Adirondack fall
Adirondack fall

When a bunch of people well versed in the outdoors come to town, you know it's worth the trip.

And although you can't follow the members of the Outdoor Writers Association of America around when they are here, you can visit some of the same places and get a great taste of what the area has to offer.

The group will spend a September weekend here for its 86th fall conference this year and they've chosen the Adirondack region for its diverse outdoor offerings. And it's nothing you couldn't do on your own.

Not that we want to wish the summer away; there are a lot of great venues and a lot of great fish to catch between now and September. But a fall trip can be spectacular and it's never too early to start planning.

When the outdoor writers are here, fall fishing will be at its finest – the trout of the Ausable are still very cooperative and Mirror Lake in downtown Lake Placid always has rainbows swimming it its depths.

For me, fall is the best time to get out and enjoy our area – unless you're thinking of those beautiful spring mornings when the gobblers are talking or the cool summer evenings on Lake Champlain when the water is like glass. Or then again, the thrill of the snowshoe hare busting from under a seemingly lifeless brushpile. Really, it's hard to choose. But fall has to be very close to the top of the list, if only because the temperatures are comfortable, there are no bugs and the fish are putting on the feedbag ahead of the long winter.

If you've ever traveled to a business conference and spent the whole time cooped up in the hotel, attending seminars and eating too much at the buffet, you've never been to an outdoor writers' conference. While there is the requisite workshop or two, members are encouraged to spend their time in the outdoors. Not many of them are held in, say, downtown Atlanta. They come to a place to get out there, enjoy what there is to see.

That's why they're coming to the Lake Placid Region.

And many of the activities of the weekend show just what we're about: the Wilmington Bike Trail, Jay Mountain, the Great Range and Mount Marcy, rock climbing. They've been invited to paddle area lakes and ponds and fish the streams and rivers.

But all of this isn't just for them. Anyone can get out there and participate. But because they're here, you know it's worth the trip.