Adirondack Rail Trail.
The Adirondack Rail Trail is a 1.7-mile rail-trail segment following a former railway corridor through the Adirondacks. The flat, multi-use path suits walkers, cyclists, and cross-country skiers seeking an accessible route without elevation gain. This short section connects to a broader network of rail-trail conversions gradually expanding across the region.
Seasonal pattern for this trail · tops out ~1,660 ft · live closures appear above
- CompactedSurface
Read the line before you walk it.
What the trailhead is doing today.
Where the hike begins.
Guides, outfitters & shuttles.
If you’re already out here.
Saranac Lake.
The corner of the Park this trail calls home — its hamlets, waters, lodging, and the rest of its field record.
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Make a weekend of it.
Closest editorial picks for a meal, a scoop, a pint, a bed, and a sight worth your time.
Eat.
4- Hohmeyer's Adirondack Alps Restaurant1.2 mi
A family-owned restaurant in the Adirondacks offering seasonal, 100-mile-focused fusion cuisine, a 1920s Speakeasy, and a hidden Beer and Wine Cellar.
- Red Fox6.1 mi
The Red Fox Restaurant is a longtime Saranac Lake landmark known for its Steak, Seafood, and Italian dishes, offered in a spacious Adirondack-style setting.
- Our Plates6.8 mi
Our Plates offers Caribbean and Southern-inspired cuisine for pickup at 7 Broadway. Enjoy dishes like Empanadas Locas, Dominican Chimi Burgers, Bistec Encebollado, and Tres Leches cake.
- China Jade6.8 mi
A long-running Chinese restaurant on Saranac Lake's Main Street, doing classic American-Chinese standards for dine-in and takeout, Tuesday through Saturday.
Sip.
4- Origin Coffee6.8 mi
Origin Coffee Co is a specialty coffee shop with locations in Lake Placid and Saranac Lake serving a chef-driven breakfast and lunch menu.
- Blue Moon6.8 mi
Blue Moon Café in Saranac Lake offers dine-in, pick-up, and curbside delivery services. Guests can enjoy weekly specials, restaurant menus, baked goods, coffee, grocery items, and adult beverages.
- Nori's Village Market6.8 mi
Nori's Village Market and Riverside Cafe offers a market with organic and local produce, bulk foods, coffee, and teas, alongside a cafe serving natural, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and local meat options.
- Saranac Juice9.4 mi
Cold-pressed juices, cleanses, protein elixirs, and nut mylks from Saranac River Ranch in Bloomingdale, made from organic produce grown on the farm or sourced from local Adirondack growers.
Sweet.
4- Mark Twain Maple Works5.7 mi
Mark Twain Maple Works produces New York State maple syrup on the shore of Saranac Lake in the Adirondack Park. They have been making syrup since 2013, expanding their operation and offering various grades.
- Mountain Mist Custard7.3 mi
A summer fixture on the shore of Lake Flower in Saranac Lake, with picnic tables and a dock you can tie a boat to. Frozen custard and soft serve with weekly-rotating flavors, shakes, and sundaes.
- Donnelly's Soft Ice Cream9.4 mi
A fourth-generation Saranac Lake institution on a former dairy farm, serving exactly one rotating soft-serve flavor each day — twisted with vanilla on the same 1953 machine. Cash only; check the daily flavor. Memorial Day to Labor Day.
- Skyline Ice Cream13.7 mi
A roadside soft-serve stand on Route 30 in Tupper Lake since 1985 — vanilla and black-raspberry twists, gelato, Dole Whip, and Michigans, now with an expanded burger-and-fries menu.
Drink.
4- The 1892 Bar & Grille1.6 mi
The 1892 Bar & Grille is a locally owned rustic bar and restaurant in Lake Clear, NY, offering homemade food. Recently under new ownership, it brings fresh energy and an updated menu to its patrons.
- Bitters & Bones6.7 mi
Saranac Lake's only downtown brewery, restaurant, and bar, Bitters & Bones offers craft beer brewed upstairs, fresh local cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and craft cocktails. It features rooftop decks and unique private event spa…
- RiverTrail Beerworks6.8 mi
RiverTrail Beerworks is Saranac Lake’s only riverfront brewpub, located on the Saranac Lake River Walk and Rail Trail. It features a heated patio, firepits, two golf simulators, and serves lunch and dinner daily with house-brewed beers and…
- Hex and Hop Brewing9.4 mi
Hex and Hop Brewing is a craft brewery and meadery in Bloomingdale, New York, making full-flavored, locally sourced beer and mead. They prioritize community and craft, using fresh, local ingredients.
Stay.
4- Hohmeyer's Lake Clear Lodge & Resort1.3 mi
Wooded lakefront resort featuring homey rooms & cabins, local dining, a pub & outdoor recreation.
- The Point5.1 mi
An all-inclusive Great Camp on Upper Saranac Lake, built by William Avery Rockefeller II a century ago. The first Relais & Chateaux property in North America and the only Forbes Five Star property in Upstate New York. Adults-only, communal dining.
- Ampersand Bay Resort5.8 mi
A small lakefront resort on Lower Saranac Lake with townhomes, cabins, lakeview suites, a private beach, a marina, and an on-site restaurant and wine bar. Five minutes from downtown Saranac Lake.
- Fish Creek Pond Campground6.1 mi
This expansive campground offers 355 sites with direct water access to Fish Creek and Square Ponds, providing ample opportunities for boating, fishing, and swimming from May to October.
See.
4- Topridge4.4 mi
The sprawling Gilded Age estate Marjorie Merriweather Post built on Upper St. Regis Lake — later New York State's, now privately held. Best seen from the St. Regis lakes.
- Sail Adirondacks: Saranac Lake-Lake Placid5.9 mi
A crewed sailboat charter operation with bases in Saranac Lake and Port Henry on Lake Champlain, running learn-to-sail lessons and skippered cruises on a fleet of classic sailboats.
- THE GREAT ADIRONDACK CORN MAZE6.0 mi
The Great Adirondack Corn Maze at Tucker Farms in Gabriels offers a new maze design each year, providing a fun experience of getting lost in the cornfield.
- Adirondack Carousel6.7 mi
A community-built carousel on Depot Street in Saranac Lake, with hand-carved Adirondack animals (bear, loon, deer, otter) instead of horses. Year-round, indoors, and the best rainy-day move in town for kids under 8.
Add to the record.
Free, takes thirty seconds. Yours forever.
Every page on this site gets better when readers contribute. Mark a peak you’ve climbed, drop a photo, file a field note, or flag a correction — every addition makes the next visitor’s page better.
Add a shot.
Sunrise on the dock, a cairn at the summit, a bend on the trail. Your camera roll, our archive.
Add a photo →File a report.
Trail conditions, water level, bug pressure, blowdown. The kind of detail that helps the next person plan.
Write a field note →Spot something off?
Wrong elevation, outdated access notes, a coordinate that's drifted. We'd rather hear it than miss it.
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Frequently asked.
- How long is the Adirondack Rail Trail?The Adirondack Rail Trail is approximately 1.70 miles (2.7 kilometers) — a short out-and-back suitable for most fitness levels.
- How long does it take to hike the Adirondack Rail Trail?Most hikers complete the Adirondack Rail Trail in about 55 minutes at a steady pace with roughly 102 feet of elevation gain. Allow extra time for rest stops, photos, weather, and trail conditions.
- How difficult is the Adirondack Rail Trail?Based on its length and elevation gain, the Adirondack Rail Trail is an easy hike (102 ft of climbing over the route) — gentle grades suitable for most fitness levels and families. This is an estimate from route data, not an official trail rating — check current DEC advisories before heading out.