Ausable Chasm - Keeseville, NY – August 12

Ausable Chasm - Keeseville, NY – August 12


OK, so what the heck is the difference between gorges and chasms? We have been seeing a lot of both lately. Per Wiki, the difference is that a chasm is a deep, steep-sided rift, gap or fissure; a gorge or abyss while gorge is a deep narrow passage with steep rocky sides; a ravine.


That got me wondering what the heck a glen is. I for whatever reason thought it was a meadow. Wiki tells me that a glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. 


Today we visited Asuable Chasm which is billed as the Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks. It isn’t a State or National Park, but a privately-owned area. That in no way takes away from the natural beauty of this place. They sell different packages of things to do here. There are hiking trails, tubing, rafting, rock climbing, rappelling, mountain biking and lantern tours at night. 

 bridge over the Ausable River

next time, they should spellcheck their signs.... Toliet?

We did the classic tour which was hiking and the raft ride. We walked across the bridge with beautiful views on both sides. Then we entered the area where you need your wristband to get in. We followed the yellow trail as it was the most scenic. It offered lovely views from their various viewpoints. It was just a bit over a mile and we then got in line to board our raft. We were in the back row next to the guide. Each raft had a guide that tells lots of history and geology and of course guides the raft. The tubers were in the same path and they are at the mercy of the rafts in that they bump into them and either help or impede their progress on the river. 

 Elephant Head rock

 Rainbow Falls

It was very scenic and informative as we floated down the river. We went close to an area that often has lots of Wolf Spiders (about the size of the palm of your hand), but none were there today. He said it’s a bit too early in the year for them to be out with their young. 

 on the raft

Next, we came to the rapids (class 1) which were a hoot. It was just a short section of them. The guide said that last week the water level was so low that there were no rapids and they had to get out of the raft and walk it over the rocks. He also said that with more rain the rapids can be rated a class 2. 

After the rapids there was a whirlpool area and then it was just a gentle float to the end. 

We had 2 options for returning to the visitor’s center. One was to take a trolley bus back and the other was to hike back via one of the other 2 trails. We opted to hike back and that took us the rim trail back with views down into the chasm. We got some photos of other people in their rafts and tubes. 

 Common Polypody Ferns

 Rainbow Falls

As we came back to the waterfall, we overheard a lady ask her husband “Is that a real waterfall?”. Uh, did she think Disney created it? 


We went for lunch in Keeseville at a local diner called Pleasant Corner. Big Daddy’s BBQ is in the same place. (they just have 2 menus) Greg got a crispy chicken wrap and I got a grilled cheese with bacon. The fries were home-made and yummy.

We then went to visit the Ausable Marsh Wildlife Management Area. We came across a family of Redstarts. Lots of young ones learning to fly and trying to eat on their own. We saw Kingfishers, herons, Canada Geese, some ducks and Yellow Warblers.

 Cedar Waxwing

 Cormorant

 female Hooded Merganser

 young Osprey

 Yellow Warbler

 2 Greag Blue Herons

 young Redstart

 Great Blue Heron

 Ring-billed Gull

 Cormorant with a fish

 Canada Geese

 Lake Champlain

We grabbed ice cream at The Iceburgh. Tasty hot fudge sundaes. Yes, it will be a rude awakening when we get back to PSL and we go back to eating healthy again. 


We then returned to the hotel and had dinner.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/nnY9N6dyBzrnHi6GA


Tomorrow we leave for Vermont.