| Adirondack Park | |
|---|---|
 Long Pond, in theSaint Regis Canoe Area | |
 Park area highlighted in green, bounded by theBlue Line, within New York state | |
| Location | New York,United States |
| Area | 9,375 sq mi (24,280 km2) |
| Established | New York State Forest Preserve |
| Named for | Mohawk forbark eaters. |
| Operator | Adirondack Park Agency,New York State Department of Environmental Conservation |
Adirondack Forest Preserve | |
| Area | 2,000,000 acres (8,100 km2) |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000891[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | May 23, 1963 |
TheAdirondack Park is the designation for a large area of northeasternNew York centered on theAdirondack Mountains. LikeCatskill Park to the south, the area is unusual in the United States because, while the entire area is considered "parkland", about 52 percent of the land within the boundary consists of privately ownedinholdings. The remaining 48 percent is publicly owned by the state as part of theForest Preserve. Use of public and private lands in the park is regulated by the Adirondack Park Agency.[2]
The park was established in 1892 for "the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure", and for watershed protection.[3] At 6.1 million acres (25,000 km2), it is the largest park in thecontiguous United States.[4]
The Adirondack Park contains the 46High Peaks, 2,800 lakes and ponds, 30,000 miles (48,000 km) of rivers and streams,[4] and an estimated 200,000 acres (81,000 ha) of old-growth forests.[5] It is home to 105 towns and villages, as well as numerous farms, businesses, and a timber-harvesting industry. The park has a population of 130,000 permanent and 200,000 seasonal residents, and sees over 12.4 million annual visitors.[4] The inclusion of human communities has been described as one of the most successful experiments in conserving previously developed lands in the industrialized world.[6]
The Adirondack Forest Preserve was designated aNational Historic Landmark in 1963.[7][8]
Before the 19th century, the wilderness was viewed as desolate and forbidding. AsRomanticism developed in the United States, the view of wilderness became more positive, as seen in the writings ofJames Fenimore Cooper,Ralph Waldo Emerson,John Muir, andHenry David Thoreau.
The 1849 publication ofJoel Tyler Headley'sAdirondack; or, Life in the Woods triggered the development of hotels andstage coach lines.William Henry Harrison Murray's 1869 wilderness guidebook depicted the area as a place of relaxation and pleasure rather than a natural obstacle.
Financier and railroad promoterThomas Clark Durant acquired a large tract of central Adirondack land and built a railroad fromSaratoga Springs toNorth Creek. By 1875, there were more than two hundred hotels in the Adirondacks includingPaul Smith's Hotel. About this time, theGreat Camps were developed.
Following theCivil War,Reconstruction Era economic expansion led to an increase in logging anddeforestation, especially in the southernAdirondacks.
In 1870Verplanck Colvin made the first recorded ascent ofSeward Mountain during which he saw the extensive damage done bylumbermen. He wrote a report which was read at the Albany Institute and printed by the New York State Museum of Natural History. In 1872 he was named to the newly created post of Superintendent of the Adirondack Survey and given a $1000 budget by the state legislature to institute a survey of the Adirondacks.
In 1873 he wrote a report arguing that if the Adirondack watershed was allowed to deteriorate, it would threaten the viability of the Erie Canal, which was then vital toNew York's economy. He was subsequently appointed superintendent of the New York state land survey. In 1873, he recommended the creation of astate forest preserve covering the entire Adirondack region.
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In 1884, a state legislative commission chaired by botanistCharles Sprague Sargent recommended establishment of a forest preserve, to be "forever kept as wild forest lands."[9] TheNew York State Legislature subsequently passed a law in 1885 for the preservation of forests which designated all state lands within certain counties in the Adirondacks and Catskills as Forest Preserve to be forever kept as wild forest lands. This forestry law also established a Forest Commission which was charged with care, custody, control and superintendence of the Forest Preserve.[10]
In 1894, Article VII, Section 7, (renumbered in 1938 as Article XIV, Section 1)[11] of the New York State Constitution was adopted, which reads in part:
The lands of the state, now owned or hereafter acquired, constituting the forest preserve as now fixed by law, shall be forever kept as wild forest lands. They shall not be leased, sold or exchanged, or be taken by any corporation, public or private, nor shall the timber thereon be sold, removed or destroyed.
In 1902, the legislature passed a bill defining the Adirondack Park for the first time in terms of the counties and towns within it. In 1912 the legislature further clarified that the park included the privately owned lands within it as well as the public holdings.
The restrictions on development and lumbering embodied in Article XIV have withstood many challenges from timber interests, hydropower projects and large-scale tourism development interests.[12] Further, the language of the article, and decades of legal experience in its defense, are widely recognized as having laid the foundation for theU.S. National Wilderness Act of 1964. As a result of the legal protections, many pieces of the original forest of the Adirondacks have never been logged and areold-growth forest.[5]
Early in the 1900s, recreational use increased dramatically. The State Conservation Department (now theDepartment of Environmental Conservation) responded by building more facilities: boat docks, tent platforms, lean-tos, and telephone and electrical lines. With the building ofInterstate 87 in the 1960s, private lands came under great pressure for development. This growing crisis led to the 1971 creation of the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) to develop long-range land-use plans for both the public and private lands within theBlue Line.
In consultation with the DEC, the APA formulated the State Land Master Plan which was adopted into law in 1973. The plan is designed to channel much of the future growth in the Park around existing communities, where roads, utilities, services, and supplies already exist.[13]
In 2008The Nature Conservancy purchased Follensby Pond – about 14,600 acres (5,900 ha) of private land inside the park boundary – for $16 million.[14] The group plans to sell the land to the state, which will add it to the forest preserve once the remaining leases for recreational hunting and fishing on the property expire.[14]
| Year: | 1900 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|
| Area of the Park | 2,800,000 acres (1,100,000 ha) | 5,820,313 acres (2,355,397 ha) |
| State-owned area | 1,200,000 acres (490,000 ha) (43%) | 2,595,859 acres (1,050,507 ha) (44.6%[15]) |
| Travel time, New York City to Old Forge | 6.5 hours by railroad | 5 hours by car |
| Permanent park residents | 100,000 | 130,000 |
| Length of public road in the park | 4,154 miles (6,685 km) plus 500 miles (800 km) of passenger railroad track | 6,970 miles (11,220 km) plus 50 miles (80 km) of passenger railroad track |
| Industry | 92 sawmills, 15 iron mines, 10 pulp/paper mills | 40 sawmills, 1 pulp/paper mill |
Data compiled by theAdirondack Experience,Blue Mountain Lake, New York[citation needed]
The park is managed by two state agencies; theNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation, created in 1970 and headquartered inAlbany; and the Adirondack Park Agency, created in 1971 and headquartered inRay Brook.[16] Noted forest rangerClarence Petty sat on the commission that recommend the creation of the APA.[17] This system of management is distinctly different fromNew York's state park system, which is managed by theOffice of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. According to the State Land Master Plan, state lands are classified.
The Adirondack Park Land Use and Development Plan (APLUDP) applies to private land use and development. It defines APA jurisdiction and is designed to direct and cluster development to minimize impact.
Areas rounded to the nearest per cent. 49% of the park is privately owned, 45% state owned, and 6% is water.[18]
State wilderness areas account for 46% of the area of the park which is not private property. They are managed likefederal wilderness areas. These areas are far more affected by nature than humanity, to the extent that the latter is practically unnoticeable, for example virgin forest. No powered vehicles are allowed in wilderness areas.
The 19,000-acre (77 km2)Saint Regis Canoe Area, presently the only Canoe Area in the park, operates under essentially the same conditions as the Wilderness Areas.[36]
Private organizations are buying land in order to sell it back to New York State to be added to the public portion of the Park.[14] A number ofnon-governmental organizations work for the park:
There are more than 3,000 lakes and 30,000 miles (48,000 km) of streams and rivers. Many areas within the park are devoid of settlements and distant from usable roads. The park includes over 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of hiking trails, which comprise the largest trail system in the nation[41]
The fur trade led to the near-extirpation of the beaver in the park by 1893.[42] Other species, such as themoose,elk,wolf, andcougar were hunted either for their meat, for sport, or because they were seen as a threat to livestock.[42] The historical presence in the area of animals such as theCanada lynx,wolverine, andcaribou are unclear.
Reintroduction efforts for beaver began around 1904 by introducing the remaining beaver in the Adirondacks to imported Canadian ones, and later, fromYellowstone.[42] The population quickly grew to around 2000 in roughly ten years, and around 20,000 in 1921, with the addition of beavers in different areas of the park.[42] Although the reintroduction was marked as an ecological success, the elevated beaver population was found to have negative economic impacts on waterways and timber sources.[42]
The introduction of elk to the Adirondacks, a species that is unclear to have ever previously occupied the region, would continue after the late-19th century.[42] After two previously failed attempts to introduce elk, in 1903, over 150 elk were reported by the State of New York Forest, Fish, and Game Commission to have been released and surviving in the park. The elk population increased for several years, only to decline and ultimately disappear due to poaching.[42]
To protect and maintain the elk population in the future, the DeBar Mountain Game Refuge was established within the Forest Preserve.[42] This act of preserving the species was motivated by hunting purposes rather than an ecological or natural aspect.[42] The Game Refuge was defined by a wire fence, numerous postings, and caretakers employed by the State.[42] This effort to control nature was also observed in the actions of theCivilian Conservation Corps (CCC), work crews who established access roads and water-supply expansion.[42]
A negative result of the CCC coming to the Park was their trapping and killing of "vermin", which included animals such as hawks, owls, fox, and weasels that preyed on other species sought after by hunters and fishermen. This proved to have unanticipated ecological consequences (most notably theoverpopulation of deer) which were reported by the New York State Conservation Department in 1945.[42]
Ongoing efforts have been made to reintroduce nativefauna that had been lost in the park during earlier exploitation. There are 53 known species of mammals that live in the park, includingraccoons,moose,black bears,coyotes,opossums,beavers,porcupines,fishers,martens,river otters, andbobcats.[43]
Notablebirds of prey that breed in the park include thered-tailed hawk,broad-winged hawk,peregrine falcon,osprey,great horned owl,barred owl,northern saw-whet owl, andturkey vulture. Other notable breeding birds include northern forest specialists likeCanada jays,black-backed woodpeckers,boreal chickadees,spruce grouse,palm warblers, andyellow-bellied flycatchers.[44]
The park is home to 39 species of amphibians and reptiles.[45]
Frog species include theAmerican bullfrog,American toad,gray treefrog, green frog (Lithobates clamitans),mink frog,northern leopard frog,pickerel frog,spring peeper, andwood frog.[46] As of June 2025[update], it is not clear whether all frog populations are stable or will remain stable amid the globaldecline in amphibian populations. Some species, such as the green frog,[47] pickerel frog,[48] spring peeper,[49] and wood frog,[50] are considered stable or of low conservation concern in the Adirondack area. However, multiple species have experienced problems with breeding cycles.[51] For example, wood frogs in Adirondack Park experienced die-offs caused byranavirus in the late 2000s,[52][53] following a broader trend of disease outbreaks among amphibians in the Northeastern United States.[54] Scientists have expressed concerns that although the mink frog is not listed as an endangered species in the state of New York, the population living in Adirondack will likely experience local population decline, with Alvin Breisch (former herpetologist with theNew York State Department of Environmental Conservation) stating that they may becomelocally extinct "in the next 75 years" due to warming summer temperatures (which Breisch attributes toclimate change) disrupting their breeding cycle.[55][56]
There are also several species of salamanders,[45] including theAllegheny Mountain dusky salamander,blue-spotted salamander,eastern newt,eastern red-backed salamander,four-toed salamander,Jefferson salamander,common mudpuppy, northern dusky salamander (Desmognathus fuscus),northern two-lined salamander,spotted salamander, andspring salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus).[46]
There are 7 species of turtle:Blanding's turtle, the eastern musk turtle (Sternotherus odoratus),northern map turtle,painted turtle,common snapping turtle,spotted turtle, andwood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta).[46] The spotted turtle and wood turtle are listed as species of special concern in the state of New York.[57]
Other reptiles include theAmerican five lined skink,common garter snake, the common ribbon snake (Thamnophis saurita saurita),DeKay's brown snake,eastern milk snake,eastern rat snake,eastern racer,northern watersnake,red-bellied snake,ring-necked snake,smooth green snake, andtimber rattlesnake.[46]
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An estimated 7–10 million tourists visit the park annually. There are numerous accommodations, including cabins, hunting lodges, villas and hotels, in and aroundLake Placid,Lake George,Saranac Lake,Old Forge,Schroon Lake and theSt. Regis Lakes. Although the climate during the winter months can be severe, with temperatures falling below −30 °F (−34.4 °C), a number ofsanatoriums were located there in the early twentieth century because of the positive effect the air had ontuberculosis patients.
Golf courses within the park border include theAusable Club, theLake Placid Club, and the Ticonderoga Country Club. Many of the Adirondack Mountains, such as Whiteface Mountain (Wilmington), Mt. Pisgah (Saranac Lake), Gore Mountain (North Creek), West Mountain (Glens Falls), Hickory (Luzerne), and Mt. Morris (Tupper Lake) have been developed as ski areas.[citation needed]
Hunting and fishing are allowed in the Adirondack Park, although in many places there are strict regulations. Because of these regulations, the large tourist population has not overfished the area, and as such, the brooks, rivers, ponds and lakes are home to largetrout andblack bass populations. Although restricted from much of the park,snowmobile enthusiasts can ride on a large network of trails.[citation needed]
TheAdirondack Park Agency visitor interpretive centers are designed to help orient visitors to the park via educational programs, exhibits, and interpretive trails. Educational programs are available for school groups as well as the general public.[58]
The Wild Center inTupper Lake offers extensive exhibits about the natural history of the region, including a 1,000-foot-long series of elevated bridges that rise up over the forest on the center's campus. Many of the exhibits are live and include native turtles, otter, birds, fish and porcupines. The center, which is open year-round, has trails to a river and pond on its campus.[59]
TheAdirondack Experience in Blue Mountain Lake contains an extensive collection about the human settlement of the Park.[60]
The Six Nation Indian Museum inFranklin has as a mission to provide education about Iroquois (also known as Haudenosaunee) culture, particularly environmental ethics, and to reinforce traditional values and philosophies. This is done via artifacts, presentations, and hosted visits.[61]
The 46 highest mountains in the park, known asAdirondack High Peaks, were thought to be over 4,000 feet (1,219 m) when climbed by brothersRobert andGeorge Marshall between 1918 and 1924. Surveys have since shown that four of these peaks —Blake Peak,Cliff Mountain,Nye Mountain andCouchsachraga Peak — are in fact just slightly under 4,000 feet (1,219 m). Some hikers try to climb all of the original 46 peaks, and there is aForty Sixers club for those who have done so.
Cliffs withrock climbing[62] andice climbing routes are scattered throughout the park boundaries.[63]
The surface of many of the lakes lies at an elevation above 1,500 ft (457 m); their shores are usually rocky and irregular, and the wild scenery within their vicinity has made them very attractive to tourists. It is the site of theAdirondack Canoe Classic. Flatwater and whitewatercanoeing andkayaking are very popular. Hundreds of lakes, ponds, and slow-moving streams link to provide routes ranging from under one mile (1.6 km) to weeklong treks.Whitewater kayaking and canoeing are popular on many free-flowing rivers in the Adirondacks, particularly in the spring. Whitewater rafting trips are run in the spring on the Moose River near Old Forge. Raft trips are possible on the Hudson River near North River from April to October, due to dam releases provided by the Town of Indian Lake.
Motorboating is formally restricted on only a few bodies of water.
The Adirondack Park Agency visitor interpretive centers (or VICs) were established in 1989 and 1990.[64] The centers helped orient visitors to the park via educational programs, exhibits, and interpretive trails. Educational programs were available for school groups as well as the general public. Due to state fiscal and budgetary constraints, GovernorDavid Paterson marked the VICs for closure on December 31, 2010,[65] and in 2011, New York State sold both visitor centers to nearby colleges.
The Paul Smith's VIC opened in 1989 and in 2011 became the Paul Smith's College VIC, owned and operated by Paul Smith's College. Located on approximately 2,700 acres (11 km2) inPaul Smiths, New York, nearPaul Smith's College, the Paul Smith's College Visitor Interpretive Center has approximately 25 miles of maintained trails. Throughout the property visitors will encounter every habitat type found in the Adirondack Park except alpine. Each spring the PSC VIC hosts the Great Adirondack Birding Festival. Throughout the year visitors can partake of guided interpretive walks, regular outdoor activities, naturalist-led canoe paddles on Barnum Pond, and assorted workshops and programs. In the winter the trails are open for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.[66]
The Adirondack Interpretive Center is situated on ESF's Huntington Wildlife Forest, a 15,000-acre (61 km2) biological field station the college has operated inNewcomb since 1932,[67] and also home to the college's Adirondack Ecological Center.[68] It opened in 1990. Located on 236 acres (0.96 km2) at the outlet of Rich Lake, the center has approximately three and a half miles of interpretive trails. Habitats include lakeshore, wetlands, old growth forest, and mixed northern forest. Throughout the year staff conduct naturalist-led trail walks, guided paddles on Rich Lake, and assorted workshops and lectures. All trails are open in the winter for snowshoeing; cross-country skiing is permitted, and requires varying degrees of skill depending on trails and conditions.[69] Management and ownership of the Newcomb center was assumed by theSUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) on July 1, 2010, with program responsibility beginning January 1, 2011.[70]
While the park does contain large areas of wilderness, some areas developed to a varying degree.
Census towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants include:
Interstate 87 orNorthway, completed in the 1970s, runs north to south through the eastern edge of the park, connectingMontreal to Upstate New York. The park is traversed bymilitary training routes of theAir National Guard.
There are six business parks in Essex County, of which two have certifiedshovel ready sites. There are also two in Franklin County. There are manymaple syrup producers, and their work is documented at the American Maple Museum atCroghan.
Educational institutions include theState University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry andPaul Smith's College.
Railways were used extensively from about 1871 to the 1930s for passenger transport and freight. Passenger transport was supplemented bystagecoaches. Rail operators included Chateaugay Railroad,[71]Adirondack Railway,Delaware and Hudson Canal Company,Lake Champlain Transportation Company,New York Central Railroad, Northern Adirondack Railroad Company,Ogdensburg and Lake Champlain Railroad,New York and Ottawa Railway,Mohawk and Malone Railway andFulton Chain Railway.[72]
The principal rail company to the major resorts was theNew York Central Railroad. Destinations within the park, served by itsAdirondack Division, includedLoon Lake,Saranac Lake,Lake Placid,Santa Clara,Tupper Lake,Thendara,Old Forge, andLake Clear. On the edge of the park boundary wereBrandon andSt. Regis Falls. North of the park wereMoira andMalone. In 1920 there were 10 scheduled daily passenger train stops in Big Moose.
Starting in the 1930s, people began to use automobiles rather than the train. However, through the 1950s and until 1961, there was a daily day train and a daily night train in each direction toLake Placid station.[73] Passenger train service ended on April 24, 1965.[74] Freight service to and from the Adirondacks also declined after World War II. ThePenn Central Transportation Company, successor to the New York Central, continued freight service between Utica and Lake Placid until it abandoned the Remsen-Lake Placid line in 1972.
There are many small airstrips and lakes for seaplanes to land but there is only one commercial airport within the park. TheAdirondack Regional Airport sits just outside of the Village of Saranac Lake in the hamlet of Lake Clear, town of Harrietstown. The airport's commercial airline service is funded by the government'sEssential Air Service program, which provides small communities with flights to major cities that could not be supported without the help of government funding.Plattsburgh International Airport is located 10 miles (16 km) outside the park.
There is anAdirondack architectural style that relates to the rugged style associated with theGreat Camps. The builders of these camps used native building materials and sited their buildings within an irregular wooded landscape. These camps for the wealthy were built to provide a primitive, rustic appearance while avoiding the problems of in-shipping materials from elsewhere.
In 1903 and 1908 fires consumed nearly 1 million acres (400,000 hectares) of forest. In 1909, the first Adirondackfire lookout tower, made of logs, was erected onMount Morris and many others were built over the next several years. From 1916 steel towers were built. At one time or another, there have been fire towers at 57 locations in today's Adirondack Park. The system worked for about 60 years, but has since been replaced by other technologies. Today, 34 towers survive in the region and many have been restored and are accessible to the public.[75] Some in theAdirondack Forest Preserve have been listed on theNational Register of Historic Places, including those on the following mountains:Arab,Azure,Blue,Hadley,Kane,Loon Lake,Poke-O-Moonshine,St. Regis,Snowy, andWakely.[7][76]
McIntyre Furnace & McNaughton Cottage: an 1853blast furnace, the 1832 McNaughton Cottage, the remains of theTahawus Club era buildings, and the early mining-related sites.[77]
St. RegisPresbyterian church: designed by prolific Saranac Lake architectWilliam L. Coulter and built on land donated byPaul Smith. Construction funds came from donations from the congregation, which was largely made up of summer residents. It served as a church from 1899 to 2010.[78]
The Bow Bridge: The Bow Bridge inHadley is one of only two parabolic or lenticulartruss bridges in the region and one of only about 50 remaining in the country. It was built over the Sacandaga River by the Berlin Iron Bridge Co. in 1885.[78]
Jay Covered Bridge over theAusable River.[78]
TheAdirondack lean-to is a three sided log shelter.
Saranac Village at Will Rogers: aTudor Revival style retirement community, was constructed in 1930 as atuberculosis treatment facility forvaudeville performers. Due to the subsequent decline of vaudeville performers, and an eventual cure for tuberculosis, its doors closed in 1975. After sitting unused for twenty years, it was bought in 1998 by the Alpine Adirondack Association, LLC and reopened in January 2000 as a retirement community.[78]
Camp Santanoni was once a private estate of approximately 13,000 acres (53 km2), and now is the property of the state, atNewcomb. It was a residential complex of about 45 buildings. Now aNational Historic Landmark, this is one of the earliest examples of theGreat Camps of the Adirondacks. At the time of completion in 1893, Camp Santanoni was regarded as the grandest of all such Adirondack camps.[78]
Wellscroft, atUpper Jay, is aTudor Revival–style summer estate home. It is a long,2+1⁄2-story, building with several projecting bays, porches, gables and dormers, aporte cochere and a service wing. The rear facade features a large semi-circular projection. The first-story exterior is faced in nativefieldstone. The interior features a number ofArts and Crafts style design features. Also on the property are a power house, fire house,gazebo,root cellar,reservoir, ruins of the caretaker's house andcarriage house, and the remains of the landscaped grounds.[79] It was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 2004.[7]
Prospect Point Camp: a Great Camp notable for its unusual chalets inspired by European hunting lodges.
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