The tracks outside Saranac Lake. Photo by Susan Bibeau.

Jim McCulley traveled to Albany this week to testify against the state’s continuing subsidization of the Adirondack Scenic Railroad. A short article in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise generated a lot of online comments from readers. Click here to read the article.

McCulley, the president of the Lake Placid Snowmobile Club, wants to see all or most of the tracks pulled up to create a corridor for biking, hiking, and snowmobiling. Snowmobilers do use the corridor, but McCulley says the rails and ties limit its usefulness.

Proponents of the train argue that removing the tracks would be shortsighted at a time when the nation is, or should be, embracing mass transit to reduce our dependence on oil. But is reviving the train a for freight and/or passenger service a realistic option? That’s a question that we will look at in a future issue of the Adirondack Explorer.

For background on converting the railbed into a recreational corridor, see this earlier story in the Explorer.

The map sells for $4.95

Many tourists heading for the High Peaks may not realize that much of the Champlain Valley lies within the Adirondack Park and that it offers plenty of outdoor recreation. The next issue of the Explorer will carry an article on hiking trails near Elizabethtown. Kayakers and bicyclists might be interested in a recreational map of northern Lake Champlain published this spring by Huntington Graphics of Vermont.

 ”Bike and Kayak Map for Northern Lake Champlain,” which is in color, sells for $4.95. It describes seventeen paddling routes (six starting in New York) and thirteen road-bike routes (five in New York).

The map shows only the put-ins for kayak trips. The destinations on the New York side are Point Au Roche, Long Point, Valcour Island, Ausable Point (and the Ausable River delta), Schuyler Island, and Willsboro Bay. My main criticism is that it omits the paddle around Split Rock and past the stunning Palisades, which can be done from Westport or Whallon Bay. However, the Palisades can be seen on one of the Vermont trips.

The bike routes are highlighted in yellow. Those on the New York side range from 12.4 to 38.3 miles. The longest actually is a two-state trip, requiring ferry rides between Port Kent and Burlington and between Essex and Charlotte. I’ve done this, and while it is a great trip, you should be prepared for traffic south of Burlington. The trip I would find most appealing is a 29.5-mile ride through the hills of Essex and Lewis. An easier trip follows the Ausable River west of Keeseville (12.4 miles). The other two New York rides explore the rural countryside near Plattsburgh (23.5 miles) and Peru (19.2 miles).