State Route 30 in Amsterdam NY

[SteveC7010]

For those of you that are headed up into the Adirondacks via State Route 30, here's some helpful info.

Through the City of Amsterdam, Route 30 is a steep uphill street with many stop lights. Traffic is heavy and moves slowly under the best of circumstances. On a hot summer day, it can be a recipe for disaster for your tow vehicle's transmission. And it can be just plain aggravating.

So here's a detour that totally avoids the bad stuff. At the bottom of the valley in downtown Amsterdam on Route 30, find Route 5 and take it west for a couple of miles to the Route 67 north turnoff. Route 67 climbs the same hill, but the grade is much more gradual and there are no stop lights. Follow 67 over to 30A in Johnstown and then take 30A north. It rejoins 30 north beyond Gloversville. Travel time is about the same but the driving is much easier and the traffic is a lot lighter, at least on the big hill.