adirondacks

The latest auction from Concierge Auctions isn't a home, it's a whole resort. The real estate auction company has scheduled the sale of the Garnet Hill Lodge in the Adirondack Mountains. The Garnet Hill Lodge was originally listed for $2.5 million but the property, located at 39 Garnet Hill Road in North River, New York, will sell to the highest bidder regardless of price. The sale is being conducted in cooperation with listing agent Shane Newell of Select Sotheby's International Realty.

"Garnet Hill is a hidden gem - tucked away in the unspoiled wilderness in one of the least populated counties in the nation," Newell stated. "But make no mistake, these are the most realistic, determined sellers in upstate New York. Buyers searching for an operating mountain resort business or for a corporate or family retreat should not miss this opportunity."

The resort has views of the Thirteenth Lake with nearly 16,000 square feet of functional space on 268 acres. The buildings include a main lodge and two additional cabins. The large gathering room in the main lodge includes a reception desk and dining room with plenty of seating and natural light. Two additional lounges, a TV room and a four-season dining porch offer more private conversation areas and a grand stone fireplace is a natural gathering spot. There are 16 upstairs suites, nine of which have balconies. The current owners operate a ski center from the lodge but it could be a bed-and-breakfast or a private family estate.

Two additional cabins, Birches and the Tea House, could serve as guest houses. The Birches has five suites and a large gathering room with full kitchen and dining tables. The Tea House, a smaller sister cabin, contains four guest bedrooms with convenient en-suite bathrooms, each featuring Jacuzzi bathtubs. Both are just a short ski or hike from the main lodge.

The property will be available for preview daily from 1 to 4 pm through March 14. Bidders will be able to participate in the March 15 auction in person or via phone or Internet. A 2.5% commission is offered to the buyer's broker. See Auction Terms and Conditions for full details. For more information call 877-214-3785 or visit GarnetHillAuction.com.

Gallery: Garnet Hill Lodge

Twenty rural retreats spanning the breadth of North America and over a century of architectural and social history are featured in author and photographer Bret Morgan's stylish new book Rustic. Examples include the Ames Gate Lodge, H. H. Richardson's "sublime pile of boulders" in Massachusetts; Camp Topridge, Marjorie Merriweather Post's rustic luxe compund in the Adirondacks; the Arts and Crafts masterpiece Charles Millard Pratt House in southern California; Fortune Rock, George Howe's striking modernist home on the coast of Maine; Robert A. M. Stern's nostalgic Spruce Lodge, hidden high in the Colorado Rockies; and Ledge House, Peter Bohlin's vision of rustic modernism in the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland. All exemplify an "artfully informal aesthetic that celebrates the beauty of the natural world."

After four long years of negotiations, New York State has purchased 104,000 acres -- about seven times the size of Manhattan -- in the Adirondacks that will be preserved as a joint "working forest" and public space with restrictions against development.

Purchased from the Lyme Timber Company in partnership with The Nature Conservancy, the oversized parcel known as Sable Highlands sits in the Northeastern corner of Adirondack Park. Over 50,000 acres of the purchased land has never before been accessible to the public and will now be open for recreation, space including Sugarloaf Mountain and several pristine ponds.

Since 2004, generous individuals have committed over $4 million to the project, which combined with New York's Environmental Protection Fund was enough to conserve a piece of land that will serve generations of nature lovers and wildlife to come.

Just in time for leaf peeping season a new resort has opened on Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, New York. The High Peaks Resort is located on the site of the former Lake Placid Hilton and is offering couple-centered packages including "Romancing the Peaks" which features two nights accommodations; bottle of wine, fruit and chocolates upon arrival; two High Peaks bathrobes; room service or breakfast for two in the dining room each morning, and three-course dinner for two at the Reflections Restaurant. The hotel also has extensive banquet facilities which can accommodate up to 800 guests and is hoping to cash in on the area's scenic beauty as a wedding destination.

The resort includes a "floating" lobby with a two-sided stone fireplace, three indoor and outdoor pools; a fitness center with the latest equipment, and spa with array of treatments. Located at the resort directly on Main Street is the Dancing Bears restaurant with street-side seating, casual dining and great beverages. The Reflections Restaurant has an outdoor patio overlooking Mirror Lake and regional menus of fresh, healthy cuisine that utilize local produce and the finest fish and prime meats from New York and Canada.

There are 79 guestrooms with double queen beds and 54 with king beds, several with fireplaces, whirlpool tubs and direct waterfront access. All have European-styled bathrooms with natural stone tiled walk-in showers, granite vanities and Molton Brown of London amenities; work desks; flat screen televisions; wireless and wired high speed Internet access, and multi-function music systems with MP3 players and movies.

Gallery: High Peaks Resort

, according to listing broker LandVest, "represents the first time in more than a century that these lands have become available on the open market."

Cheap plastic beach chairs don't look that good, are rarely comfortable and don't last. A much better summer chair option is the classic looking Adirondack. It conveys a quiet sense of luxury because it's the kind of chair that people expect to see on a porch in the Hamptons. The Wall Street Journal's Catalogue Critic rated foldable Adirondacks this week. Their intention was to find a chair that could be stored for the winter, but why not store it in your trunk and take it down to the shore instead? Their winner in both comfort and ease of assembly was the Orvis Folding Adirondack. The delightful chair is made of hardwood, finished with weather-resistant acrylic in one of 3 colors. The chairs are $189 each.