Mission
The Laurentian Chapter’s mission, like the mission of the Adirondack Mountain Club overall, comprises three aims: providing human-powered outdoor recreational opportunities, providing natural-resource-oriented educational opportunities, and conserving our natural resources.
Recreation
Nearly every week, year round, the chapter schedules outings, usually on Saturdays. Membership is not required and there is no charge.
Check our Events & Outings page for upcoming trips. We also publish a complete list of trips for the next three months in our quarterly newsletter, the "North Wind".
The Trail Guide introduces some of our favorite North Country hikes. Most are within an hour of Potsdam. For more nearby hikes, see the "Northern Region" guidebook published by the Adirondack Mountain Club.
Also recommended
are "Views from on High: Fire
Tower Trails in the Adirondacks and Catskills", by John Freeman
and "Kids on the Trail: Hiking with Children in the Adirondacks", written
by Potsdam residents David Trithart and Rose Rivezzi.
Education
Youth Opportunities
The Laurentian Chapter sponsors area teens attending several programs and opportunities.
Each year, we try to find 15-18 year olds to participate in Teen Trailwork crews run by ADK. These crews camp out for a week near a work site, usually for the purpose of building or repairing a mountain trail.
We look for younger students, aged 12-14, to go to Camp Colby, an environmental camp run by the DEC.
We have also sponsored area youth to participate in the 4H’s Adirondack Experience.
All of these programs promote a sensitivity to proper care and respect of the resources and natural beauty we enjoy in all wild lands, and the importance of proper stewardship to ensure their continuance.
Outdoors-Indoors
The Laurentian Chapter traditionally offers the Outdoors-Indoors program, a slide presentation series on one Sunday night a month, January - March.
Refreshments are served.
Topics are diverse and have included such things as: rafting the Grand Canyon; mountain hikes of Kilimanjaro and Aconcogua; trips to Alaska, Tibet and Antarctica; and even a camel caravan to Timbuktu. We’ve also had programs on geology and Adirondack book collecting.
Our semi-annual potlucks usually feature presenters of various Adirondack topics.
Workshops
Occasionally, we offer workshops on topics of interest to our members. Some examples are: map and compass use, packbasket making, and introductions to snowshoeing and hiking.
Conservation
The Laurentian Chapter uses advocacy, education, and hands-on work to protect New York State’s natural resources.
The Chapter maintains the Stone Valley and Red Sandstone trails.
The Kids on the Trail Challenge, the high school trail program and the summer youth camp program all help build awareness of the responsible use and protection of natural resource.
Chapter members participate in, and often lead, local, regional and statewide committees and conservation activities. Members attend state hearings, write politicians, and contact public agencies to influence issues ranging from land use classification to waterway regulation.
Sign up for our e-newsletter for occasional news and action alerts.
For a quick overview of ADK’s positions on current conservation and advocacy issues, visit the ADK conservation page.