The Central Adirondack Association

In 1922, four men, John LeSure, Earl B. Barrett, Ben and Roy C. Higby recognized the need for business operators to discuss their affairs and create a common interest. The Central Adirondack Hotel Association was born. Their first project was to build a hard surface road from Old Forge to Eagle Bay. Shortly after the stock market crash in 1929, other business people were talking about starting a Chamber of Commerce. Some thought they ought to get together and bring the area's entire business strength together as one. Dr. R. S. Lindsay Sr., R. J. Dobell, Floyd A. Puffer, Roscoe G. Norton, and Earl B. Barrett drew up incorporation papers and Augustus Low became the first president. That organization was called the Central Adirondack Association (CAA). Behind the association was the philosophy that while a certain number of vacationers will come to the area naturally and will like it as it is, others will need to be tempted. Back then, like now, the Association didn't stop with mere publicity. It planted fish and then offered a contest to catch the big one. It dug up rag-weed, and it addressed the pesky black fly. It held a summer carnival week with a parade, boat races, block dances and even crowned a Central Adirondack Queen.

Today the CAA continues to manage, sponsor and support many events year-round because, even now, some visitors to the Central Adirondack region still enjoy being tempted.

The CAA service area extends from Forestport, along the Rt 28 corridor through Old Forge, Inlet, Raquette Lake, Blue Mountain Lake to Indian Lake and along Rt. 30 corridor to Long Lake. We encompass three counties (Onedia, Herkimer and Hamilton) and five townships (Forestport, Webb, Inlet, Indian Lake and Long Lake).

Though we are an events-driven organization, the Central Adirondack Association also has the distinction of being at the core of the Central Adirondack Trail Scenic (CAT) Byway. Why is this so advantageous? There is enormous potential for the CAA to use the Central Adirondack Trail Byway label to better appeal to and connect with travelers, Partnering with other CAT Byway communities, we are in a position to benefit from regional collaboration, branding, marketing techniques, and resource interpretation. The goal of the Byway promotion is to help increase the number of visitors and amount of visitor spending in villages, towns, and cities that rely on tourism dollars which certainly mirrors the goal of the CAA!

The CAT Byway is an east-west travel corridor which stretches 153 miles from the western gateway in Rome, east along Routes 365 and 365/12 to Alder Creek where it continues through communities along Route 28 north to Blue Mountain Lake.

There, Route 28 begins its southern and westward direction to Warrensburg, where the Trail changes to move south along Route 9 to its eastern gateway in Glens Falls.