ADK Talks
ADK Talks brings you the stories behind the people, places, and things to do in the Adirondack Park of New York State. With 6 million acres, the Adirondacks are the ultimate playground.
We take you beyond the guidebooks and into the heart of one of America's most breathtaking regions. Just like we do on our website, adktaste.com, our podcast uncovers the hidden gems of the Adirondacks, offering hand-picked recommendations for the best places to stay, eat, shop and do in the Adirondack Park.
But this isn't just about places. It's about the people who make the Adirondacks so special and unique. In each episode, we talk to people from all walks of life—restauranteurs, farmers, innkeepers, historians, artists, local leaders, writers, hikers, and more. Hear real stories about what they do, their passions, and how they found their way here.
And they'll share their insider tips on the best things to see and do in the Adirondacks – insights you won't find anywhere else.
So subscribe now to ADK Talks to get real stories from real people, sharing the real Adirondacks.
You can also visit us online at adktaste.com.
Episodes
71 episodes
Cooking Up the Future: Inside Paul Smith’s Culinary Program and Adirondack Hospitality
In this episode of ADK Talks, we sit down with Chef Robert Dumas, Director of the Institute of Adventure, Hospitality, and Food at Paul Smith’s College.Chef Dumas brings a remarkable perspective to the table. His career has tak...
Chasing Giants: Northern Pike, Conservation & the Art of Adirondack Guiding
In this episode of ADK Talks, we head out on the water with Aaron Gaza of Aaron’s Guide Service, a licensed New York State guide who helps anglers discover the beauty, challenge, and thrill of fishing in the Adirondacks.
Protecting Adirondack Loons: The Science, the Threats, and the Hope
Loons are one of the defining sounds of an Adirondack summer, but protecting them takes far more than admiration from afar. In this episode of ADK Talks, we welcome back Denise Silfee of the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation, along wit...
The Adirondacks as a Classroom: Inside the Adirondack Semester at St. Lawrence University
In this episode of ADK Talks, we talk with Jacob McCoola and Nicole Panek about St. Lawrence University’s Adirondack Semester, an immersive fall program where students live off-grid in a yurt village on Massawepie Lake.They sha...
Preserving Adirondack Architecture: Tours, Grants, and Saving Historic Places with AARCH
In this episode of ADK Talks, Jane and Steve welcome Nolan Cool and Christine Bush from Adirondack Architectural Heritage (ARRCH) to talk about the buildings, landscapes, and local stories that shape the Adirondacks....
Adirondack True Crime, Part Two: Ghosts of the Herkimer Jail
In part two of our conversation with the Adirondack Park Paranormal Society, we move from Big Moose Lake to the old Herkimer County Jail, where Chester Gillette awaited trial after the 1906 murder of Grace Brown. APPS shares what they experi...
Adirondack True Crime: The Murder at Big Moose Lake
More than a century ago, a quiet Adirondack lake became the setting for one of the most infamous true crime stories in American history.In this episode of ADK Talks, we dive into the tragic case of Chester Gillette and Grace Br...
Seagle Festival 2026: Opera, New Works & A Bold Vision for the Adirondacks
From Hill to Stage: Seagle Festival’s Next Act in the AdirondacksFor more than a century, the Seagle Festival has been a summer tradition on the shores of Schroon Lake—where emerging artists arrive with big voices an...
From Sap to Syrup: Inside Adirondack Maple Season with Toad Hill Farm
For many Adirondack families, maple syrup is simply part of life. It’s on the breakfast table, in the kitchen, and woven into generations of seasonal tradition but behind every bottle of pure maple syrup is a remarkable blend of forestry, sc...
Breaking Trail: Women Who Shaped the Adirondacks (Revisited)
In honor of Women’s History Month, we’re revisiting a conversation that still resonates: our interview with Peggy Lynn and Sandra Weber, co-authors of Breaking Trail: Remarkable Women of the Adirondacks.F...
Kitchen Confidential (ADK Edition) with Chef Billy Trudsoe
What’s really happening behind the kitchen doors of an Adirondack restaurant in the dead of winter?In this episode of ADK Talks, we welcome back Chef Billy Trudsoe of Lizzie Keays in Warrensburg for an honest, energe...
Winter in the ADKs: Your Questions, Answered
It’s mailbag time.Jane and Steve tackle your winter questions, from Presidents’ Week ski picks to the Mirror Lake Toboggan chute, smart winter hiking basics, and crowd-dodging ideas across the Park. Along the way: lo...
Healing the World from the Adirondacks: Dr. Trudeau and the Saranac Laboratory - Amy Catania
In this episode of ADK Talks, we step inside one of the most important scientific sites you’ve probably never heard of: the tuberculosis laboratory that helped put Saranac Lake on the global medical map.We’re joined ...
World-Class Art in the Adirondacks: Inside The Hyde Collection - Bryn Schockmel
What if one of the Northeast’s most remarkable art museums wasn’t in New York City or Boston, but tucked into the foothills of the Adirondacks?In this episode of ADK Talks, we head to Glens Falls, NY to explore The H...
Cold Hard Magic: Inside the Making of The Sagamore’s Glacier Ice Bar - Tom Guay
Winter at The Sagamore Resort is anything but quiet. Each January, the lakeside terrace transforms into a frozen spectacle where 300-pound blocks of ice, chainsaws, blowtorches, and a lot of muscle come together as one of the Adirondacks’ mo...
Second Acts in the Mountains: Inside NewVida Preserve’s Bold Revival
Rick Vidal left global boardrooms for a forgotten ski mountain and found something much bigger than a renovation project.In this episode of ADK Talks, we head to Jay, New York, to explore the remarkable reinvention o...
Cold, Wet, and Unprepared: What Really Happens When Winter Hikers Underestimate the Adirondacks
Winter in the Adirondacks can feel otherworldly. Snow-draped trees, hushed trails, bluebird summit days, and the kind of stillness that only comes when the temperature drops. It can also turn dangerous fast.In this e...
Powder Days on the Tug Hill Plateau: Why Skiers Love Snow Ridge’s Deep Snow and Indie Spirit
If you’ve ever chased a storm on your phone and wondered where all that snow actually lands, this episode is for you. Jane and Steve head west of the Blue Line to the Tug Hill Plateau—one of the snowiest corners of the East—and sit down with...
Inside Nettle Meadow: Adirondack Cheesemaking, Passion, and the Hitching Post Tavern
A woman walks away from toxic-tort law in Oakland, loads four Nigerian dwarf goats into a Honda Element, and drives 3,000 miles with her partner to a scruffy little farm in Thurman, NY. Two decades later, that leap of faith has become Nettle...
Education in the Wild: How Paul Smith’s College Shapes Climate Resilience, Careers, and the Future of the Adirondacks
Where else can your morning class involve snowshoes, your lab take place in a 100-year-old white pine stand, and your campus stretch across 14,000 acres of Adirondack wilderness? Paul Smith’s College is a place where learning happens in the ...
The Ultimate Adirondack Holiday Guide: Where to Go, What to Do
In this episode of ADK Talks, we climb aboard what we’re calling the Holiday Express and take you on a whirlwind tour of the Adirondacks in winter. From Old Forge to Lake Placid, Tupper Lake to Ticonderoga and Lake George, we share our favor...
Season to Season: Adirondack Harvest and the Year-Round Local Food Movement
In this episode, we explore what it really means to eat locally in the Adirondacks — not just during summer’s peak produce season, but all year long, even through deep winter. We sit down with Bella Susino, Program Leader of
You Asked, We Answered: The ADK Talks Mailbag
In this episode, we crack open the ADK Talks mailbag — and you did not hold back. From the mysteries of the blue line to the origins of the word Adirondack, from Great Camps you can actually stay in to the surprisingly wholesome truth about ...