High Peaks Sustainable Trails Make Progress 

August 10, 2023 — Lake Placid, NY — ADK’s (Adirondack Mountain Club’s) professional trail crew has made progress on three sustainable trail projects in and around the High Peaks Wilderness. Located at Avalanche Lake and Slant Rock, each project improves both hiker safety and the protection of surrounding ecosystems. 

Funded by the Adirondack 46ers, the projects at Avalanche Lake and Slant Rock are multi-year efforts to develop sustainable trails in the heart of the High Peaks Wilderness. As major thoroughfares for hikers and backpackers, both regions see significant use during the peak season. 

“This generous donation for 2023 totaling $90,000 is one of the many ways that the Adirondack 46ers continues to support other organizations in and around the Adirondacks who share our goals of wilderness protection through education, trail maintenance and conservation,” said Laurie Rankin, Adirondack 46ers President. “We are grateful to all of our members for their continued support that makes these donations possible.” 

“These are high use trails that have seen severe erosion and flooding over the last decade,” said Charlotte Staats, ADK Trails Manager. “We have spent the last few years restructuring and, in some cases, relocating the trails to ensure that they are capable of withstanding high use and major weather events.” 

Support by the Adirondack 46ers has been key for these projects. Over the last twenty years, the Adirondack 46ers have invested over $500,000 in ADK’s trails program Their commitment to supporting trail projects has also scaled with increases in visitor use, with around $400,000 of that support coming over the last decade when visitation has been the highest. 

To learn more about ADK’s trail work, visit ADK.org/trail-work.