Adirondack trails begin reopening after severe July floods, tornadoes

Storm damage forces indefinite closure of Lake George Islands Campground

By Lauren Yates

Most state trails and recreation areas in the Adirondack region are recovering and reopening after a barrage of July storms flooded mountains, rivers, roads and basements.

Lake George’s Million Dollar beach has reopened after a temporary closure from heightened levels of the bacteria Escherichia coli, or E. coli, in the water after this past Tuesday’s storms – which included tornadoes that touched down in Warren, Oneida and Hamilton counties just a few days after Hurricane Beryl ripped up roads in Essex County.

Roads to the Hinckley Reservoir Day Use Area in Cold Brook, Herkimer County have also reopened after Tuesday’s storms left them damaged and impassable. 

But the Lake George Islands campgrounds, which sustained extensive damage in Tuesday’s storms, are closed indefinitely. The DEC said the storm knocked down between 200 to 300 trees, damaged seven docks and 47 campsites on eight different islands, and displaced some campers who were on site during the storm. The DEC had to cancel more than 60 incoming camping reservations. 

According to a DEC spokesperson, two campsites on Hatchet Island and seven on Floating Battery Island will reopen July 24.

The rest of the impacted campsites on Cooper, Duran, Floating Battery, Sagamore, and St. Sacrament islands will remain closed until at least July 30.

Affected trails in the ADK

In the Adirondack backcountry, storms left trails and access roads flooded, muddy and even impassable. 

Beaver Pond Road in the Watson’s East Triangle Wild Forest in the western Adirondacks is washed out and closed, as is Madawaska Road in Santa Clara. 

The Boreas Ponds Tract in Essex County is open, including motor vehicle traffic to the Four Corners parking area at the intersection of Gulf Brook and Boreas roads. The state repaired Gulf Brook Road a few years ago after suffering washouts and other damage during the historic 2019 Halloween storm.

The Garden trailhead in Keene Valley has reopened after a temporary closure from storm damage. But at the Mr. Van Ski Trail, beavers have expanded their home base and flooded portions of the trail, which is currently closed. Hikers should use the South Meadows Trail instead, according to the DEC.

This month’s storms also flooded, eroded and washed out portions of the Roaring Brook trail to Giant Mountain along Beede Brook. Summit stewards with the Adirondack Mountain Club, or ADK – a nonprofit outdoor organization specializing in backcountry education, trail maintenance and stewardship – shared photos of flooded forest undergrowth exposed roots along the trail.

ADK interim Executive Director Julia Goren said that July’s storms have exemplified scientists’ predictions for warmer and wetter weather across the region as climate change intensifies.

“They’re dumping more rain in a short period of time,” Goren said of the storms – and more rain means more flooding and erosion on trails.  

“All water crossings were impassable immediately following storms, and that’s a pattern people should expect,” Goren said. “Long-term, the Adirondack Park needs an investment in sustainable trail infrastructure to be able to withstand this type of storm, which we know will only be more and more frequent.”

Trails in the backcountry could still be muddy this week, according to ADK’s most recent backcountry update. Hikers should travel directly through mud to avoid widening trails and creating more damage.

Update on July 26

From the DEC’s weekly Outdoor Conditions Report:

• Northville-Placid Trail/Silver Lake Wilderness: Significant storm damage exists along the Northville-Placid Trail between Buckhorn Lake and Hamilton Lake Stream Lean-to. Hikers will encounter large areas of wind-thrown and tangled trees. Sections of the trail in this area are difficult to follow. Navigating around the storm damaged areas will add considerable time to trips. DEC staff has flagged a route around the worst areas and will work to remove the blowdown and restore trail conditions.
• Black River Wild Forest: Sand Lake Falls Trail, just past the parking area for the Gull Lake trail, has significant blowdown and may be impassable.
• High Peaks Wilderness: There is heavy blowdown on Beaver Meadow Trail above the falls to the AMR boundary.
• Rock Climbing Route Closures: As of 7/23, Crane Mountain is the only area with remaining closures; all other areas and routes are now fully open.

Check the DEC’s website for a full list of current and active backcountry updates and closures.

Water runoff risks

Intense summer storms pose concerns for water recreation, too, and not just by raising water levels and intensifying rapids. 

Brendan Wiltse, chief scientist at the Adirondack Watershed Institute, said developed shorelines like those along Lake Champlain and the Million Dollar beach – particularly those dotted with wastewater treatment plants and stormwater systems – are at risk of increasing E. coli levels as storms overwhelm these systems and push excessive runoff into waterways. E. coli in water is typically an indicator of sewage or animal waste contamination,  according to the U.S. Geological Survey. 

But in the Adirondacks, Wiltse said scientists are more concerned with the flush of nitrogen and phosphorus that can runoff from shorelines – both developed and undeveloped – into the Park’s lakes. 

On a sunny, warm and still day, heightened levels of these nutrients can brew Harmful Algal Blooms, or HABs – colonies of algae that can be toxic to people, pets and wildlife. Wiltse said the AWI is now on the lookout for HABs, but he believes cooler weather in recent weeks hasn’t provided the conditions lakes need to bloom. 

The AWI has fielded an increasing number of HABs reports in recent years, including reports of HABs on Lake Colby in Saranac Lake, Mirror Lake in Lake Placid and Upper and Lower Saranac Lake, among others. However, Wiltse said it’s currently unclear if the increase in reports points to an increase in HABs or an increase in public awareness of the blooms.