Adirondacks Mountains — Must Know Rules & Regulations
- Sammi Leigh
- Feb 11, 2021
- 5 min read
Planning on enjoying the beauty of the Adirondack Park? Here’s a quick guide to everything you should know!
Whether it’s mountains, lakes, or the city of Lake Placid — there’s something for everyone in the Adirondacks. Mountains towering over 5,000’ to hidden crystal blue waters from snow melt. This magical place is full of beauty and hidden treasures.
—How big is the ADK park?—
If you combine Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, the Great Smokies, the Grand Canyon, and even Yosemite — The Adirondacks are still bigger! The ‘blue line’ or boundary of the adk park, totals in at 6.1 million acres, bigger than the size of the state of Vermont!
The Adirondack Park is the only protected state park, in all of the lower 48 states. Under state constitution in 1892, New York made the Park into a protected forest preserve, in which it should stay “forever wild.”
Cascade Mountain, part of the Adirondack 46 Hiking Challenge, was clocked in by the AllTrails App at one of the top 10 most visited hiking trails in the United States in 2020.
The park reports over 7 million tourist each year, with that number steadily growing! The Adirondacks can be challenging, brutal, and especially in the winter, deadly. Most visitors are highly unprepared for conditions to flip in a switch. Unfortunately, with that amount of visitors each year, with only a small team of Rangers, this area is known for an insane amount of rescues. Please be prepared before exploring the backcountry!
—Important Regulations —
Drones — Illegal. Just don’t! The Adirondack park is almost completely a wilderness area and full of big believers in Leave No Trace. We respect wildlife, keep nature forever wild. So forget it at home.
“Drones are motorized equipment and the operation of drones on lands classified as Wilderness, Primitive, or Canoe is prohibited.” — NYS DEC
2017 was the first incident in which a person was ticketed by DEC for using a drone within the Adirondack Park. Here’s the link for more info, https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/outtakes/hiker-pleads-guilty-operating-drone-wilderness
The link below is a MAP, that details specifically in which areas of the park are located. There are VERY small areas in which drones can be flown, but if deciding to do so, please respect the privacy of private landowners! Link to the full set of regulations at the end of this post.
ADK PARK MAP — https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/lands_forests_pdf/adkmap.pdf
Backcountry Camping — Any camping is prohibited within 150 feet of any road, trail, or water source. There is absolutely NO camping above 4000’ or on lower summits, between December 15 to April 21st. Lean-to’s and campsites are available free along hiking trails on a first come first serve basis.
Lean-to’s — You cannot combine a tent and lean-to to make a bigger site. You are not allowed to nail into, carve, or create any damage to a Lean-to. You are allowed to rope up a tarp to close the opening, as long as it’s anchored without any damage to the structure or surrounding trees. While it’s common sense a lean-to is being occupied, technically you cannot claim one, it MUST be shared with other campers along the trail!
*If you have a group number over 10 people, OR plan to stay at the same campsite for more than 3 consecutive days, you need to apply for a permit through DEC!*
There are plenty of local campsite companies open during the spring and summer months. An alternative is booking a campsite, cabin or yurt through the Adirondack Mountain Club! This also directly helps fund the club’s volunteers and workers, like guides, stewards and trail builders. To find a stay with Adk Mountain club, click here — https://www.adk.org/stay/
Backcountry Campfires — Fires should only be lit in existing fire pits or fire ring. Cutting green standing trees is prohibited; You’re allowed to collect down dead wood!
*ALL fires are prohibited above 4000’ and on the EASTERN side of the park!*
Fun Fact- At one point, the Adirondack Park had over 45 Fire towers. A huge Wild fire broke out in 1903. Cascade mountain had such a direct hit, that to this day, it’s still a complete rock open summit. Some of these fire towers are still standing but not used for that purpose. These can be climbed through the Adirondack Fire Tower Hiking Challenge! Check out the challenge here, https://www.adk.org/play/earn-a-patch/fire-tower-challenge/
—Must knows—
Bear Canisters— From April 1 to November 30, NYS DEC requires you use them while staying overnight in the backcountry. All food and toiletries should be locked up in these containers. Highly tested canisters can be costly, you can rent one through your local Eastern Mountain Sports shop! To find a local EMS near you, click here— https://www.ems.com/find-a-store
It’s proven in the Adk Park of 2 different bears, unlocking one of the most reliable bear canisters on the market. Metal canisters are best, while also being suspended 8ft in a tree. This info came directly from an Adirondack Park Ranger.
More info on Bear Canisters in the park, click here — https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7225.html
Winter Traction Devices — When entering the backcountry, ANY area with 8 inches or more of snow, you MUST, wear or have within reach, snowshoes or cross country skis. This is per New York State DEC orders, and they will ticket you in the late winter season without them.
Snowshoes can be a pricey investment, a suggestion for beginners is to first rent a pair! You also can easily rent a pair for $15 a day through your local Eastern Mountain Sports shop! Call ahead and reserve a pair! To find a local EMS near you, click here— https://www.ems.com/find-a-store
Emergency calls— Close to no cell service in the Adirondack Park! Keep this in mind to download offline maps beforehand, but always keep a hard copy typographical map in person. These can be purchased through Adirondack mountain club. Click here to buy your copy, https://www.adk.org/product/high-peaks-adirondack-trail-map/
Locator beacons — While these aren’t a necessity, it’s nice to have a back up. These are devices such as a Garmin or SpotGen, it can be an investment in gear but a total lifesaver in emergency situations in the backcountry! These send out an emergency SOS to alert Rangers for a rescue. They’re completely satellite transmitted, so they work when cellular options aren’t available! Click here for an idea, https://www.ems.com/spot-gen3-satellite-gps-messenger/34907000006.html
The Adirondack Park Rangers have been notoriously cracking down on rules and regulations. Another heads up, Massive crowds have created overuse of parking. Parking issues have lead to road closures and physical towing of your vehicle. Imagine hiking 15 miles to come out to no car! Education here is needed more than ever. To also be prepared, check out parking and back up alternatives before you come! The 7 principles of leave no trace and the 10 essentials to hiking should always be present! If you aren’t familiar with these, check out my previous blog posts!
Info/Links—
For the complete regulations on the park, click here https://www.apa.ny.gov/Documents/Laws_Regs/APSLMP.pdf
New York State DEC, ADK Park,
Adirondack Mountain Club website, https://www.adk.org
Eastern Mountain Sports Website,
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