the tiki is just before the village on the main drag. yes you can sit out front and probably see lotsa' stuff and it's a pretty close walk to the vendor area. in fact, if they set up some of the tractor trailors in front of fort william henry motel, you are Very close to that!

if you go a little further down from the tiki, say near the clubs on the left, you will see a lot more action.

as always fri n sat nite gets packed! during the week is great if you like things a little more laid back.

 

I've done the 22 route a few times. It's a nice ride and except for passing through towns it's mostly 55 mph. I 've cut across on rt 67, 29 or 149. You can go a litle farther north and come back over on rt 4. They're all good and a hell of alot better than slabbing it up 87.
I usually go up on Sun and leave by Wed. It's not a real party rally but it does get crowded as heck in the village later in the week and traffic is really thick. Also this year they moved the whole thing from the rocking horse to The Fort William Henry right in the middle of town, so who knows what Canada St. will be like.

 

22 to 67 to 9 or 149 is what i am looking at on the map. I have no interest in goin on 90 or 87. We are actually starting in northern westchester. Looking at a 4-5 hr ride i guess...

 

They all work. If you want to speed up the bottom a little, use the taconic and exit on Rt. 295 ( just before the mass pike) and head east back to Rt.22. There's a little place in East Chatam called the Cottage Restaurant that's a nice place to stop and have some lunch on the way. I guess it's about half way to Lake George.

 

The ride up the Taconic on a weekend day after the morning rush hour is great (not that there is usually a whole lot of traffic going north in the morning anyway). We usually head that way and stop about an hour up from 84 at the little diner on the right. Last year, there was literally no one on the road for a good 20-30 mile stretch. It was awesome. Just keep your speed at 59. They stake out spots and know it is bike week.

 

I found this pic from last year. It rained almost every day. This was taken on the Lake Placid ride. I hope there is better weather this year.

 

Nice picture! That place does have crazy weather doesn't it?

 

I live an hour away from Lk George so I have been many times. Americade is good in some ways as it is more family like and they do offer you package deals if you register for the whole week with Americade. The bad side is as someone who has been to Laconia, Americade does not compare. Where Americade charges you park and get into venders, Laconia these are mostly free. Laconia shuts down the main strip to all vehicles except bikes and Lake George doesn't (so you have al the cars/trucks trying to push motorcycles around as they gawk). Just my 2 cents

 

not to mention the weather. last year americade practically rained out except friday but the year before was fantastic all week.

when it's nice it's Fantastic, the scenery cannot be beat! the adirondacks are just beautiful!!

 

I guess it depends on what you are looking for. I have been to both, and for me, Laconia always seems to be a cluster. One lane in and one out...lots of T-shirts, drunk people, and typically rain and mud. I'm not saying they don't have those to some extent at Americade, but they do seem to have a better selection and set up for actually buying things FOR your bike, places to stay and restaurants to eat at. I love the riding around there, but prefer to go at non-rally time, more into the summer.

Yes, Americade was a weather downer last year, but we still got our early season shopping for accessories, bags done, so not a total loss. And yes, the year before was amazing.