Owner International Paper reaches tentative agreement with operator Paul Smith’s for another season at Adirondack campground for people with disabilities
By Mike Lynch
Operators of John Dillon Park, an Adirondack campground for people with disabilities, are confident of a mid-June opening.
Paul Smith’s College, which manages the park, and landowner International Paper (IP) have “agreed in principle to a lease extension for the 2024 season,” said IP spokeswoman Amy Simpson.
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“We’re quite pleased with the direction conversations are taking with IP,” said Paul Smith’s College Interim President Dan Kelting. “With that said, we’ve decided to open John Dillon Park for the season in good faith. We look forward to reaching an agreement that serves the best interest of our community and guests of the park.”
The two entities have worked together on the park since it opened in 2006, but had been unable to come to terms for a contract to open this season until last week. An impasse caused the start of camping season to be lost.
Without a contract to run the park, Paul Smith’s College canceled camping reservations a couple of weeks ago from its scheduled opening of Memorial Day. The park’s online reservation system, which was shut down in early April, now shows it’s taking bookings as of June 14.
“Our goal is to keep the park open for the 2024 season and beyond, and we are continuing discussions with (Paul Smith’s College) toward the future of the park,” Simpson said.
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The college has told the Explorer it is seeking a multi-year commitment from IP, considered the largest pulp and paper company in the world. When the facility opened, the college and paper company had a 15-year deal, but they’ve been operating on a series of one-year contracts since then.
A 10-minute drive from the town of Long Lake, the 200-acre John Dillon Park offers fishing, kayaking and backcountry camping and day-trip opportunities for people with disabilities. It has more than 3 miles of accessible trails, in addition to nine lean-tos and one tent site for people with disabilities. It’s located on Grampus Lake. Campers use the facilities for free and receive assistance from park staff.
Operations are paid through an endowment fund set up for the park.
The park’s outreach coordinator Jason Thurston is a quadriplegic with limited arm function. He has frequently used the facilities and has been urging the parties to come to terms.
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“I am relieved to tears, knowing that we will be open and hopefully I will be healthy in time to enjoy it,” said Thurston, who has been battling a serious infection this spring.
Jan Fitzgerald, a member of the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s accessibility committee, said she’s thrilled the college is running the campground and that it will open this summer. She lauded the venue for being a place people with disabilities can feel comfortable in a wilderness setting.
“It’s safe and in harmony with the out-of-doors,” said Fitzgerald, who lives in the northern Adirondacks.
I’m glad to see they came to an agreement to open the park. People with disabilities deserve an opportunity to experience the kind of wilderness camping this facility provides.
I was one of the original design contributors on the project back in 2004 and 2005. I’m also a quadriplegic, and I know firsthand the immense mentally and physically therapeutic benefits you receive as a person with a disability when you can independently enjoy such a beautiful place like this. It’s hard to believe it’s been over 20 years now, and to think even further, how far we have come as a society. It was 1991 with a passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act that even brought the idea of improving public accessibility into mainstream thought. We have certainly come a long way, and although there are always a few complainers, all in all, people with disabilities have a lot of opportunities in this country to be thankful for. Opportunities people living in other parts of the world can’t even dream of. Only in America!