Posts Tagged ‘Adirondack Rail Trail’

Monday, August 21, 2023

DEC Announces Aug. 23 Public Meeting on Adirondack Rail Trail

The Adirondack Rail Trail as seen in the nine-mile segment between Floodwood and Tupper Lake.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will host a public meeting on Aug. 23, to provide updates on project progress and future planning, address community concerns, and answer questions. Public and stakeholder participation is vital to the success of the rail trail project and will help inform future public communication needs.

The public meeting will be held Wednesday, Aug. 23, from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m., in the Adirondack Park Agency (APA) Boardroom, 1133 NYS Route 86, Ray Brook. DEC Project Manager Keith Carrow will provide updates on project status, insight into future planning for signage and interpretation, and answer questions related to the project.

Phase one of the Adirondack Rail Trail is under construction by Kubricky Construction and is scheduled to be complete this year. Phase two construction is underway by Rifenburg Construction and includes the portion of trail between Saranac Lake and Floodwood Road in Santa Clara. DEC urges the public to refrain from using any portion of the trail while it is closed for construction.

» Continue Reading.


Friday, June 2, 2023

Work on Phase II of Adirondack Rail Trail to begin

The Adirondack Rail Trail as seen in the nine-mile segment between Floodwood and Tupper Lake.

Adirondack Rail Trail Now Closed to the Public Between Lake Placid and Floodwood Road

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos and Office of General Services (OGS) Commissioner Jeanette Moy announced Rifenburg Construction was awarded the $8.75 million construction contract for the second phase of the Adirondack Rail Trail. Construction is set to begin within the next two weeks and includes the portion of trail between Saranac Lake and Floodwood Road in Santa Clara.

Phase one of the trail is still under construction by Kubricky Construction and is set to be complete this fall. During this time, public use on the Lake Placid to Floodwood Road portion of trail is prohibited for public safety. DEC urges the public to refrain from using any portion of the trail while it is closed. Currently, walkers and bikers using parts of the trail during its construction are creating unsafe situations in work zones.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Adirondack Rail Trail construction underway between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake

The Adirondack Rail Trail as seen in the nine-mile segment between Floodwood and Tupper Lake.

On April 21, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Office of General Services (OGS) announced the start of 2023 construction on the Adirondack Rail Trail between Station Street in Lake Placid and Broadway in Saranac Lake. This trail segment is now closed to all users during construction.

The world-class Adirondack Rail Trail is a 34-mile multi-use recreational path for outdoor adventurers between Tupper Lake and Lake Placid. OGS is leading the trail‘s design and construction with the intent to make it accessible to people of all abilities to the maximum extent practicable. Upon completion of constructionDEC will assume day-to-day management of the trail working closely with stakeholders and municipalities. Estimated timing to complete the Rail Trail is dependent on multiple factors including contract approvals, permits, and coordinating with State, Federal, and local entities. Construction of the compacted stone dust surfaced trail will be undertaken in stages. The work now underway is part of phase one of the Rail Trail project and is anticipated to be completed in the fall.

Read more about final construction of a segment of the Adirondack Rail Trail between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake by checking out Tim Rowland’s Adirondack Explorer story at this link: https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/stories/adirondack-rail-trail-work-resumes

» Continue Reading.


Sunday, February 5, 2023

Recreation Highlight: Winter on the Adirondack Rail Trail

Portion of the Adirondack Rail Trail

This past fall, ground was broken on the future Adirondack Rail Trail, a 34-mile multi-use recreation trail that will stretch from Tupper Lake to Lake Placid, connecting communities of the North Country and providing a world-class outdoor destination to locals and visitors alike. In December, construction on the Lake Placid to Saranac Lake segment of trail paused for the season, allowing for interim winter recreation until construction resumes in the spring. This provides an exceptional winter recreation opportunity for snowmobilers, cross-country skiers, snowshoers, birders and other winter users, and a glimpse at what the rail trail will offer year-round once it is fully completed in 2025.

» Continue Reading.


Wednesday, October 5, 2022

Trail Towns update planned for Adirondack Rail Trail, meeting set for Oct. 12 in Saranac Lake

The Adirondack Rail Trail Association (ARTA), the Saranac Lake Chamber of Commerce, and the New York State Snowmobile Association will hold a “Trail Towns” update on the status of the Adirondack Rail Trail for Tri-Lakes businesses and community leaders on October 12 at 3 p.m. in the Harrietstown Town Hall in Saranac Lake. The presentation and subsequent discussion will share ideas with attendees on how the communities and businesses along the corridor can coordinate their visitor services, outreach and messaging, and common support services as the rail trail comes to life.

» Continue Reading.


Thursday, July 1, 2021

ARTA to NYS: Let’s speed up the rail trail construction

tearing up the tracks

“Use and misuse of the travel corridor through the Adirondacks.” That’s the subject of a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo from Adirondack Recreational Trail Advocates, the nonprofit that’s been working for many years to establish a 90-mile recreational trail through the Adirondack Park from Lake Placid to Old Forge. ARTA achieved partial success when the state announced its grand compromise back in 2015 — 34 miles of the old railroad line would be converted to a year-round recreational trail linking Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake. The rest of the state-owned “travel corridor” would be devoted to creating the longest tourist train ride in the country.

» Continue Reading.


Saturday, May 22, 2021

Dreaming About The New Tri-Lakes Public Multi Use Recreation Trail

I recently walked the stretch of the Remsen to Lake Placid Railroad corridor from where it crosses the Old Military Road near the firehouse in Lake Placid to where the Scarface Mountain hiking trail crosses the tracks. It’s a bit over four miles. The rails have been removed, and there were small piles of them stacked on the rail side, and many of the ties were loose. There were steel plates that held the rails to the ties and lots of railroad spikes were strewn on the disheveled ties. The removal of the steel rails is the first stage of the transformation of this long-defunct railroad into a public multi-use recreation trail.

The railroad corridor is thickly forested, mostly typical northern upland forest at the Lake Placid end, but cuts through boreal habitat and wetlands with some stands dominated by red pines. The rail corridor shares space in this stretch with the utility lines to Lake Placid. The poles have all been recently rebuilt and the new fiber optic line hangs on them.

» Continue Reading.


Friday, October 23, 2020

Adirondack Rail Trail, track rehab moves forward

Lee Keet - Adirondack Rail Trail (Susan Bibeau)The New York State Departments of Transportation and Environmental Conservation, in cooperation with the State Office of General Services, today announced a major milestone in the development of the world-class Adirondack Rail Trail, a 34-mile multi-use recreational path for outdoor adventurers between Tupper Lake and Lake Placid. The New York State Department of Transportation has broken ground on a $1.9 million project to remove the tracks from the former railroad right-of-way, clearing the way for its conversion into a shared-use path ideal for hikers, bikers, cross country skiers, and snowmobile enthusiasts.

A second project will commence in the coming weeks to rehabilitate the existing rails between Big Moose and Tupper Lake in order to create the longest scenic railway in the country.

» Continue Reading.



Wait! Before you go:

Catch up on all your Adirondack
news, delivered weekly to your inbox