New York State Route 9N

New York State Route 9N (NY 9N) is a north–south state highway in northeastern New York in the United States. It extends from an intersection with U.S. Route 9 (US 9), NY 29, and NY 50 in the city of Saratoga Springs to a junction with US 9 and NY 22 in the Clinton County hamlet of Keeseville. At 143.49 miles (230.92 km) in total length, NY 9N is the longest letter-suffixed route in the state. It is concurrent with its parent route for 1 mile (1.6 km) in the village of Lake George and for three blocks in the hamlet of Elizabethtown.

Much of NY 9N runs alongside either a river or a lake. It follows the Hudson River through northern Saratoga County and southern Warren County, the entirety of Lake George's western shoreline, the west edge of Lake Champlain between Ticonderoga and Westport, and the Ausable River from Keene to Keeseville. The other portions of NY 9N pass through predominantly rural and mountainous regions of the Adirondack Mountains.

The NY 9N designation was originally created as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York to replace New York State Route 9W, a route assigned to an alternate routing of US 9 from Elizabethtown to Keeseville. NY 9N was extended southward to Lake George in March 1936 and to Saratoga Springs in the early 1950s, supplanting several other routes (including New York State Route 9K) in the process.

NY 9N is the longest suffixed route in the state, extending for 143.5 miles (230.9 km) from Saratoga Springs to Keeseville. The route stretches through four counties—Saratoga, Warren, Essex and Clinton—and serves several villages and hamlets, including Lake George, Ticonderoga, and Elizabethtown. It overlaps its parent route, US 9, in Lake George and Elizabethtown and meets Interstate 87 (I-87) four times.

NY 9N begins at the intersection of Church Street, Broadway (US 9, NY 29 westbound, and NY 50) and Lake Avenue (NY 29 eastbound) in the city of Saratoga Springs. Situated on the northwestern corner of the junction is the city's post office. The route heads west, following Church Street out of the city's center. At Bensonhurst Avenue, ownership and maintenance of NY 9N shifts from the city of Saratoga Springs to the New York State Department of Transportation. As NY 9N exits the city limits and enters the town of Greenfield, it turns to follow a more northerly routing. It meets County Route 21 (CR 21) just north of the town line, where the Church Street name ends, and CR 36 (Wilton Road) 2.5 miles (4.0 km) to the north in the hamlet of Greenfield Center.

The route continues on into the town of Corinth, where it crosses the Blue Line into Adirondack Park. Not far to the north, NY 9N enters the village of Corinth, situated on the west bank of the Hudson River. The highway follows Saratoga Avenue and Maple Streets into the village center, where it turns north and exits the village on Main Street. NY 9N follows the western edge of the river north for roughly 4 miles (6 km) through the towns of Corinth and Hadley before crossing over it and passing from Saratoga County to Warren County.

Across the county line in Lake Luzerne, NY 9N begins to deviate from the Hudson River, gradually curving to the northeast as it passes through the hamlets of Lake Luzerne, Fourth Lake, and Lake Vanare, all of which are named for small lakes bearing those names near the center of the communities. Just northeast of Lake Vanare, NY 9N enters the town of Lake George, where it connects to I-87 (the Adirondack Northway) at exit 21 and meets US 9. Here, it joins its parent route northward toward the village of Lake George. The conjoined routes intersect the northern end of NY 9L just south of the village line before becoming Canada Street and entering the village limits upon crossing over West Brook. US 9 and NY 9N serve as the primary north–south thoroughfare through the village before splitting at the north end of the village. While US 9 continues to the north, NY 9N heads northeast along the western edge of Lake George.

The portion of NY 9N between Lake George village and Hague is relatively isolated, with mountains lining the western edge of the highway and the lakeshore located to the immediate east. Along this stretch, NY 9N serves numerous lakeside hamlets, the southernmost of which is Diamond Point, a community just south of the Lake George–Bolton town line. The route continues on, passing through the hamlets of Bolton and Bolton Landing, the latter of which is home to The Sagamore, a resort situated on an island in Lake George.