Adirondacks

The Adirondack Park is a publicly protected, elliptical area encompassing much of the northeastern lobe of Upstate New York. It is the largest park and the largest state-level protected area in the contiguous United States, and the largest National Historic Landmark. The park covers some 6.1 million acres (2.5Γ—106 ha), a land area roughly the size of Vermont and greater than the National Parks of Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, and Great Smoky Mountains combined.

The Adirondack Park boundary, commonly referred to as the ‘Blue Line,’ contains the entire Adirondack Mountain range, as well as some surrounding areas, all within the state of New York. The park includes all of Hamilton and Essex counties, as well as considerable portions of Clinton, Franklin, Fulton, Herkimer, St. Lawrence, and Warren counties and small portions of Lewis, Oneida, Saratoga, and Washington counties as well. (The Clinton County towns of Altona and Dannemora, despite being entirely within the park boundary, are specifically excluded from the park by statute, due to the large prison facilities in both towns.)

Not all of the land within the park is owned by the state, although new sections are frequently purchased or donated. State land comprises 2.7 million acres (1.1Γ—106 ha), about 45% of the park’s area, including the highest peaks in New York State, as well as Mount Marcy, the highest elevation in the state. About 1 million acres (400,000 ha) of this is classified as wilderness, with most of the remainder managed under the somewhat less stringent wild forest classification. Villages and hamlets comprise less than 1% of the area of the park; the remaining area of more than 3 million acres (1.2Γ—106 ha) is privately held but is generally sparsely developed.[3] There is often no clear demarcation between state, private, and wilderness lands in the park. Signs marking the Adirondack Park boundary can be found on most of the major roads in the region, but there are no entrance gates and no admission fee.

Northville-Placid Trail

An interactive map of the Northville Placid Trail, featuring campsites, lean-tos and nearby trails. The Northville–Lake Placid Trail, also known as the NPT, is a lightly traveled foot trail that runs 138 miles through the Central Adirondack Park from Northville to Lake Placid. It was laid out by the Adirondack Mountain Club in 1922 and 1923 and is maintained by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. It is connected to Long Path to the south, which runs through the Mohawk Valley, Heldebergs, Schoharie Valley, Catskill Mountains, Shawgunks and ultimately to George Washington Bridge in New York - New Jersey.

Also available is a printable (Adobe PDF) version of the Northville Placid Trail Maps.

Campsites and Lean-To Coordinates

Here is a listing of Campsites and Lean-To Coordinates.

Trail Road Crossings:

Below is a listing where the Northville - Placid Trail crosses public roads. You can use these coordinates to help find trailheads.

Street City ZIP lng lat
1173 County Road 123 Mayfield 12117 -74.2013797 43.2041425
570 Collins Gifford Vly Northville 12134 -74.2077243 43.2138129
2003 County Road 6 Northville 12134 -74.3116965 43.2475343
2003 County Road 6 Northville 12134 -74.3123703 43.2479095
2003 County Road 6 Northville 12134 -74.4345398 43.373703
1750 State Route 8 Piseco 12139 -74.4959583799054 43.4288730112742
1730 State Route 8 Piseco 12139 -74.496949368311 43.4283456662233
471 Old Piseco Rd Piseco 12139 -74.5241317665044 43.4481265239214
471 Old Piseco Rd Piseco 12139 -74.4911075371203 43.7145566153636
471 Old Piseco Rd Piseco 12139 -74.4627270288044 43.7389165463427
8105 State Route 30 Indian Lake 12842 -74.3865506809112 43.8422133769259
8105 State Route 30 Indian Lake 12842 -74.3843450915841 43.8384297766447
8 Tarbell Hill Ln Long Lake 12847 -74.3925084093623 43.9760341326559
211 Averyville Ln Lake Placid 12946 -74.0136636120448 44.2630681820573

 

 

One of the tallest trees in NY, an Adirondack white pine, has fallen | NCPR News

One of the tallest trees in NY, an Adirondack white pine, has fallen | NCPR News

The white pine was known as Tree 103 and stood among 30-40 other large pines, all between 110-160 ft. tall on about 8 acres of land.

Dr. Justin Waskiewicz, a forest ecologist at Paul Smith's College, says a former professor at the college inspected the grove and dated the trees to 1665, making them more than 350 years old.

Waskiewicz says the oldest known age of a white pine is about 400 years, so the grove is nearing the end of its life. In 2013, the tree with the largest diameter in the grove fell. In 2019, Waskiewicz says "two more giants fell."