Monuments, Mills and Music

This loop starts in Plattsburgh, the region’s largest city, was settled in 1784 and grew rapidly as a shipping port for early Saranac River basin industries such as potash, lumber, pulp and iron ore. Entering the city on Cumberland Avenue, on the Heritage Trail, you’ll pass wonderful lakefront homes and arrive at Champlain Park. The exhibits in City Hall, the Kent-Delord House, and the riverwalk, all within a block of the arched stone bridge, make this a great stopping point.

The trail continues west through the Saranac River valley where large pulp and sawmills once dominated the landscape from the early 1800s until 1927. Evidence of this industrial heritage is clear when entering the hamlet of Morrisonville where you’ll find a scenic riverside picnic area offering historic interpretation and memorabilia of the lost mills.

A site not to be missed is Gourgeville Spring - a natural spring on Gourgeville Spring Road where local residents come for their drinking water.