The Northeast's biggest mountains at peak color — Route 73 through Cascade Pass, then a toll road to a 4,867-foot summit with foliage rolling out below you.
This is the most iconic foliage drive in New York: NY Route 73 from the Northway (I-87 Exit 30) through Keene Valley and Cascade Pass into Lake Placid, then Route 86 through Wilmington Notch to the Whiteface Veterans' Memorial Highway, ending in Saranac Lake. The High Peaks turn early and hard — dense sugar-maple stands against 4,000-foot summits, with lakes at nearly every bend.
Just past the Northway, Route 73 squeezes between cliffs and this small, dark pond ringed in color. Rock climbers work the slabs above while the water mirrors the foliage. It sets the tone for everything ahead.
Cliff-ringed roadside pond
A tiny trail town in the shadow of the Great Range, with the classic head-on view of the High Peaks from the valley floor. Trailheads for Roaring Brook Falls and the Ausable Club corridor start here. Stock up, caffeinate, and gawk.
Great Range views from the valley
Route 73 climbs through some of the region's densest sugar-maple stands, then skirts two slender lakes pinched between mountainsides. The roadside pull-offs along the Cascade Lakes are among the most photographed foliage scenes in the Adirondacks. Arrive early — this corridor fills fast in fall.
Sugar-maple mountain pass
The two-time Winter Olympics village wraps around Mirror Lake, with Main Street shops and the Olympic Center a short stroll from the water. The lakeside path gives easy reflection shots of burning hillsides. Best overnight base on the route.
Olympic village on the water
Route 86 follows the West Branch of the Ausable River through a narrow notch beneath Whiteface. High Falls Gorge, a privately run attraction, has walkways over a series of waterfalls cut into ancient granite. The river-and-cliff stretch is stunning at peak color.
Waterfall gorge under Whiteface
A five-mile toll road spirals up Whiteface Mountain to a stone castle near the 4,867-foot summit — the only Adirondack high peak you can drive up. From the top, fall color spreads across the park in every direction, with Lake Placid and Lake Champlain in view. Weather-dependent and seasonal, typically closing in mid-October.
Drive-up 4,867-foot summit
An artsy, unpolished mountain village on the Saranac chain of lakes, quieter than Lake Placid and surrounded by paddling water. Riverside Park and Lake Flower give easy water-level foliage views. A fitting last night before looping home.
Laid-back lakes-town finish
Veterans' Memorial Highway
Route 73
Lake Placid
Golden hour rules apply double in foliage season: shoot the big overlooks in the first and last hour of light, and save overcast middays for waterfalls and forest interiors — flat light saturates reds that harsh sun washes out.
The route's hub — widest range of lodging and restaurants, with Mirror Lake at the center of town.
Small inns and lodges right under the Great Range, closest to the Route 73 trailheads.
Quieter and cheaper than Placid, with a real year-round village feel and lakefront access.
Route 73 institution since 1981, famous across the Adirondacks for homemade pies and hiker breakfasts.
Family-run soft-serve stand since 1953 with one twist flavor per day off the original machine — seasonal, so confirm it's still open in early fall.
Brewing overlooking Mirror Lake since 1996; home of Ubu Ale.
If you're staying closer to NYC, the Route 23A climb from Palenville to Tannersville past Kaaterskill Falls packs waterfall-and-clove drama into a much shorter drive, with Hunter and Windham nearby.
Estimated color status across the region right now — enter any ZIP along the drive to see how the higher stretches compare with the valleys.
Estimated color status around New York City, NY, computed from the state’s typical peak window adjusted for each area’s elevation and latitude (higher and more northern terrain turns earlier). Try the Terrain style to see why ridgelines turn first. A climatology-based estimate — scout reports and webcams beat any model in the final week.
Itinerary researched and verified August 2026 (routes, fees, seasonal closures, and long-established stops). Conditions change — confirm park roads and seasonal businesses in the final week before you go. Timing windows come from the New York foliage forecast.