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Trail #9 - 10 Trails We Should Build Before We Worry about Converting Rails to Trails

12/12/2012

4 Comments

 
To see the introductory Blog Post to this series and the other trail suggestions click HERE


UPDATE
As I prepare to wrap up this series I will be providing at least one or perhaps even a second reflective post after tomorrow's trail. (It depends how long winded I get.) I will also keep sharing trails as long as folks submit them. I have a few already and welcome more.

In sharing tonight's trail I want to make one thing clear. I am an avid sportsman. I love to hunt and fish as well as all the other outdoor activities I pursue. Whatever trails we might end up building and using we must take into account the hunting seasons and the sportsmen and women who have been using these lands for over a century. I think virtually all outdoor recreation pursuits are compatible if common sense prevails. We need to make sure common sense prevails as we develop a trail system for our community.

I have had so much interest in this series  I thought I would encourage people to submit what trail they think should be built. Let's keep this conversation going and, if you would like, share a trail in the Saranac Lake area that you think might be appropriate for one or more outdoor recreation uses. Once I have completed posting my ten trails I will start posting trails submitted that I think are appropriate. You can make your submissions by sending them to me HERE. Let me hear from you.

Trail #9 - Lower Saranac Lake Trail

This is probably the most ambitious trail I am suggesting but as with all the trails it has so much potential. It could provide a relatively easy overnight backpacking trip. It could provide campers on the shore of Lower Saranac Lake with a way to get out of camp and get some exercise. It allows travelers to hike into the upper locks and see the locks in action without having to use a boat. It would be a great ski trip. I have skied most of  this route (breaking a couple of bones in my right hand one winter many years ago while three miles from the nearest road.) It would make a great mountain bike trail. I have hunted this region for many years. A portion of the route follows an existing hunter's trail from the lake to the Forest Home Road.
Picture

Name

9. Lower Saranac Lake Trail






Access/Description

From the Route 3 State Bridge boat launch parking lot around the south end of Lower Saranac Lake crossing the river at the upper locks then proceeding around and eventually heading north to the Forest Home Road.

Distance

~ 9 miles

Thoughts/Issues

This is Wild Forest so could be multipurpose year around trail although for a number of reasons it might not be practical for snowmobiles.  It follows a number of existing hunting trails and even a portion of an old snowmobile trail. The main  challenge would  be building a bridge across the Saranac River near the upper locks. The State Bridge on Route 3 has great potential as a trailhead since a parking lot already exists.
4 Comments
Paul Moriarty
12/12/2012 11:35:38 am

In these trails, where you recommend the State Boat Launch parking lot, remember that people will be fighting for parking there ... it REALLY gets crowded! I don't know if the DEC has designated the lot as launch only (as they have at the launch across from the Lake View Deli). So far, the routes look great. If the weather is good, they can swim at the upper locks!

Reply
Paul Ward
12/13/2012 05:06:02 am

The DEC is in the planing process of redoing and expanding the route 3 boat launch parking lot. I may be wrong, but I think 2014 is the year the are planing to start the project. Hopefully, with the redo, it would be able to accommodate some trail head parking.

Reply
Paul Ward
12/13/2012 04:53:36 am

Your proposed trails have been great so far, with this one being the best one yet. If built, they will attract a large number of outdoor enthusiasts of every skill level, Unlike a, flat, torn out rail corridor, which only sounds good to people with little experience and/or interest in hiking, skiing, snowshoeing and mountain biking.

Reply
Eric Holmlund
12/13/2012 07:58:03 am

Jack- just for fun, please add spur trails to the campsites on Norway Point and Pope Bay Point. Perhaps you could consider connecting the trail to Black Pond to this new trail as well. Now that I think about it, how about spur trails from this new trail to Boot Bay Mt. and/or Shingle Bay Mt summits? (Clear out a little view up there...)

Reply



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    Jack Drury 
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