Tupper Lake and the Wild Center – A Perfect Stop After a Weekend of Hiking
This article is a stub of the following post:
From Plattsburg to Lake Placid: A Foray Into the Heart of the Adirondacks
Table of Contents
Why Tupper Lake?
As you are aware the Adirondack park is a mecca for hiker and those who enjoy outdoor activity. Yet, after a long weekend in the mountain you may want a brief respite for your legs. Alternatively, you still want to keep hiking and your hiking buddy, boyfriend/girlfriend needs a rest for a day and you don’t want want to burn them out. A third scenario of why you would want to visit Tupper could be that find yourself stuck on a rainy day with kids that need to be entertained… or like me you just really like Otters and you know the Wild Center has you covered. You’ve got the point! Tupper allows for a different experience then what you are probably used to!
Town of Tupper
One of the western gateways to the park, the town of Tupper is fairly unremarkable with the exception of the beautiful old synagogue by the water.
The former industrial town does, however, possess a traditional main street with a few businesses. This makes an ideal breakfast spot!
The Wild Center!
Just outside of Tupper you will find this unique attraction, a half indoor, half outdoor nature museum with live animals and displays.
The building is really neatly designed, with a auditorium at its center displaying educational animal shows and an elevation that has the building sitting just below the pond so that when you look out the window, you do so looking directly at the water surface level.
Inside you will find plants displays, animal displays, information about the geology of the Adirondacks, random facts (such as the Champlain Sea expanded into the Adirondacks and as such they found beluga skeletons) and assorted T.S Elliot quotes.
But most importantly you will find an Otter playpen. Otters are the Labradors of freshwater and love to play. How could one not want to see Otters?!
Outside a nature trail takes you around the facility to see big birds of prey such as owls, to see wildflowers such as lupines and to see a natural pond environment.
The natural growth around the facility really highlights how pretty the facility is, and I usually hate modern buildings so this is high praise!
A second natural trail takes you to the Wild Walk, an boardwalk that takes you above the tree line! The main attraction looks like a oversized birds nest and will offer that view
There is also a display about spiders, with its center shaped as a giant spiderweb.
Throughout the complex you will find facts about birds, which is good because there is whole play structure like section dedicated to animals that live in decaying tree trunks, like woodpeckers hilariously refereed to as a Swiss army bird.
So enjoy! This should be enough to waste away at least a few hours.
