Ausable Chasm – Welcome to the “Grand Canyon” of the Adirondacks
This article is a stub of the following posts:
From Plattsburg to Lake Placid: A Foray Into the Heart of the Adirondacks
Ticonderoga and Crown Point – The Heart of Lake Champlain
Table of Contents
- What is the Chasm? (and will it give me a Chasm-Gasm, formerly known as an Orchasm?)
- Park Map and Transportation
- Campsites and the North Star Museum
- AuSable Bridge and Rainbow Falls (Publicly Accessible Area)
- Into the Chasm
- Conclusion
What is the Chasm? (and will it give me a Chasm-Gasm, formerly known as an Orchasm?)
Formed naturally over millennia of flows by the Ausable River, a watercourse that starts in the heart of the Adirondack Park and terminates in Lake Champlain, Ausable Canyon has earned the cheese marketing sobriquet of the “Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks”! Despite the cheap marketing, Ausable Chasm is truly one of natures wonders. The melting of glaciers since the Pleistocene Epoch ice age, 10,000 years ago, created a series of caves and ravines in the sandstone at this location that in turn was exploited by the Ausable River to reach the Champlain sea more rapidly. Since then erosion has deepened the rock fissures and created the narrow gorge that you see today. The name Au-Sable come from the French for sand (Sable), as it was the French who had discovered Ausable Point on Lake Champlain.
The formation was discovered in 1760, by Major John Howe when he explored the chasm on ropes. This would be echoed on the adventure tourism advertised by the Chasm today. Speaking of which, the chasm was a massive attraction over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries when it opened to the public in 1870. It was then nicknamed the “Little Grand Canyon of the East”, and features mechanical lifts to bring back rafts and tubes up the river. Its been a commercial destination for a long time now!
Park Map and Transportation
The main office of the park can be found near rainbow falls. It is here that you will purchase your tickets into the park. There is an automobile parking nearby or can walk from your campsite if staying the night. Just north of the Chasm on Mace Chasm Road you will find the North Star museum dealing with the underground railroad. A Public / non paid viewing area exists both on the road heritage bridge over the chasm and south of the visitors center where Rainbow Falls is located. To the north-west you will find the chasm.
The official Chasm portion is delineated from Rainbow Falls to the south to where the Ausable river opens up from the sandstone cliffs to the north. This route is 1.5-miles (2.4 km) long. From the visitors center, your ticket will allow you to cross the road and enter trails. If you have mobility issues or you are just tired as shuttle buss will pass by to take you around the property via a hidden back road. The tubing and rafting begins half way along the canyon and ends where the river opens up.
Campsites and the North Star Museum
North East of the site, you will find the campgrounds. There is a small general store as well on site and a small pool. Otherwise it is a rather standard mix of tent camping and trailers. Sites are close together but it does not matter as you will be out all day anyway. As part of the complex you will find a dense network of both mountain biking and walking trails in the adjoining woods. The best part of camping here is that you can walk to the Chasm in the morning, and walk back for lunch and diner with ease.
A wonderful old resort used to exist on these grounds dating from the attractions peak. It was called Hotel Ausable Chasm and was a lovely wood building that was unfortunately lost by fire. These days, the romantic allure has faded and just like most of the Adirondacks, the large crowds have flooded elsewhere forcing the owner to adapt.
On your walks to the chasm, you will likely come by the North Start museum. This stone building was once the home of Herbert Estes, a machinist, inventor and union diarist during Civil War. His home has fittingly been transformed into a museum detailing the history of the underground railway where you will learn bout the Slaves journey north. There is also a house in nearby Keesville that can be toured, as it was once a hideout with a secret room to stow away the runaways.
Follow the drinkin’ gourd For the old man is waiting just to carry you to freedom If you follow the drinkin’ gourd
African American folk song
AuSable Bridge and Rainbow Falls (Publicly Accessible Area)
The roadway crossing over the chasm, US-9, is a heritage structure called the AuSable Chasm Bridge (National Register of Historic Places, 1999). Built in 1933, it has a height of 70 feet (21 m) and offers public views of Rainbow falls and the Chasm below. With public parking on both sides of the bridge it makes for an easy stop on your way through.
If you explore the area behind the visitors center, you will have a fantastic view of the old hydro facilities as well as the falls. The were originally named after Matthew Adgate, the Brit that discovered them in 1792.
The power of the falls was first harnessed in 1876, shortly after the Ausable Chasm opened for tourism. It was meant to power a factory, where a small hamlet had cropped up. This led its renaming to Birmingham Falls, and a small hamlet grew into a town in the surrounding area. The name rainbow falls comes from the heavy mist deployed by the water, a it often forms a rainbow over the falls.
Currently, the structures that support the hydroelectric plant were built in the early-1900s. These include a dam, as well as an old steel truss bridge the river.
Into the Chasm
The chasm has been around for so long that some of the guide may tell you some tall tales of tourists pass. I enjoyed these but despite being historically accurate unfortunately people complained and most of the guide will give a blander more sanitized tour of the chasm. Political correctness strikes again!
Hiking Trails
From the bridge over rainbow falls the trail will take you to a scenic viewpoint of the historic bridge.
The trails will give you a view of the deep fishires from within the landscape as well as rock formations such as the Cathedral, The Devil’s Oven, Elephant’s Head, The Flume, Sentinel Rock, and Table Rock.
Eventually you will emerge near the tubes, where you will be able to float on to the next section. There area also paths that take you past here if you would like.
The Chasm by Night
To see the chasm by night, you will have to book a reservation in advance. From here you will gather on the bridge side entrance to the chasm, the one for the hiking trails, at your required time and a guide will take you through the formation by lantern. You will do a loop that includes most of the Chasm!
This allows for a unique experience to see the chasm in a different light (pun intended!) and your decent under the clear Adirondack skies will amaze!
The trip culminates at the rafting stand where a campfire has been set up for you. Again this is a rather overproved adventure and certainly is not required to enjoy the chasm but is a pretty cool addition if you can afford it.
Tubing the Chasm
This is the classic tour of the chasm, and the one that everybody loves! It stars near where the chasm narrows and looks like a deep canyon of exposed sandstone.
As you go downstream the canyon once again widens out before you go down a splash zone (rapids). I should have worn flip flops! From here you will put you tube on a tuck heading back up (it used to be a mechanical system, you can see the remnants on the canyon walls). You can either take the bus back or do the little and big dry chasms.
Adventure Circuit
Another addition to the park, this rope course offers another unique view of the chasm concourse !
The Big and Little Dry Chasm
Tucked in at the park, this often forgotten about trail leads to an ancient branch of the Ausable river that was replaced by the canyon through erosion.
The old riverbed leads to a deep rock cut but not as deep as Ausable is today. This is a great place to teach kids about geology. And it is dam cold here and a respite from the sun on a warm summer day. After you finish your walk you can grab the bus back up to the start of the canyon.
Conclusion
Although a little overpriced, the “Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks” offers fun for the whole family, all in one easy to access location. It may be a tourist trap but its also a hell of a good time!
