The Adirondack is an intercity rail passenger train operated daily, partially along the Empire Corridor, by Amtrak between New York City and Montreal. The trip takes approximately 11 hours to cover a published distance of 381 miles (613 km), traveling through the scenic Hudson Valley and along the eastern border of the Adirondack Mountains. The Adirondack operates as train 68 southbound, and as 69 northbound. The Adirondack service is financed by the New York State Department of Transportation. For most of its existence, the Adirondack has been plagued by numerous delays. Amtrak only owns or operates two legs of the route, in Manhattan and between Poughkeepsie and Schenectady. Additionally, the route crosses an international boundary where immigration procedures can take up to two hours. The on-time performance of the route averaged 64.8% for the year ending June 2016. According to Amtrak, 28.8% of the train delay was due to track- and signal-related problems, especially along the Delaware & Hudson (Canadian Pacific Railway) segment.During fiscal year 2015, the Adirondack carried over 132,345 passengers. The train had a total revenue of $7,453,664 during FY2015.

Lake George, nicknamed the Queen of American Lakes, is a long, narrow oligotrophic lake located at the southeast base of the Adirondack Mountains, in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York. It lies within the upper region of the Great Appalachian Valley and drains all the way northward into Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River drainage basin. The lake is situated along the historical natural (Amerindian) path between the valleys of the Hudson and St. Lawrence Rivers, and so lies on the direct land route between Albany, New York, and Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The lake extends about 32.2 mi (51.8 km) on a north-south axis, is 187 ft (57 m) deep, and ranges from one to three miles (1.6 to 4.8 km) in width, presenting a significant barrier to east–west travel. Although the year-round population of the Lake George region is relatively small, the summertime population can swell to over 50,000 residents, many in the village of Lake George region at the southern end of the lake.Lake George drains into Lake Champlain to its north through a short stream, the La Chute River, with many falls and rapids, dropping 226 feet (69 m) in its 3.5-mile (5.6 km) course—virtually all of which is within the lands of Ticonderoga, New York, and near the site of the Fort Ticonderoga. Ultimately the waters flowing via the 106-mile-long (171 km) Richelieu River drain into the St. Lawrence River downstream and northeast of Montreal, and then into the North Atlantic Ocean above Nova Scotia.

Old Forge is a hamlet (and census-designated place) on New York State Route 28 in the town of Webb in Herkimer County, New York, United States. The population was 756 at the 2010 census. Old Forge was formerly a village but dissolved its incorporation in 1936, but it remains the principal community in the region. As one of the western gateway communities of the Adirondack Park, Old Forge forms an extensive business district, primarily directed at tourism especially during the summer months. The local school is the Town of Webb UFSD, a K-12 institution with the Eskimo as their mascot. Old Forge often records the lowest winter temperatures in New York. On February 17, 1979, the record low temperature for New York was set in Old Forge at −52 °F (−47 °C).

New York is a state in the northeastern United States. It was one of the original thirteen colonies forming the United States. With a total area of 54,556 square miles (141,300 km2), New York is the 27th largest state geographically.