August 30, 2009 | Adirondacks,New York,Things to Do

Last week when we were up at the house in Vermont, we made the long trek over to the Lake George area in upstate New York to visit Natural Stone Bridge and Caves in Pottersville.

It rained the whole way there, sometimes so hard I could barely see the road, but miraculously, the skies cleared just as we reached the attraction, and it didn’t start raining again until we were getting in the car to drive home about ninety minutes later.

I didn’t know quite what to expect, other than that I wasn’t going into any caves. Douglas and David were quite excited about the possibility of gem mining advertised in the brochures.

In the end, it turned out that one did not need to go into any dark enclosed spaces. The nature walk through the area was lovely (pictures), although the paths were quite uneven. It’s not something I would recommend for people with any difficulty getting around. Douglas had a ball exploring all the paths; we could barely keep up with him.

The gem mining was a bit of a disappointment for my husband, but Douglas enjoyed it. Boys and rocks you know. It’s basically an old shipping container with sand and strategically placed rocks. The kids dig around with a plastic shovel and a frisbee, and are allowed to keep a certain number of specific stones for their $7.95 plus tax additional fee.

There is a gift shop, naturally. The highlight for Douglas was getting a geode that they split right there for you using a special machine that makes an even cut. He also acquired a piece of Adirondack garnet and some Fool’s Gold.

Admission: $12.98 adults, $8.00 ages 5-12, under 5 free. There is a $1.00 off Internet coupon. I think some of the tourist flyers must have coupons too, so if you are in the Lake George area, check those out before you go to perhaps save a little money. We also got a coupon for discounts at Ausable Chasm and High Falls Gorge, so presumably if you went to either of these other Adirondack attractions, you’d get a coupon for Natural Stone Bridge.