Directions
At present this page largely duplicates information given on the Potsdam, NY page. We plan to expand this page further.
Traveling via road to Potsdam
Potsdam lies on US Route 11, a major northeast-southwest route along the St. Lawrence valley, around 1.5 hours northeast of Watertown and 2 hours west of Rouses Point. It is around 2 hours drive from Ottawa, 2.5 hours from Syracuse or Montreal, 3 hours from Burlington, VT and 4 hours from Albany, NY.
Coming from Syracuse and the west, visitors should travel via I-81 to Watertown, then take route 11N via Gouverneur.
Coming from New England and the east, travelers can take I-89 past Burlington, VT, to Swanton, VT then via the bridge to Rouses Point, NY, and route 11 to Potsdam. Alternatively, from Burlington, some may prefer to take the more direct Grand Isle-Plattsburgh toll ferry; from Plattsburgh, Potsdam is around two hours via Routes 190 and 11.
Coming from Albany and the south, opinions differ on the best route. However one good route is via I-87 to exit 30, then via a very scenic route through the Adirondacks to Lake Placid and Saranac Lake. From Saranac Lake, travelers should take routes 30, 458 and 11B to Potsdam.
From Malone, Route 11B provides a slightly quicker route to Potsdam than Route 11.
Coming to Potsdam by plane
There are three small airports close to Potsdam, all of which are served with affordable flights by Cape Air. From Albany (ALB), there are three daily flights to/from Massena (MSS), at the same times Mon-Sun:
Flights from Albany to/from Massena Arrivals Dep. Albany Arr. Massena Departures Dep. Massena Arr. Albany Daily arrivals 10:40 am 11:50 am Daily departures 06:48 am 07:50 am Daily arrivals 01:52 pm 03:02 pm Daily departures 12:20 pm 01:22 pm Daily arrivals 06:23 pm 07:33 pm Daily departures 05:01 pm 06:03 pm
All times given as a courtesy for NERM attendees; please check current schedules with Cape Air before booking.
There are no major international airports close to Potsdam. Many long-distance travelers will drive a rental car from one of the major airports, viz., Ottawa (2 hours), Montreal (2.5 hours), Syracuse (2.5 hours), Burlington, VT, (3 hours) or Albany (4 hours). Passports are required for travel via Canada.
