Even if it didn't have the spectacular guideboat collection, the Adirondack Museum would still be one of our favorite museums. The New York Times called it, "the best of its kind in the world."  National Geographic Traveler said "it's the Smithsonian of the Adirondacks... it may be the best regional museum in the world."

      But, of course, it does have that wonderful boat collection.

     The Adirondacks were one of the last areas in the United States to be surveyed and mapped, but it was not uninhabited. Prior to the colonial period Native Americans usually decided to live somewhere else, that's how hard it was to move through and live in the Adirondacks. But the wildlife....the deer, the bear, moose, beaver, muskrat and trout lived there in abundance. Native Americans would come into the Adirondacks to hunt and fish...and then return home. Later, with the colonial expansion, the Adirondacks attracted an odd collection of backwoods folks, hunters, fishermen, loggers and trappers. The hunting-guiding-wilderness era then gave way to the great camp era. Frequently these great camps grew from the guide/sport connection. Wealthy sports, introduced to vast tracks of beautiful wilderness, available for pennies an acre, just couldn't resist. They built great camps and invited their friends to come visit. Did you know that the first public building in the world to have electricity was the post office in Blue Mountain Lake?