How to Get to Albany International Airport from the Adirondack Northway

From Exit 2E

1. 1
   Find your way to Wolf Rd.

   • If you are heading northbound on the Northway (the more common name for I-87, a.k.a the Adirondack Northway), once you come down and arrive at the intersection's offramp's traffic light, you'll be all aligned and ready to head down. (There's a no-left turn there onto NY-5.)
   • Those traveling southbound, you'll have to take the off-ramp (which circles) until you reach NY-5 (with Wolf Rd directly in front of you). (You'll see Colonie Center diagonally to your right in front of you.) Continue onto Wolf Rd.
2. 2
   Travel down Wolf Rd. Travel all the way down it. You'll pass several traffic lights, including ones at Sand Creek Rd (traffic light controlled), Computer Drive W (traffic light controlled) on your left, and several others on your right. There are several traffic lights along Wolf Road near Colonie Center, and even down by the commercial restaurants, there are more.

   • You'll need to pass Colonie Center, Wolf Road Shoppers Park, and several fast-food eateries. Along with an IHOP across from Colonie Center, there's also two Starbucks locations, Taco Bell and Panera Bread, Chili's Grill and Bar, Hooters, Smashburger, Chipotle and Texas Roadhouse, McDonald's, Denny's, Arby's and Outback Steakhouse, Red Lobster and Olive Garden, Dunkin Donuts and a Pizza Hut - all within that strip. Other smaller restaurants can also be found down the Wolf Rd strip - as Wolf Road is overrun by commercial buildings galore.
   • There are several other restaurant retailers inside Colonie Center - including a Cheesecake Factory, Five Guys, Dunkin Donuts (though you'll find a Dunkin on airport premises on the unticketed side near the parking lot overpass), a sandwich shop, and several others there - where there are none along Wolf Road otherwise.
     • Yes, there are delivery services here, including GrubHub, DoorDash, and UberEats, though they can't deliver to anybody on the ticketed side of the gate.
   • You'll pass several hotels and motels. Besides the Holiday Inn (early on), most are found on the other side of the street - though the Staybridge Suites is off the one side of the parking lot to the Colonie Center. These hotels include a Travelodge Inn and Suites, Marriot and Fairfield Inn and Suites, Red Roof Inn, Surestay, Homewood Suites, Ramada, and a Hampton Inn. Several smaller motels also make an appearance but are so small, they are not well known and are mostly mom-and-pop varieties.
   • On this route, you'll also spot various banks and gas stations. You'll see Trustco Bank, SEFCU, NBTBank, KeyBank, and Chase Bank (formerly a Bank of America) among the banks. There are only a few gas stations on the route - Mobil, Speedway, and the Sunoco (to be talked about later).
3. 3
   Watch out for the numerous traffic lights on this route. That's the one problem with heading to the airport using this alternate route.
4. 4
   Get in your left lane and make a left turn onto Albany-Shaker Rd. At the corner, you'll spot a Sunoco gas station, and straight ahead, you'll see the onramp back onto the Northway for exit four heading northbound.

From Exit 3

1. 1
   Know that this is a brand new exit, only beginning its life in late 2019. This might very well be the exit route that your nav app might take you - if it's recently been updated with this exit information. Paper maps might not have been updated with this exit - if they were printed before then.
2. 2
   Exit off the Northway. From both directions (northbound and southbound), you'll need to be in the right lane to exit and be looking for exit 3 signage.
3. 3
   Turn off and proceed around the bends.

   • Northbound visitors will see increased curves (first to the right, then to the left (crossing over the interstate then to a slight right again as it nears Albany Shaker Rd until they arrive at a corner where northbound and southbound merge into one lane (northbound merges into southbound).
   • Southbound visitors need to round one bend to form the U-shape required of the merge and exit.

   Warning: The exit road has tight shoulders and a guardrail that makes this area feel like you are running luge - until you come to the traffic light at the end.
4. 4
   Take a left onto Albany-Shaker Rd/NY-155. The Desmond will be to your right, and you will need to take the same left as you would've had you been otherwise told.

From Exit 4

Exit 4 was an initial Albany International Airport-only exit before exit 3 came. However, there's talk of making the northbound traffic light at the off ramp a right-turn-only^[1] , thereby defeating this exit's purpose to the airport.

1. 1
   Travel the Northway to exit 4. Signage lists it now as just Wolf Rd/NY-155 (northbound) and NY-155 (southbound). However, older interstate users might remember it from reading Albany International Airport on signage.
2. 2
   Get to Albany Shaker Rd.

   • Northbound cars will need to take a left onto Wolf Rd, then take the next left at the same Sunoco station (on your left). For those traveling southbound, you'll need to take a left onto NY-155 - travel it to the end (where it intersects with the Northway's continuation) and the Desmond, then take a right.
   • For those traveling from the Northway southbound, don't get fooled by the road called "Terminal Rd" just to the exit's right. That road is a dead-end that doesn't even come close to ending at the terminal entrances.
3. 3
   Learn the substitute method if you feel shaky turning left at that light (for northbound cars) or if it's become a right-turn-only. Turn right instead. Head down to the next traffic light (near Ted's Fish Fry and Marcus Blvd, and make the left (do not U-turn anywhere in between). Essentially, you'll be making a U-turn but utilizing the parking lot as a pass through. Come back out to Wolf Rd and take a right. But be careful, because you'll be turning with two lanes of oncoming traffic.

   • There's a Courtyard Inn at the point just after the turn on the left instead. However, it may be too soon to get over in the left lane to make the turn.

1. 1
   Stay in either lane as you pass the Desmond Hotel Albany. The Desmond is rather ritzy, but for its expensive price tag, you get what you pay for. It's also within eyesight distance of the Airport's runways and Express parking lot.

   Heads up!: This airport is guarded by metal shock fencing, and you can't enter onto the runway from the outside - regardless of how much you try to do so.
2. 2
   Continue past the Economy lot (lot E) on Albany-Shaker Rd, then past the Airport Cell Phone lot. You'll see the airport runways over to your right, then their airport buildings for Million Air.
3. 3
   Take the access road to the right when the road splits, then follow one of two paths.

   • Staying on NY-155/Albany Shaker Rd will see a quick rename to Peter J. Dalessondro Blvd until it' intersects back with Airport Access Rd and NY-155's exit split (Near the traffic light)
4. 4
   Detour into the garage if necessary. Take the access road to the left if you need to head to the parking garage, then navigate the parking garage situation. The parking garage is split into two types of parking: Garage parking is for those only planning to spend a few hours inside or Short Term is for those planning to spend even more time than that. Long Term parking is outside, and once you select "Short Term," go left, and parking is outside only.

   • There's outside parking for those going for Garage parking if garage parking is full.
   • Short Term parking is suited primarily on the upper levels of the parking garage.
5. 5
   Continue to the Airport terminal entrances (near the ticketing booths) by following this right. Avoid the left lanes light the plague- there's no stopping in this lane, and it only allows for rental cars to turn left into rental car return later or that to exit the parking lot.
6. 6
   Look for the appropriate entrance - if necessary. Signs are labeled in a reddish-brown color.
7. 7
   Get around ticketing if you don't need to check any bags here. There's a direct entrance to the security checkpoint area right from the parking garage inwards through an interior walkway across the Access Road (complete with glass panes and an elevator if necessary to travel between the parking lot lanes.