Trip to Ausable Chasm. July 2025

In the summer, we try to go on small but interesting trips. This time, we decided to visit a very beautiful mountain gorge. To do so, we first stop in the city of Montreal — walk through its familiar cozy streets, attend one of the Cirque du Soleil shows, and then the next day we cross the border. Once in the United States, we begin our journey toward the main destination of the trip — Ausable Chasm in New York State

We leave Toronto early in the morning. On the way to Montreal, there are probably no places left where we haven’t already stopped. But as it turned out, there was still one we hadn’t visited — the historic house museum Glanmore National Historic Site in the town of Belleville.

Glanmore is a national historic site built in 1883 for the family of the wealthy banker J.F. Fair. The house has preserved its late 19th-century interior: antiques, stucco work, stained glass, and original decorative elements. It’s easy to imagine the everyday life of a wealthy Canadian family of that era

And a few hours later, we arrive in Montreal. We stay in the Mont Royal area, in a small and cozy hotel — Auberge de La Fontaine 

There are a lot of cyclists in the city. We’ll join them tomorrow, but today we’re heading to the Old Port area. We take a short walk through the streets

We have dinner, and then we head toward the tents of our favorite Cirque du Soleil. We try not to miss any of their shows, as each one is unique in its own way. Tonight, we are seeing Luzia 

It is one of the most poetic shows by the circus. Bright costumes, Mexican rhythms, incredible performers’ movements, and even rain falling right on stage… All of it creates the feeling of being inside a magical dream filled with light, water, and imagination 

In the morning, we take a short bike ride through the nearby park 

Then we headed to the famous Montreal Botanical Gardens — one of the largest botanical gardens in the world, a true oasis within the city. The gardens are quite large and divided into separate themed sections. We started with the rose garden

And here is the most beautiful garden — the Chinese Garden 

We explored different parts of the park 

Here is the cactus greenhouse 

We spent several hours in the park, and then crossed the Canada–U.S. border. Once in New York State, we headed to the town of Plattsburgh — just about 1.5 hours from Montreal. There isn’t a big choice of hotels there, so we stayed at the Microtel Inn & Suites. The town itself didn’t stand out much — just a convenient stop before the trip to the gorge.

And so, Ausable Chasm

This is one of the most scenic places in the northeastern United States. A deep rocky gorge with a turquoise river at the bottom, suspension bridges, hiking trails, and breathtaking views at every turn.

We chose the Explorer Package, a combined route — first a walk along the cliffside trail, and then a rafting trip down the river between the sheer canyon walls.

The nature here looks almost painted: moss on the rocks, flowing rapids, and sunlight filtering through the leaves. The gorge surprises you at every turn

The first part of the route we completed with a guide and a small group. In the third photo, there is an elephant head formed by nature 

We continue the hike without a guide and head toward the river rafting section. There was an option to go rafting in a boat or on an inflatable tube. We chose the boat. The rafting is very pleasant, with only one rapid where you might get a little wet

After finishing the river rafting, we had the option to take a shuttle bus back to the start of the route. However, we decided to walk back on foot, continuing to enjoy the views of the gorge 

The entire visit took us a little over 4 hours. We still had time to stop at one more beautiful place — High Gorge Falls. It is also a small gorge with a scenic waterfall and wooden boardwalks for walking

Beautiful, but after Ausable Chasm it doesn’t feel quite as impressive…

It’s worth noting that the entire area we visited — Ausable Chasm and High Gorge Falls — is located within the scenic mountain range of the Adirondack Mountains. This region is one of the largest natural preserves in the United States, known for its mountains, forests, lakes, and hiking trails. We’ve done a different route here before, and it’s especially beautiful in the fall. Highly recommended!

We return to the town of Plattsburgh — and only now realize that today is July 4th, Independence Day in the United States. The town is full of people, with festivals taking place everywhere. And in the evening, there is a fireworks display.

Well… what a perfect ending to our little vacation