last days of September into the second week of October catches the color. Peak in the Adirondacks usually comes around the last weekend of September and the first weekend of October, higher country first, and the fall foliage guide has the drives. Most of the summer plan still works, on shrinking hours. In 2026 The Wild Center was open daily through October, the Whiteface summit road and the Meacham Lake campground both closed on October 12, the Wilder farm kept tours on September weekends and by appointment into mid-October, and the Malone Farmers Market ran until October 7.

Fall is also hunting season. In the state's Northern Zone, which takes in the cabins and the trails around them, the 2026 bear season opened September 19 and the regular deer and bear season runs from October 24 to December 6, so wear blaze orange on the trails and put some on the dog. The snow geese are the other fall show. They arrive in Malone by early October, peak from late October into early November, and come down on Rotary Lake in the village's recreation park just after sunset. November is the quiet month. Santa's Workshop at North Pole reopens for holiday weekends from late November 2026; check the park's hours page for the dates. Titus has opened anywhere from mid-November to the third week of December in recent seasons.

Groceries for a week from Malone

All three cabins have full kitchens with a range and oven, a microwave, a refrigerator and freezer, a toaster, a kettle and a coffee maker, plus a grill outside, and The Modern Pine and The Aviator have dishwashers. That means one big shop on arrival and a short top-up midweek.

• The big shop. Price Chopper, at 53 Finney Boulevard, has a bakery, a deli, meat and seafood counters and New York beers, and is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day. Aldi is at 3324 State Route 11, and the Walmart Supercenter is at 3222 State Route 11.
• Wine and spirits. New York grocery stores sell beer but not wine or liquor. In Malone that means The Jug Store, at 44 Finney Boulevard on Price Chopper's street, or Harison Wine and Liquor at 632 East Main Street.
• Medicine. Malone's Price Chopper has no pharmacy. Use Kinney Drugs, at 485 East Main Street or 3400 State Route 11, or the Walmart pharmacy.
• Midweek. On Wednesdays from mid-May to early October, the farmers market runs from noon to 5 p.m. by the Town Office on Route 11. The two Stewart's Shops, at 554 East Main and 289 West Main, sell gas, milk and ice cream; fill the tank there before you head back south.

A seven-dinner plan for the summer week: the grill on Saturday, something from the oven on Sunday after the hikes, the grill again after the lake on Monday, dinner out in Malone on Tuesday, the Farmer Boy supper on Wednesday, dinner in Saranac Lake or Lake Placid on the long Thursday, and the last of everything around the fire pit on Friday. Pack lunches for the trail and lake days, since there is nothing to buy at the trailheads. In winter, lean on the oven: a roast or a pot of chili is ready an hour after you come in from the slopes. Groceries and supplies has the full store list.

How the week changes for a couple

Any of the three cabins suits two, so choose by the porch and the fire. The Modern Pine has the large screened room, The Aviator the large open deck and a smokeless fire pit, and The Modern Tiny Home a big stone fire pit and the trail to its pond deck; the three cabins compared sets them side by side. For two, fewer miles usually make the better week: keep two long days instead of three, add a second dinner out and stretch the rest day. In summer, trade a hiking morning for a round at Malone Golf Club, under nine road miles away, where visitors can book tee times online up to seven days ahead. In winter, do Whiteface once and Titus under the lights twice.

How the week changes for a family

The cabins take children 10 and up. The Modern Pine's and The Modern Tiny Home's listings say they are not suitable for children under 10, and all three listings carry Airbnb's flag that they are not suitable for children and infants. Each cabin sleeps four in a main bedroom and a bunk room, which fits two parents and two older children.

For ten-to-twelve-year-olds the summer plan works with two changes: make Sunday Owls Head or High Falls, not both, and keep the long Thursday for The Wild Center, where the treetop walk and the otters suit that age. Teenagers can take the full plan, St. Regis included, and Azure's short, steep climb to a tower they can go up is a good first fire tower. At Mt Van Hoevenberg outside Lake Placid, a rider on the Cliffside Coaster who is at least 9 and 52 inches tall can drive a sled alone and control its speed down the mountain beside the old bobsled track; in the fall of 2026 it ran Wednesday to Sunday through October. In winter, Titus's tubing hill and learning area keep a family with mixed skiers together. The Farmer Boy day on Wednesday is written for this age too.

A group of eight in The Modern Pine and The Aviator

For eight, book The Modern Pine and The Aviator together. They share one property and one gravel drive, set so that each keeps its privacy, and each sleeps four with its own kitchen, grill, fire pit and private hot tub, so the group has two of everything. One guest at The Modern Pine wrote:

Both cabins on this property are great, private, updated, comfortable and close to the mountain if you are skiing.

Plan around a few limits. The Modern Pine's dining table is small; one guest noted that "the table only seats two," so cook in both kitchens and eat in two groups, or together outside in warm weather, in The Modern Pine's screened room or on The Aviator's open deck. Bring two cars, since a car is the only way to reach the cabins and every outing in this plan, but share rides where you can, because the lots at popular trailheads fill early and the Elephant's Head lot is small. Both listings rule out parties and events, and The Modern Pine's also asks for picture ID and a guest list at booking and requires the booking guest to be 25 or older. Call restaurants ahead for a table of eight.

A group week can split and meet up. Keep one long day for everyone, Thursday in summer or Wednesday at Whiteface in winter, and let the rest divide: the hikers take Loon Lake Mountain and St. Regis while the others take the lake and the farm. A group of hikers can give the whole week to the Saranac Lake 6er, six summits with trailheads an hour to an hour and a quarter away, then ring the 6er bell on Berkeley Green in Saranac Lake. Day groups in the High Peaks Wilderness, where Ampersand stands, are limited to 15, so eight fits.

Questions

Sources

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

1. The Wild Center wildcenter.org/visit/
2. The Wild Center wildcenter.org/visit1/kicksledding/
3. ADK Taste adktaste.com/adirondack-events/wild-center-opening-day-2026-tupper-lak
4. comejoinmyjourney.com comejoinmyjourney.com/the-wild-center-tupper-lake/
5. Paul Smith's College paulsmiths.edu/vic/
6. Paul Smith's College paulsmiths.edu/vic/ski/
7. Saranac Lake tourism saranaclake.com/attractions/paul-smiths-college-vic
8. Titus Mountain titusmountain.com/hours-of-operation
9. Titus Mountain titusmountain.com/night-skiing
10. Titus Mountain titusmountain.com/tubing
11. Titus Mountain titusmountain.com/rates
12. Titus Mountain titusmountain.com/xc-uphill-tickets
13. Indy Pass indyskipass.com/our-resorts/titus-mountain
14. skicentral.com skicentral.com/titus.html
15. Almanzo & Laura Ingalls Wilder Association almanzowilderfarm.com/tours
16. Almanzo & Laura Ingalls Wilder Association almanzowilderfarm.com/contact
17. bokiesdrivein.com bokiesdrivein.com/
18. donovanssteakandale.com donovanssteakandale.com/visit-us
19. data.ny.gov data.ny.gov/Economic-Development/Current-Liquor-Authority-Active-Licen
20. adirondackfarmersmarket.com adirondackfarmersmarket.com/malone-farmers-market
21. pricechopper.com pricechopper.com/stores/ny/malone/price-chopper-166.html
22. locations.stewartsshops.com locations.stewartsshops.com/ny/malone/340/gas
23. spectrumlocalnews.com spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/politics/2026/03/24/n-y--lawmaker
24. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation dec.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2025-04/summerreccampgroundsummary.pdf
25. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation extapps.dec.ny.gov/docs/permits_ej_operations_pdf/meachamlake23.pdf
26. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/hunting/deer-bear/seasons
27. huntingseason.com huntingseason.com/states/new-york
28. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation dec.ny.gov/places/high-peaks-wilderness-complex
29. Whiteface Mountain (ORDA) whiteface.com/todo/whiteface-veterans-memorial-highway/
30. Whiteface Mountain (ORDA) whiteface.com/mountain/mountain-stats/
31. Whiteface Mountain (ORDA) whiteface.com/mountain/free-parking-shuttle/
32. lakeplacidolympicmuseum.org lakeplacidolympicmuseum.org/visit/
33. Lake Placid tourism (ROOST) lakeplacid.com/attractions/rock-climbing-center-at-mt-van-hoevenberg
34. mtvanhoevenberg.com mtvanhoevenberg.com/todo/climbing/
35. mtvanhoevenberg.com mtvanhoevenberg.com/todo/cliffside-coaster/
36. Lake Placid tourism (ROOST) lakeplacid.com/do/activities/ice-skating
37. Lake Placid tourism (ROOST) lakeplacid.com/sledding-tubing-toboggan/lake-placid-toboggan-chute
38. Saranac Lake tourism saranaclake.com/events/saranac-lake-winter-carnival
39. Saranac Lake tourism saranaclake.com/saranac-lake-6er
40. Adirondack Explorer adirondackexplorer.org/communities/historic-saranac-lake-opens-new-mus
41. historicsaranaclake.ticketspice.com historicsaranaclake.ticketspice.com/admission-to-the-saranac-laborator
42. azuremountain.org azuremountain.org/
43. weadlibrary.com weadlibrary.com/
44. franklinhistory.org franklinhistory.org/
45. maloneminorhockey.com maloneminorhockey.com/maloneciviccenter
46. mapleweekend.com mapleweekend.com/
47. Adirondack Mountain Club adk.org/mud-season-quick-facts/
48. adirondacksusa.com adirondacksusa.com/fall-foliage-reports
49. Visit Malone visitmalone.com/blog/2015/10/snow-geese-spectacle
50. northpoleny.com northpoleny.com/village-hours
51. Malone Golf Club malonegolfclub.com/rates
52. sledandspoke.com sledandspoke.com/rentals
53. National Weather Service weather.gov/safety/lightning-tips
54. The cabin's Airbnb listing airbnb.com/rooms/53628054
55. The cabin's Airbnb listing airbnb.com/rooms/41023086
56. The cabin's Airbnb listing airbnb.com/rooms/1168252128174283244
57. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation dec.ny.gov/sites/default/files/2024-05/devilstombstonemap.pdf
58. content.govdelivery.com content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NYSDEC/bulletins/362b7ec