Weekend Hikes: Northville-Placid Trail

GPS: 43°13'N 74°10'W

Trust a hermit to know solitude. At West Canada Lake, the 133-mile (214-kilometer) Northville-Placid Trail through the Adirondacks reaches the remotest spot in all of New York: the haunt of early 20th-century loner French Louie. On the 32-mile (51-kilometer) segment from Piseco to Wakely Dam, boots alight on balsam duff, loons call, moose browse, and the improbably sandy beach at South Lake invites a cooling dip. "It's the essence of the Adirondacks," says Jeffrey Case, author of Adirondacks Trails: Northville-Placid Trail.

Vitals: For maps and info, contact the Adirondack Mountain Club; adk.org.

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