Old Postcard View of the Ausable Club

Adirondack Mountain Reserve/Ausable Club Gate

The Giant, as Seen from St. Hubert's, Keene Valley

The High Peaks region has a distinctly different character from that of other regions of the Adirondack Park. The focus must be on the unbelievable mountains that surround the towns in the area. In other places, the lakes seem to take center stage. Here, the "Giant" is seen from the Ausable Club in Keene Valley.

The Ausable Club/Adirondack Mountain Reserve

The clubhouse at the Adirondack Mountain Reserve, aka the Ausable Club, in St. Huberts, New York, is set among the High Peaks of the Adirondack Park. The club is private, but it permits hikers to hike through the lands. Small cottages surround this lodge, where there are dining facilities as well as rooms for members and their guests.

The Private Adirondacks

The Adirondack Park was created to be forever wild, but it is filled with privately owned homes, private clubs sitting on tens of thousands of privately held acres, and great camp compounds of wealthy families, passed down through generations. Along with the spirit of public benefit and openness, and free access to nature that compelled the State of New York to set aside this great Park as a protected haven for the people to enjoy, there is an equally compelling drive to keep parts of the Park very private, hidden from view. This is true in places like the Adirondack League Club and the Ausable Club in St. Huberts, New York. It is true, too, all around, in camps large and modest, whose owners tack POSTED NO TRESPASSING signs on every other tree. Private roads, private drives, private parks: these are everywhere mixed with the public lands that the State and the people have reserved for our own, and future, generations. There is a desire among property owners to shelter their Adirondack homes as secluded havens from the tempests of city life and, in a larger sense, to keep the secret to themselves.

Ausable Club, Keene Valley

This is the main clubhouse of the Ausable Club in Keene Valley, New York. It is set in the middle of the High Peaks region of the Adirondack Park and is a private club. My friend Jennifer and her husband Bryce held their wedding reception at the club. Their rehearsal dinner was held at The Casino on the grounds of the Club. The floors and stairs creak when you walk on them and it feels like it could be haunted. At night, its pitch black. These private clubs are scattered throughout the Adirondack Park. In Old Forge, there is the Adirondack League Club. It is said that William Weld is a member of the Ausable Club. Members have individual lodges on club land but share in common club dining and recreational facilities.