About the First Wilderness Corridor
First served as a hunting ground for Indian people, who established trails
connecting the Mohawk Valley with the Champlain Valley.
Soldiers followed these trails during the French and Indian War. Once fighting had
subsided, the vast tracts of timber beckoned. Logging and tanning held
sway until Americans discovered the lure of wilderness. Construction of a
railroad just after the Civil War gave vacationers easy access to hotels
and resorts. Today, the scenic Upper Hudson River Railroad runs on the
old tracks during the summer season. Communities along the Hudson River,
upstream from Glens Falls and west of Lake George, have joined together
to celebrate their shared history along the earliest route into the heart
of the Adirondack wilderness. From the Great Falls of the Hudson, upriver
to the dramatic Hudson River Gorge, the stream tumbles over falls and
rapids, past dramatic cliffs of magnificent marble impregnated with sharp
chunks of gneiss, then slows to flow easily through ice meadows, kept
perpetually open by the annual scouring of spring ice floes.
This website was prepared for the New York State Department of State with funds provided
under Title 11 of the Environmental Protection Fund.