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8/4/05
Fewer people tramping through High Peaks
By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press Writer
ALBANY — Foot traffic through the Adirondack High Peaks has dropped sharply in recent years — a period when recreational regulations were tightened in the wilderness area and fewer backpackers hit the trails nationally.
A tally from trailhead registers show 94,051 people visiting the High Peaks last year, roughly on par with 2003. But visits were down from the first three years of this decade, when the number of registered users never dipped below 106,000. Figures are also down dramatically from historic highs in the late ‘90s, according to state Department of Environmental Conservation figures
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Rugged and beautiful, the High Peaks are considered a jewel of the 6 million acre forest preserve and encompass some of the most popular Adirondack attractions.
Anything from the weather to the economy can create year-to-year fluctuations in visitors. But state environmental officials attribute much of the multi-year dip to the phasing in of tighter land-use restrictions in the High Peaks beginning in 1999. The rules, among other things, banned camping in the highest regions and instituted a limit of 15 people for day-use parties.
While advocates once feared that busloads of tourists were trampling the ecologically sensitive area, DEC spokeswoman Maureen Wren said visits are now being kept to a manageable level under the land-use restrictions.
"That was among the intentions of DEC’s management efforts — to distribute visitors to the Adirondacks more evenly throughout areas of the forest preserve, which all offer great, unique recreational opportunities," Wren wrote in an e-mail.
Wren noted trail registration figures show steady or increasing visits in recent years at other wilderness areas, including the Sentinel Range and Hurricane Mountain. The state could not provide trail registrations for the entire Adirondack Park.
Trailhead registrations are not an absolute measure of land use — a portion of the hikers and campers fail to sign them. But Wren said state officials see them as a useful management tool to keep track of trends.
Adirondack advocates agreed that limits on group sizes and other High Peaks restrictions contributed to the drop. But they suggested other reasons as well.
Phil Corell of the Adirondack 46er’s added some hikers and campers recently have been spooked by black bear incidents in the area.
Neil Woodworth of the Adirondack Mountain Club believes other factors behind the drop-off are demographic — from younger people with competing demands on their time to the popularity of kayaking and mountain biking, which would draw enthusiasts to other wilderness areas.
He cited a recent report from the Outdoor Industry Association, which found a 23 percent decline in backpacking between 1998 and 2004, despite an overall increase in outdoor activities over the period.
"I think part of it is changes in American leisure time," Woodworth said.
Corell noted there has been no drop in the number of people climbing all 46 major peaks in the Adirondacks. There were 210 climbers who bagged all their peaks last year, a higher-than-average number.
Woodworth added many of the High Peaks visitors during the boom years of the late ‘90s were Canadians. He noted it’s not as convenient to travel down from Montreal as it was before the Sept. 11 attacks.
"Frankly," he said, "it is harder to get across the international border."
Fewer people tramping through High Peaks
By MICHAEL HILL, Associated Press Writer
ALBANY — Foot traffic through the Adirondack High Peaks has dropped sharply in recent years — a period when recreational regulations were tightened in the wilderness area and fewer backpackers hit the trails nationally.
A tally from trailhead registers show 94,051 people visiting the High Peaks last year, roughly on par with 2003. But visits were down from the first three years of this decade, when the number of registered users never dipped below 106,000. Figures are also down dramatically from historic highs in the late ‘90s, according to state Department of Environmental Conservation figures
ADVERTISEMENT
Rugged and beautiful, the High Peaks are considered a jewel of the 6 million acre forest preserve and encompass some of the most popular Adirondack attractions.
Anything from the weather to the economy can create year-to-year fluctuations in visitors. But state environmental officials attribute much of the multi-year dip to the phasing in of tighter land-use restrictions in the High Peaks beginning in 1999. The rules, among other things, banned camping in the highest regions and instituted a limit of 15 people for day-use parties.
While advocates once feared that busloads of tourists were trampling the ecologically sensitive area, DEC spokeswoman Maureen Wren said visits are now being kept to a manageable level under the land-use restrictions.
"That was among the intentions of DEC’s management efforts — to distribute visitors to the Adirondacks more evenly throughout areas of the forest preserve, which all offer great, unique recreational opportunities," Wren wrote in an e-mail.
Wren noted trail registration figures show steady or increasing visits in recent years at other wilderness areas, including the Sentinel Range and Hurricane Mountain. The state could not provide trail registrations for the entire Adirondack Park.
Trailhead registrations are not an absolute measure of land use — a portion of the hikers and campers fail to sign them. But Wren said state officials see them as a useful management tool to keep track of trends.
Adirondack advocates agreed that limits on group sizes and other High Peaks restrictions contributed to the drop. But they suggested other reasons as well.
Phil Corell of the Adirondack 46er’s added some hikers and campers recently have been spooked by black bear incidents in the area.
Neil Woodworth of the Adirondack Mountain Club believes other factors behind the drop-off are demographic — from younger people with competing demands on their time to the popularity of kayaking and mountain biking, which would draw enthusiasts to other wilderness areas.
He cited a recent report from the Outdoor Industry Association, which found a 23 percent decline in backpacking between 1998 and 2004, despite an overall increase in outdoor activities over the period.
"I think part of it is changes in American leisure time," Woodworth said.
Corell noted there has been no drop in the number of people climbing all 46 major peaks in the Adirondacks. There were 210 climbers who bagged all their peaks last year, a higher-than-average number.
Woodworth added many of the High Peaks visitors during the boom years of the late ‘90s were Canadians. He noted it’s not as convenient to travel down from Montreal as it was before the Sept. 11 attacks.
"Frankly," he said, "it is harder to get across the international border."
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