Is there much snow around the Adirondack railroad in the end of February?

Question

I'm planning to take a railroad trip from New York City to Albany via Amtrak (Adirondack route) end of February, for scenery purposes, but I am a bit worried I will only see lots of snow, so is it snowy on that route this time of the year?

https://www.amtrak.com/routes/adirondack-train.html

Answer 1

In February in upstate New York, you will very likely see snow on the ground. The 2022-2023 winter has been a little warmer than normal, but expect some snow.

If you are concerned that all you will see out the windows of the train is a solid wall of snow, that is very unlikely. That would mean that there would have to be about 7 feet (2.1 meters) of snow on the ground. Even in the snowiest part of the winter that is an extraordinary amount of snow for the Hudson Valley.

In late February I would expect it to look a bit like this:

You may have between 2 – 3 inches (5 – 7 cm) on the ground.

There are a few options in heading north from New York City along the Hudson. You can take Metro North (commuter rail) as far north as Poughkeepsie. You will see the southern part of the Hudson Valley and there are some things to see and do in the area, such as Hyde Park (FDR Presidential Library) or the Culinary Institute of America. Since this is commuter rail the trains run often.

Albany is further north, Amtrak runs regular service here. On average it will be about 1 train per hour each way so you can be a little flexible with the travel. The Adirondack goes through Albany, as well as the Ethan Allen Express. Empire service also serves Albany.

Once you go north of Albany on the train you do need to be aware of the schedule. The Adirondack runs once a day each way. If you go north of Albany on the train, you will be spending the night since the next train will be on the following day.

It really depends on what you want to see, how long you want to take and how much snow is too much.