{"id":333080,"date":"2026-08-30T09:50:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T09:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/333080\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T09:50:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T09:50:12","slug":"this-enormous-6-million-acre-new-york-park-is-bigger-than-yellowstone-yosemite-grand-canyon-glacier-and-zion-combined-and-you-can-see-its-fall-color-by-gondola-plane-or-hot-air-balloon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/333080\/","title":{"rendered":"This enormous 6 million-acre New York park is bigger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier and Zion combined\u2014and you can see its fall color by gondola, plane or hot air balloon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"This<\/p>\n

Fall in New York is as fleeting as it is beautiful, hence why we\u2019re already on the topic of it. es, there\u2019s still a little bit of summer left to soak up\u2014and don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ll absolutely be doing just that\u2014but there\u2019s something so exciting about getting a head start on planning those crisp, colorful fall getaways.<\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re anything like us and are already mapping out how you\u2019re going to get your foliage fix this year, there\u2019s one destination that absolutely has to be on your radar: Adirondack Park.<\/a><\/p>\n

At 6.1 million acres, the park is seriously massive\u2014so massive that it\u2019s bigger than Yellowstone (2,221,766 acres), Yosemite (747,956 acres), Grand Canyon (1,218,375 acres), Glacier (1,012,837 acres) and Zion (146,597 acres) combined. That\u2019s roughly 5.35 million acres of national parks versus 6.1 million acres of Adirondacks!<\/p>\n

Spanning nearly one-fifth of New York State, Adirondack Park is a sprawling mix of mountains, forests, lakes, rivers and charming communities, with seemingly endless ways to soak up the scenery. <\/p>\n

Come fall, it becomes one giant canvas of fiery reds, golden yellows and brilliant oranges.<\/p>\n

Even better, the Adirondacks are home to one of the longest fall foliage seasons in the country, so you have plenty of time to plan your leaf-peeping escape. Depending on where you go, peak color typically arrives from late September through October, with some areas holding onto those gorgeous autumn hues later into the season.<\/p>\n

\"\"Source \/ Wilder With You<\/p>\n

The best ways to see fall foliage in the Adirondacks<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udea0 Ride a gondola at Gore Mountain \u2014 North Creek<\/a>
Take the Northwoods Gondola up Bear Mountain for sweeping bird\u2019s-eye views of the Southern Adirondacks. The 2026 leaf-peeping weekends are September 26\u201327 and October 3\u20134, with another chance during Harvest Fest on October 10\u201311.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udea1 Take the Cloudsplitter Gondola \u2014 Whiteface Mountain<\/a>
Soar above the High Peaks on the Cloudsplitter Gondola to Little Whiteface for some seriously spectacular foliage views. It\u2019s also part of Whiteface\u2019s fall lineup.<\/p>\n

\u2708\ufe0f See the leaves from a scenic flight \u2014 Inlet<\/a>
Trade the trail for the sky with a scenic airplane ride from Payne\u2019s Air Service, where the mountains and lakes stretch out beneath you like a giant patchwork of fall color.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude82 Pedal through the foliage \u2014 North Creek<\/a>
Hop aboard a Revolution Rail Co. rail bike and pedal six miles of remote railroad tracks through the Adirondack countryside, including stretches along and over the Hudson River.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf32 Walk through the treetops \u2014 Tupper Lake<\/a>
The Wild Center\u2019s Wild Walk puts you above the forest canopy, with suspension bridges, a giant spider web and a massive bird\u2019s nest offering a whole new perspective on the fall foliage.<\/p>\n

\"\"Source \/ Revolution Rail Co<\/p>\n

\"\"Source \/ ASENDON<\/p>\n

\"\"Source \/ National Geographic<\/p>\n

How to get to Adirondack Park from NYC<\/p>\n

The Adirondacks are roughly 280 miles north of New York City, so your best route depends on which part of the park you\u2019re visiting.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude97 By car: Driving is the easiest option if you want to explore multiple parts of the park, especially for a foliage-focused trip. It takes roughly 5 to 5\u00bd hours to reach the Adirondacks, depending on your destination and traffic. Lake George is closer to NYC, while Lake Placid and the High Peaks are farther north.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude86 By train: For a more scenic, car-free option, hop on Amtrak\u2019s Adirondack at Moynihan Train Hall. The daily route travels north through the Hudson and Champlain valleys, with stops including Saratoga Springs, Fort Edward, Ticonderoga, Port Henry, Westport (for Lake Placid) and Plattsburgh.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\ude8c By bus: Adirondack Trailways also connects NYC with several destinations in the region, including Lake George, Saranac Lake, Lake Placid, Keene Valley, Schroon Lake and Warrensburg.<\/p>\n

For a fall foliage getaway, we\u2019d recommend driving if you can\u2014having a car makes it much easier to chase peak color, stop at scenic overlooks and hop between the tiny towns, lakes and mountain attractions that make the Adirondacks so special. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re going car-free, the Amtrak route is a particularly beautiful way to arrive, but you\u2019ll want to plan your local transportation around your specific destination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fall in New York is as fleeting as it is beautiful, hence why we\u2019re already on the topic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333081,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,10],"class_list":["post-333080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}