Twitchell Lake Inn & Rap-Shaw Club
Last Offered 2021
What do you find when you go even further off the beaten track beyond the Big Moose Lake area? Well, you find some of the most unique, treasured, and isolated places in the Adirondack Park.
Built as Twitchell Lake’s first inn by builder and mason Earl Covey (who you may have learned about on our “Rustic Architecture of Big Moose Lake” tour), the Twitchell Lake Inn exhibits all of the rustic charm and creativity you expect from a classic Adirondack lodge, and then some. Covey and fellow builder George Matheson, began construction on the main building in February 1899 using locally-sourced logs and, by 1900, the Inn was open for business. Today, this impressive rustic lodge has been faithfully and carefully restored by Pat Benton, who acquired it in 2011 and started to work on saving the building after successfully restoring The Hedges into the spectacular resort that it is today.
After visiting Twitchell Lake Inn, we will proceed to the 1926 Big Moose Station for lunch and a tour of this historic rail station-turned-restaurant. Lastly, we will travel to the Stillwater Reservoir and boat to the very private Rap-Shaw Club. The club complex features a collection of buildings including its historic Main Building and Dining Hall, as well as connecting trails, a waterfront with docks, beaches around the island, and a boathouse.
The tour will be led by former AARCH board member Pat Benton and former Rap-Shaw Club president, historian, and Adirondack Almanack contributor Edward Pitts, author of the recent book The History of the Rap-Shaw Club: 1896 until 1958.
This tour begins at 10 AM and ends around 3 PM.
The fee is $65 for AARCH members and $75 for non-members.