Governor Andrew Cuomo’s 2020 State of the State speech included two big pieces of good news for the Adirondack Park.
The first major highlight was his proposal for a $3 Billion Restore Mother Nature Bond Act that will support a variety of pressing environmental and climate change challenges across New York. This proposal is the first listed in the 2020 State of the State book that accompanied the speech.
This weekly report of outdoor recreation conditions in the Adirondacks is compiled each Thursday afternoon and updated on Friday.
Contribute Your Knowledge: Add a comment below, or send your observations, corrections, updates, and suggestions to adkalmanack@gmail.com.
Learn and practice the seven Leave No Trace principles. Plan ahead and prepare. Carry out what you have carried in. Do not leave gear, food, or other items at lean-tos and campsites. Take the free online Leave No Trace course here.
BE PREPARED! Start slow, gain experience. Carry proper safety equipment and weather protection and bring plenty of water and lights, and a map. When on the trail, stay together, monitor the time, and be prepared to turn back. Be prepared to spend an unplanned night in the woods in cold temperatures. Accidents happen to the most experienced people. Always carry food, a space blanket, emergency whistle, first aid kit, fire making tools, extra clothing layers and socks, a map and compass, and the knowledge to use them. Inform someone of your itinerary and before entering the backcountry or launching a boat check the National Weather Service watches, warnings, and advisories here. Follow Adirondack weather forecasts at Burlington and Albany and consult the High Elevation, Recreation, or Lake Champlain forecasts.
Gore Mountain has announced they are opening its professionally maintained cross-country trails to fat tire biking on non-holiday Wednesday nights. Bikers are welcomed to explore the Ski Bowl’s stadium layout, which features both grooming and snowmaking and includes a variety of inclines, flat stretches, and brief wooded routes.
Twilight trail passes for biking, snowshoeing, and nordic skiing are available for $12. » Continue Reading.
The Long Lake Winter Carnival will take place Saturday, January 18th, at Mt. Sabattis Recreation Center in Long Lake, located at 6 Pavilion Way off of Deerland Road, NYS Route 30.
Events begin at noon with a bonfire, snowmobile parade, and coronation of the King and Queen. The Cardboard Sled Races start at 1 pm with prizes awarded for speed and overall award for Best Decoration. Sleds can be made with cardboard, paint, wax and tape. Racing categories are for individuals and for teams. The ice skating rink and sledding hill will be open throughout the day. » Continue Reading.
I’ve ridden on the rail corridor between Saratoga Springs and North Creek several times over the years, including the last run to North Creek with a dome car. The scenery is beautiful, especially from the high bridge at Hadley. The views along the river are splendid. Those who have never done it by train will never know what they’re missing. I wish I could have ridden it to Tahawus.
Some argue the railroad must go because it can’t pay for itself. The reason for that is that we spent the 20th century building highways at taxpayer expense; we subsidize everything that competes with rail while still expecting it to make money. » Continue Reading.
The Depot Theatre has announce its 2020 main stage lineup, which features iconic figures and everyday heroes in an expanded season that includes four productions for the first time since 2013.
The Depot Theatre is a non-profit, professional theatre located in a historic, functioning 1876 train station in Westport, and is the only theatre in the Adirondacks that operates under an agreement with Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. » Continue Reading.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers respond to search and rescue incidents in the Adirondacks. Working with other state agencies, local emergency response organizations and volunteer search and rescue groups, Forest Rangers locate and extract lost, injured or distressed people from the Adirondack backcountry.
What follows is a report, prepared by DEC, of recent missions carried out by Forest Rangers in the Adirondacks. » Continue Reading.
The following essay was authored by Assemblyman Steven Englebright and State Senator Todd Kaminsky.
The 2019 legislative session was a great one for New York’s environment. As the chairs of the Environmental Conservation Committees in both houses, we were pleased to talk with Adirondack residents and visitors about the session in late September when we came to the park to discuss next year’s agenda.
The Adirondacks aren’t just New York’s largest park, they are a national treasure and a shining example of long-term conservation that serves as a model for the world. » Continue Reading.
The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Committee has announced they are seeking contestants for the Arctic Golf Build-an-Obstacle Contest on February 1 between 10 am to 4 pm at Prescott Park, next to the Lake Flower State Boat Launch.
The contest is intended for community organizations or businesses, however it is open to anyone that would like to build a family-friendly miniature golf obstacle out of snow. » Continue Reading.
Adirondack Foundation has announced that their 2020 Generous Acts grant application is open and available online until 5 pm, February 3, 2020.
Nonprofit organizations, schools, and municipalities serving the people of the Adirondack region, defined for this purpose as all of Clinton, Essex, Franklin and Hamilton counties as well as the parts of Herkimer, St. Lawrence, Warren, and Washington counties within the Adirondack Park boundary, are eligible to apply. » Continue Reading.
The 2018 population estimates by U.S. Census are out, which look at changes since 2010. The Census reports that New York’s population in these years is estimated to have grown by around 142,000 people. However, this growth has not been uniform throughout state.
The ten counties of Downstate New York (the three lower Hudson Valley counties of Orange, Rockland and Westchester; the two Long Island counties of Suffolk and Nassau; and the five New York City counties of Richmond, Bronx, New York, Kings and Queens) saw a collective gain of over 250,000 people. All Downstate counties posted gains, with the exception of Suffolk on outer Long Island, which was down by over 13,000 people.
Applications for parade performers who would like to participate in the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival are now available online at www.saranaclakewintercarnival.com.
Applications can also be picked up at the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce at 39 Main Street. » Continue Reading.
Lake George Arts Project is pleased to announce the appointment of Tanya Tobias-Tomis as Executive Director, following the retirement of John Strong.
Tanya Tobias-Tomis has close to two decades of non-profit experience, including 12 years at Saratoga Arts, most recently in her role as Associate Director. She was also responsible for many of their projects, including their Art@Work + Home program, and First Night Saratoga. » Continue Reading.
Bad luck on the peak of Algonquin, the state’s second highest mountain, can be fatal in winter. On December 29th, 1979, a member of the Brooklyn College Outing Club took a fall just shy of the summit. Tremendous pain shot through the shoulder of 18-year-old Michael Boxer.
Thankfully his legs were unaffected, and he was able to walk for a time before rangers arrived, stabilizing the injury and carrying him out to minimize the pain and more safely navigate the terrain. The swelling was severe and upon arriving at the hospital, it was learned the shoulder was dislocated.
The rangers I spoke to for this article – 40 years after it happened – can’t remember many details from that rescue, but they do remember Michael Boxer by name and the search for him on the same mountain, 371 days later. » Continue Reading.
The guest speaker at the Warren County Historical Society’s Annual Meeting will be Saratoga Springs artist Anne Diggory, who will give a new presentation, “Painting Warren County,” in which she will discuss the role of historic regional landscape artists in her own work.
Chartered in 1997, the Society offers a museum and exhibits, a resource library, collections and archives, historical programs, research and genealogy, publications, a quarterly newsletter, student internships, community history, and a book shop at its headquarters on 50 Gurney Lane in Queensbury.
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