Hikers must reserve parking spots at popular High Peaks gateway, starting May 1 through Oct. 31, 2024
By Gwendolyn Craig
Visitors seeking to hike some High Peaks mountains and other trails from the Adirondack Mountain Reserve (AMR) in Keene will continue to need a reservation this year, or a bus ticket within 24 hours.
Starting Wednesday, hikers can make free reservations for parking at the popular High Peaks gateway, which will be required starting May 1 through Oct. 31, according to a news release.
The reservation system impacts only a small slice of the 6-million-acre Adirondack Park, but is a key access point to some of its most iconic hikes. The AMR is a 7,000-acre parcel of privately owned land off of state Route 73 in Keene.
Through a 1978 foot traffic easement, hikers use the parking lot and trails to access some of the Adironacks’s highest peaks including Gothics, Dial and Nippletop. Lower elevation trails are also accessible from the area including Noonmark, Round Mountain and the fjord view over Lower Ausable Lake at Indian Head.
The High Peaks Strategic Planning Advisory Group proposed a reservation system in its June 2020 report addressing increased visitation to the area. Pitched as a three-year experiment started in 2021, the state Department of Environmental Conservation and AMR trustees continue to call this fourth year a pilot program. The DEC plans to evaluate it again at the end of the hiking season.
“DEC looks forward to continuing to work with the Adirondack Mountain Reserve to offer safe and accessible entry to this busy Adirondack corridor,” DEC Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said. “This system improves public safety and supports equitable access and guaranteed parking for all outdoor adventurers visiting this area of unparalleled natural beauty.”
In an interview with the Explorer in February, Katharine Petronis, deputy commissioner of natural resources at the DEC, said the reservation system “improved public safety and the visitor experience.” She said the department has received favorable reviews on the program.
Any changes this year?
One common complaint from the hiking public is a lack of same-day reservations. The latest a person may book a reservation is 12 hours in advance. Petronis told the Explorer that the DEC has not yet solved this concern. DEC and AMR worry that allowing same-day reservations could create traffic congestion along Route 73, which is what the reservation system intends to remediate.
On Monday, his last day as DEC commissioner, Basil Seggos listed the reservation system among the management strategies the state has tried to deal with an increase in visitors experiencing New York’s great outdoors, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think in some ways we’ve created an institutional foundation to begin guiding us,” Seggos said. “I hope it’s the right path forward. You have passionate voices out there and you want to make sure that you’re striking that balance amongst all of them.”
The AMR parking lot has 70 spots. That is the number of reservations available per day, though each reservation can accommodate up to eight people. Reservations can be made as far as two weeks in advance. Drop-offs and walk-ins also need a reservation. Those with a Greyhound or Trailways bus ticket from within 24 hours do not need a reservation.
Last hiking season, the AMR online booking system took about 17,000 reservations with nearly 10,000 of reservation-holders showing. About 1,960 people arrived without a reservation last year and were turned away. The busiest weekends last year were around early July, Labor Day weekend and leaf peeping season at the end of September and early October.
“DEC and AMR continue to work together to adaptively manage the program to improve public safety, ensure equitable access, and promote sustainable use of this popular hiking destination,” according to a news release.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify the DEC continues to call this a pilot program and will be reevaluated at the end of the season.
How to get started
To make a profile to book a free reservation, go to hikeamr.org.
For a list of frequently asked questions about the program, go to https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/stories/amr-permits-your-questions-answered.
Top photo: Gates to the Adirondack Mountain Reserve. Photo by Gwendolyn Craig
Money talks $$$
Please, please, please, can somebody PLEASE clarify why the AMR keeps calling it a “Parking Reservation System” but also states that “Visitors who are dropped off (or walk in) require a reservation”?
If a person is getting dropped-off and walking in, why would they need to make a reservation for vehicle parking? Is there another definition of “parking” that I’m unaware of?
How does this sentence, taken directly from their FAQ make any sense?
“you cannot park elsewhere and walk into AMR without a parking reservation”
Amen!
This will trigger several lawsuits.
This seemingly permanent restriction of access may run in direct conflict with the language put forth in the easement.
Dillon,
Oddly, it hasn’t yet. There may be good reasons for this. I read through the easement years ago when the “pilot” began. Most of the language was typical easement boilerplate used by DEC/NYS, however I do recall a clause that enabled AMR ALONG WITH DEC to restrict access to some degree in order to protect property and the ecology of the immediate area from degradation. I forget how it was worded, but it did stand out to me as giving AMR/DEC room to take measures to limit access in certain circumstances. And since the pilot program has not become permanent policy in this particular easement, It may be why lawsuits have yet to be brought against AMR/DEC to date. The easement language may not be as simple as most seem to think.
Boreas, you remember correctly. The easement gives the AMR this kind of wiggle room to restrict access. They took advantage of the pandemic to force these restrictions down our throats!
They could simply not allow any easement at all, since it IS private property and thus there is never a requirement that the public be allowed on such pieces of land (see mountains in the Catskills high peaks that are no longer open to the public).
What a disappointment. This is public land-the public should be able to access it, end of story. Case in point: the original purpose was not to reduce congestion on 73! It was claimed to be for addressing lack of parking, and if that were the case then drop-offs would be allowed. This is clearly all just covering up that the Ausable Club has some degree of influence and does not want more people walking through their “property”. This is just Intro to Law 101: an easement means that you cannot restrict the public’s access to that portion of your land unless it is stipulated in a clause in the initial document.
I couldn’t agree more. Also if this was truly a concern about traffic congestion we would see movement to help in other locations. I live and work on the so called “ 73 corridor “ and the cascade mountain trail head is mess right above me. With hikers in the road and 100s of cars everywhere lining the road. No golf course there I guess. Also as a Keene resident, why would I need a trailways ticket for access. And if I have one then it’s ok to what? Be dropped off? By who Uber? It is all very frustrating and confusing, it disappoints me most that people are shouting what a success it is when everyone I speak to especially in the outdoor community feels differently.
It is NOT “public land”, it is PRIVATELY owned property.
There is never a requirement to allow public access on such a private property, but they have opted to do so and simply changed what they are allowing, meaning there is less access but still access, rather than simply changing it to no access at all as is the case with many privately owned properties.
See the couple of higher peaks in the Catskills that used to be on the list for that club and are no longer so due to the private ownership revoking public access to them.
As per the DEC website, ‘The recreational opportunities on the Adirondack Mountain Reserve Lands are managed in accordance with the terms of the State’s easement agreement.’ While the AMR cannot arbitrarily ‘change what they are allowing’, I suppose they could revisit the entire agreement with the state.
Perhaps altruism was one of their motivations for entering the original easement agreement but I’m guessing that the massive tax break might have factored in. I don’t think they’ll be looking to abandon it anytime soon.
I’d be surprised if anything changes with a system that, while imperfect, seems to be operating efficiently, even as it is misleadingly titled. It would be also be nice to see an attempt to document/evaluate to what degree it’s original stated mission of protecting ‘property and the ecology of the immediate area from degradation’ has been successful.
Pathetic.
I understand access is on private land, not public land. I understand there is an easement in effect but I haven’t seen the wording to understand the complete impact towards access. Where can I obtain a copy of the easement?
My biggest fear is that if (when) approved this type of restriction could spread to other areas of ADK, limiting access to thousands of hikers, walkers, and sightseer’s.
It could impact a few similarly privately owned spots, but if you look at the map in the story, you’ll see that far more land is green (state owned), so that is not subject to this type of issue, and that is the case all over the region.
I’ll put on the popcorn… again…
Drop offs don’t require parking. If the reservation is for PARKING, hikers WALKING have no need for a parking reservation. Basic common sense. Please re-assess!!
So 17,000 people make a “parking reservation” – almost half of them (7000) don’t show up and they turn away people w/o a reservation. This sounds great for AMR, probably much quieter. This does not seem at all in the spirit (or maybe even the legality) of the easement that NYS taxpayers paid for? The pandemic is over. Get rid of this. First come first serve and just enforce parking restrictions. There is no reason that someone who just gets dropped off needs a parking spot.
That part (the number of reservations being made and not being used) is definitely something that needs a way to be improved.
Perhaps something like an upfront fee that is fully refunded if you use the reservation or cancel it (much like what many hotels do, where you guarantee it so if you fail to show or cancel they can charge you for the room).
Then a way that as those cancellations come in, if others show up without a reservation, they can take one of the spots – might still not avoid all the turn aways, but would probably help for some of them.
I feel I have to jump in on this. The previous comments are spot on as regards drop-offs. If there is no car then why need a permit? And why doesn’t the shuttle service this very important access to the numerous peaks? If the problem is backing up 73, how about a restricted area for a turnaround in the parking area?
Turning away 2,000 people is about that too many.
I feel I have to jump in on this. If the problem is backing up 73, how about a restricted area for a turnaround for the shuttle in the parking area?
Turning away 2,000 people is about that too many.
I thought the $600,000 handed over to OTAK was going solve all the problems. Where did the money go?
The two largest parking areas for hikers are privately owned?, Most of the lots I have used that are on State Land, hold maybe a dozen cars if everyone parks “nice”. Mybe the state of NY should look at that