The Adirondak Loj (pronounced "Adirondack Lodge") is a historic lodge in
North Elba,
Essex County,
New York. It is near
Lake Placid in the
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains ( ) are a massif of mountains in Northeastern New York which form a circular dome approximately wide and covering about . The region contains more than 100 peaks, including Mount Marcy, which is the highest point in Ne ...
. The current facility, located on the shore of
Heart Lake, was built in 1927 and is owned and operated by ADK (
Adirondack Mountain Club). The Loj property hosts the trailhead of the popular
Van Hoevenberg Trail, which leads to
Mount Marcy
Mount Marcy is the highest point in the Adirondack Mountains and the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, with an elevation of . It is located in the town of Keene, New York, Keene in Essex County, New York, Essex County. The mountain is ...
and
Algonquin Peak, the two highest points in the state.
Accommodations include private rooms and hostel-style bunkrooms, with a buffet breakfast included and dinner available by reservation. There are also campsites,
lean-tos, and canvas tents available on the property at the Wilderness Campground, which is also managed by ADK.
The Loj sits on a
private protected area A private protected area, also known as a private reserve, is not an official category within IUCN's Protected Area guidelines, but includes those protected areas that fall under geographical space that is privately owned, 'kept aside' for public be ...
of 706 acres that includes Heart Lake and Mount Jo; the preserve is owned and managed by ADK.
History
Currently in its second iteration, the original Adirondack Lodge was designed by Henry Van Hoevenberg, one of the early trailblazers of the Adirondack High Peaks region and namesake of
Mount Van Hoevenberg. The main draw to the Adirondack Lodge was its proximity to Algonquin and Marcy, which had trails cut up to their summits by Van Hoevenberg himself. It opened in 1890, and was well known for its beautiful vistas and colorful fireside storytelling by Van Hoevenberg.
Eventually, due to near constant financial troubles, Van Hoevenberg was forced to sell the property in 1895, though he would remain on as a caretaker until 1898. During this time, the property changed hands several times before eventually ending up under the stable ownership of the Lake Placid Club in 1900. A member of the Lake Placid Club at that point, Van Hoevenberg found himself once again as a caretaker at his beloved lodge. However, disaster hit on June 3, 1903, when the entire structure was consumed in
a catastrophic fire that swept
Essex County. It was replaced by the present structure, designed by
Saranac Lake architect
William G. Distin, in 1927.
Spelling
The spelling of the building's name was changed from its original "Adirondack Lodge" to "Adirondak Loj" by a previous owner,
Melvil Dewey, founder of the
Lake Placid Club, creator of the
Dewey Decimal System and ardent advocate of
spelling reform.
[Steinberg, Michael. ''Our wilderness : how the people of New York found, changed, and preserved the Adirondacks''. Lake George, NY : Adirondack Mountain Club, 1991.]
References
External links
Adirondak Loj page at the Adirondack Mountain Club site{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131115220309/http://www.adk.org/page.php?pname=adirondak-loj , date=November 15, 2013
Hotels in New York (state)
Adirondacks
Buildings and structures in Essex County, New York
Adirondack Park
Hotels established in 1890
1890 establishments in New York (state)
Buildings and structures completed in 1927
Nature reserves in New York (state)