Dog Days of Summer at the Adirondack Museum (Blue Mt. Lake, NY)

In August for two years now, the Adirondack Museum, in Blue Mountain Lake, New York, has held a special one-day Dog Days of Summer exhibit using special activities and demonstrations to illustrate the history of the working dog in the Adirondacks. This is the only day of the year that dogs are permitted on the museum's pristine grounds.

A friend (and her two Westies) and I (and my two Westies) went together the first year, while my Westies and I went by ourselves the second year. We hope to go again in August 2009.



About the Adirondack Museum
The museum's setting is picture perfect situated on 32 acres overlooking Blue Mountain Lake. There is a picnic area as well as a cafe that serves beer and wine. The museum itself consists of a main building and several separate smaller structures that house exhibits. Some of the smaller structures are authentic historical buildings such as a 1907 Schoolhouse, an Adirondack Artist's Cottage (of landscape painter Gustave Wiegand) and an 1876 Log Hotel.


The dogs had a wonderful time. Later in the day, after the crowds had thinned, we let them run off leash. There was a great fountain--just perfect for Westie wading. And there was a small lake--some of our dogs fell in because they thought the algae growing near the shore was solid ground!

The Adirondack Museum's staff were lovely and genuinely seemed to enjoy being over run by dogs for a day! We met Hallie Bond, Museum Curator, who had conceived of this fantastic dog-friendly special event. Thank you Hallie Bond! See you next August.

Getting There
The museum is 270 miles north of NYC, about a 5-hour drive.