Adirondack Railroad

Scenic railway · New York

Autumn foliage at Adirondack Railroad
Photo: Mobilus In Mobili / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Vintage rail cars run Fall Foliage Saturday excursions out of Thendara station near Old Forge, tracing the Adirondack Rail Corridor's Utica-to-Tupper Lake segment through spruce, maple, and birch color deep in the park. The former northern leg to Lake Placid is now a rail trail, not a train ride.

Best for: riding the rails into the Adirondacks

Don’t miss

  • Fall Foliage Saturday excursions
  • Vintage rail cars
  • Departs from Thendara/Old Forge
2026 Forecast

Color nearby peaks: October 8–October 12

Color builds from September 28 · mostly bare by October 31

Color starts: September 28Peak: October 10Bare: October 31AugustDecember

Sampled at Adirondack Railroad’s own coordinates and elevation (523 m) rather than a regional average.

This window comes from 27 weather points across New York, nudged 2 days later to match 2 published peak dates from smokymountains.com and almanac.com. Against New York's own climatology, the 2026 weather puts the peak 4 days earlier. How the forecast works

When to go to Adirondack Railroad

You get about 21 days of color here, from the first turn through to roughly October 19. Against New York overall, that is 2 days earlier. The elevation is 1,716 ft, which pulls the turn earlier.

Adirondack Railroad on the map

Drag the date slider to see when color reaches this corner of New York, or tap a pin for that stop’s own peak window.

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Frequently asked

When does Adirondack Railroad peak in 2026?
Peak color is predicted for October 8–October 12 (best estimate October 10). Color starts around September 28 and is mostly bare by October 31.

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