Elk Lake trailhead

[tgoodwin]

Read carefully so you don't ask any unnecessary questions:

Per the conservation easement agreement with Elk Lake Lodge, the Gate at Clear Pond will be closed to Public Motor Vehicles as of Oct. 12 and will not open until after mud season in May of 2022. Hikers will need to park at the Upper Elk Lake Road Parking Lot on the west side of the Elk Lake Road approximately 2.3 miles south of the Elk Lake Parking Lot and Trailhead. From the evening of Oct. 22 until the morning of Dec. 6, no hikers may enter the Elk Lake Conservation Easement.

[DSettahr]

I thought I read this carefully but it turns out I didn't... and I was confused. So point of even further clarification for those lacking reading comprehension skills such as myself:

Between 10/12 and the evening of 10/22, vehicles may not drive beyond the Clear Pond gate but foot access up the road and across the easement is still permitted.

Between the evening of 10/22 and the morning of 12/6, neither vehicles nor hikers traveling on foot are permitted beyond the Clear Pond gate.

Starting on 12/6 and lasting through the winter/spring until an as of yet undetermined date, vehicles may not drive beyond the Clear Pond gate but foot access up the road and across the easement is still permitted.

BTW, the "Upper Elk Lake Lot" is not the parking lot right at the trailheads for the Dix Range and Panther Gorge, but is rather the lot just before the Clear Pond Gate. For some reason, the DEC decided to name the middle of the three trailhead parking lots on Elk Lake Road the "Upper Lot."

[MTVhike]

I do find that naming funny, because it is actually lower (1960 feet) than the one near the Lodge (2040 feet).

[2505]

Is the closure closure for hunting season? Biked once from the furthest out lot, well south of Clear Pond a couple of years ago when the TH lot was full and CL was closed for some reason.

Are ski considered 'foot access'?

[DSettahr]

Yes, skis are permitted when the road is "foot access only."