Avalanche Lake, North Hudson, Essex County, New York

The trail along Avalanche Lake features the famous "Hitch up Matildas," boardwalks above the surface of the lake anchored to the sheer sides of Algonquin Peak. The story goes that they were named after the continual exhortation of an old mountain guide in the 19th century (long before there were any boardwalks) to a woman named Matilda to "hitch up" her voluminous skirts and dresses in order to wade through the many parts of this trail that then went through the water.