Tupper Lake is situated in just about the exact middle of the 6 million acre Adirondack Park. The town is easy to reach because it’s at the crossroads of the Adirondack (Rt 30) and Olympic (Rt 3) Scenic Byways. Both roads more than earn their scenic designations. Many people think the drive from Saranac Lake to Tupper on Route 3 is the prettiest in the Adirondacks. A gentle rolling landscape of hills, lakes, ponds and streams makes this the headquarters for the “10 Rivers Region”. From within a 30 mile distance in all directions one can explore the 10 major rivers that flow from within the Adirondack Park: Cold River – Raquette River – Beaver River – Marion River – Oswegatchie River – St. Regis River – Bog River – Grass River – Saranac River.
The town sits on the shore of nine-mile long Tupper Lake has a distinct history of pioneers, loggers, and Adirondack Guides. The railway arrived in Tupper in the 1890′s and much of the modern town was built in the boom years that followed. Tupper was the lumber capital of New York in the early 1900s. You can see the huge site of the giant mill that burned in a spectacular fire down on the lake shore. Today the site is a public park, and home to local events, including the annual Woodsmen Field Days festival where lumberjack skills are on display every July.
Tupper Lake still has a mixture of businesses, including lumbering, and it gives the town a distinct flavor. Tupper is a North-woods neighborhood, with a dash of Quebecois influence from its lumberjack heritage. There’s even a part of town that locals call the French Village. If you’re looking for a place with small town friendliness where neighbor watches out for neighbor, this is it.
Tupper’s close knit community means it’s home now to some major new projects that got their start as grass roots efforts over a cup of coffee at a downtown diner. Tupper is home to The Wild Center, which got it’s start in just that way. It’s a major new natural history museum where the wild world of the Adirondacks opens before your eyes. The Museum, which has garnered national attention, features live animals, including river otters, birds, amphibians and fish. Exhibits include an indoor waterfall and river, towering glacial ice wall, high-definition films and wide-screen theater all set in a 31-acre campus.
The Adirondack Public Observatory is coming to Tupper that will take advantage of the old fashioned dark nights in the Adirondacks. The observatory was featured on CNN recently. There’s a beautiful historic synagogue in town, and a restored old movie theater.
This area plays host to an exciting selection of special events, cultural festivities, athletic competitions, and on-going activities that are widely attended by visitors and locals. Whether you are a canoe racer, veteran triathlete racing in the annual Tin Man event, fisherman or golfer there is always something happening in Tupper Lake.
