Accommodations include private rooms and hostel-style bunkrooms, with a buffet breakfast included and dinner available by reservation. There are also campsites, lean-tos, and canvas tents available on the property at the Wilderness Campground, which is also managed by ADK.[1]
The Loj sits on a private protected area of 706 acres that includes Heart Lake and Mount Jo; the preserve is owned and managed by ADK.[2]
History
Van Hoevenberg's original Lodge that burned in 1903
Currently in its second iteration, the original Adirondack Lodge was designed by Henry Van Hoevenberg, one of the early trailblazers of the Adirondack High Peaks region and namesake of Mount Van Hoevenberg. The main draw to the Adirondack Lodge was its proximity to Algonquin and Marcy, which had trails cut up to their summits by Van Hoevenberg himself. It opened in 1890, and was well known for its beautiful vistas and colorful fireside storytelling by Van Hoevenberg.
Eventually, due to near constant financial troubles, Van Hoevenberg was forced to sell the property in 1895, though he would remain on as a caretaker until 1898. During this time, the property changed hands several times before eventually ending up under the stable ownership of the Lake Placid Club in 1900. A member of the Lake Placid Club at that point, Van Hoevenberg found himself once again as a caretaker at his beloved lodge.[3] However, disaster hit on June 3, 1903, when the entire structure was consumed in a catastrophic fire that swept Essex County.[4] It was replaced by the present structure, designed by Saranac Lake architect William G. Distin, in 1927.
^Steinberg, Michael. Our wilderness : how the people of New York found, changed, and preserved the Adirondacks. Lake George, NY : Adirondack Mountain Club, 1991.
