About the Old Forge Region & Tug Hill Plateau
The Old Forge region and Tug Hill Plateau stretch across the western edge of the Adirondack Park and the upland country beyond it, taking in the communities of Old Forge, Thendara, Remsen, and Woodgate.
At its center is Old Forge, the largest hamlet in the historic Town of Webb and the start of the Fulton Chain of Lakes, where visitors find a year-round business district and Enchanted Forest Water Safari, New York's largest water theme park.
Neighboring Thendara, also in the Town of Webb, sits along the Moose River, while Woodgate lies about 20 miles south of Old Forge along Route 28 in the western Adirondack foothills.
West of the Adirondacks, across the Black River Valley, the Tug Hill Plateau adds another layer to the region, with remote forest, rivers, and some of the heaviest lake-effect snow in New York. Together, the area draws visitors for paddling and water parks in summer, foliage in fall, and snowmobiling and skiing in winter.
The Tug Hill Plateau
The Tug Hill region is an upland area east of Lake Ontario, north of Oneida Lake, and west of the Adirondack Mountains. It covers portions of Jefferson, Lewis, Oneida, and Oswego counties. The greater region spans about 2,100 square miles, with a densely forested core that ranks among New York's most remote areas.
Attractions in the Tug Hill Plateau are outdoors-oriented. Fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, camping, canoeing, and downhill and cross-country skiing are popular draws.
Snowmobiling & Winter in the Old Forge Region
Winter defines much of the region's identity. Deemed the Snowmobile Capital of the East, the Old Forge area has hundreds of miles of snowmobile trails winding through the region and connecting with most trail systems across the state.
Old Forge also holds the New York State record low temperature of -52°F, recorded in February 1979. On Tug Hill, winds blowing across roughly 150 miles of Lake Ontario create heavy lake-effect snow, with totals almost always above 200 inches a year.
Hooker, a Tug Hill village in Lewis County, holds the state snowfall record with 466.9 inches (about 39 feet) in the winter of 1976–77.