Adirondack Hamlets to Huts: a new hut system

By Sam Demas, August 2016

A new hut system, Adirondack Hamlets to Huts, appears to be coming together quickly.  In 2015 the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) contacted Joe Dadey and Jack Drury to request that they propose and help to “fast-track” the implementation of a hut system in the Adirondack Park.   In response to the DEC’s invitation, they produced a “Conceptual Plan for a Hut-to-Hut Destination-based Trail System” analyzing and ranking 26 potential routes.  I  reported on this plan last month.

Last week I visited Jack, Joe, and their colleague Duane Gould in Saranac Lake, N.Y. to learn more about their plans and aspirations.  What follows is a summary of what they are planning and some of the challenges and opportunities they face.  See my separate Profile of Jack and Joe for more background on the folks behind this exciting venture.

The DEC press release announcing this concept provides an overview of the state agency’s reasons for partnering to encourage development of the first hut system in New York State. This effort appears to be part of a larger initiative by NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo to make the Adirondack Park an international tourist destination.

Jack and Joe are now busy narrowing the choices and incorporating a non-profit called “Adirondack Hamlets to Huts” to implement the first choice and all future routes. If all goes well, they will open the first of many Adirondack Hamlets to Huts routes in Summer 2017.

The Hamlets to Huts concept

Hamlets to Huts grew out of the ongoing Adirondack Community-based Trails and Lodging System initiative, funded by the NYS Department of State. The general concept is to expand the tourist economy in rural communities, to provide health and wellness opportunities in the Adirondacks, and to broaden the constituency for protecting the Adirondacks by providing environmentally sound nature immersion experiences accessible to more people. The plan is build a series of hut to hut circuits and traverses by utilizing existing trails and lodging, and to connect them as necessary by building new trails and lodging. The idea is to connect hamlets in the five towns area with trails providing a spectrum of lodging types ranging from more primitive, self-service options (e.g. platform tents, yurts, etc.) to more upscale, full-service options (e.g. existing lodges, B&B’s, rental cabins, etc.). The concept includes luggage transfer and pickup/transfer services.  Each walk or ski trip ideally starts and ends with an overnight stay in one of the five towns in the region. The concept of connecting trail communities is seen as both an economic development and an environmental conservation scheme.

Which route first?

Jack and Joe are committed to providing a truly outstanding hiking experience for their first Adirondack Hamlets to Huts route, as well as one that is fairly easy to implement, that will operate flawlessly, and that will result in an impressive “proof of concept”.  Among the 26 options outlined in their “Conceptual Plan for a Hut-to-Hut Destination-based Trail System”, options 1 & 2, detailed on p. 12-20 of their report, are deemed the “low-hanging fruit”. Following is a very brief summary:

Option 1 is a 5-night, 4-day circuit connecting the hamlets of Indian Lake and North Creek. It involves three days of hiking, averaging 9 miles per day, and one-day of whitewater rafting 23 miles down the beautiful Hudson River Gorge. Several options exist for added day hikes along the way. Lodging already exists for this unique walking and blueway/waterway circuit, and only 4.5 miles of new trail construction is required to connect existing trails. Lodgings include an overnight stay (third night) in the quiet village of Indian Lake.

Option 2 is a 6-night, 5-day, 38 mile traverse averaging 7.5 miles of hiking daily and offering a scenic canoe ride at one stop along the way. Passing through the heart of the High Peaks area of the Adirondacks, this option offers access to many peaks, spectacular views, passing by many lakes, and sites of great historical interest. While this option offers a wide range of existing lodging options, it would be necessary to build one lodging facility in the vicinity of the Camp Santanoni Historic Area. It would also be necessary to build six miles of connecting trail.

Challenges and opportunities

From my perspective, the prospects for success in this venture are very good. Adirondack Hamlets to Huts has great strengths and opportunities as they move ahead, and like any startup, they face challenges:

• Opportunities/strengths:
  • Jack and Joe have worked closely with state and local officials, have conducted numerous public discussion forums, have carefully tailored their plans to local needs and realities, and appear to have generated widespread understanding of and support for what they are trying to do.
  • The principals (Joe and Jack) are seasoned outdoor recreation professionals with a deep knowledge of the Adirondacks.
  • The state of New York seems to recognize the domestic and international potential of hut systems, and is committed to economic development in the communities within the Adirondack Park.
  • The DEC and Department of State appear to be keenly interested in the potential of hut system development.  They are providing funding to ensure that planning is thorough and trail communities are involved.
  • The 6,000,000 acre Adirondack Park is a patchwork of public and private land, which actually provides flexibility in siting lodging on trails.
  • The Park already contains many existing trails, forest roads, and structures, all of which are “infrastructure lying in wait” for future hut and trail systems.
  • The Park contains many hamlets with significant existing tourism infrastructure and expertise, and which are anxious to capitalize on these assets.
  • There is a broad based understanding that it is essential to simultaneously promote, preserve, and protect the historical and cultural features, and the inherent natural beauty and superb environmental features of the Adirondacks.
  • Article XIV of the NYS Constitution (see excerpt below) provides a high level of environmental protection for the Adirondack Park.
  • Existing community management structures appear to be adaptable to ensure a proper balance of economic development and environmental protection and preservation.
  • Option 1 trail is located partly along the North Country National Scenic Trail, a growing national trail which is poised to get much more foot traffic.

• Challenges:
  • Article XIV of the NYS Constitution (see excerpt below) provides a high level of environmental protection for the Adirondack Park, and has been interpreted to prohibit the construction of closed structures on any State Lands in the Forest Preserve. It is only possible to obtain permits for structures that will need to be removed for parts of every year (as is the case in some US National Forests). This could limit the economic viability (i.e. number of permissible seasons of operation) of a hut system in certain parts of the Park.
  • Some existing trails will need to be improved to meet quality standards, and some additional connector trails must be built. It is not yet clear (at least to me) who would be responsible for trail building and for ongoing trail maintenance.  A hut system that assumes the expense of trail building and ongoing trail maintenance may be assuming an unsustainable financial burden.
  • The five environmental organizations in the region need to bring themselves up to speed on how to assess the environmental impact of hut systems. This is a real challenge because the research studies needed to document these impacts and to compare them with other forms of overnight backcountry stays has yet to be done in USA.
  • Making a hut-to-hut system affordable for families and young people, a challenge everywhere.

Current status and next steps

Adirondack Hamlets to Huts is in the process of being formally incorporated in summer 2016. Conversations are underway about which of the two options to select as a first route, along with discussion of how to get connecting trails built in the current trail-building season.

Adirondack Hamlets to Huts is sharing office and storefront space with the Biodiversity Research Institute’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation. This gives both organizations a public face in downtown Saranac Lake.

The decision on which option to choose in the Five Towns region and how to move forward with fast track implementation will be made by the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation in consultation with Jack and Joe and community leaders and organizations in the region

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Addendum: Excerpts from Article XIV of the NY State Constitution:

Section 1: The lands of the state, now owned or hereafter acquired, constituting the forest preserve as now fixed by law, shall be forever kept as wild forest lands.

Section 4: The policy of the state shall be to conserve and protect its natural resources and scenic beauty and encourage the development and improvement of its agricultural lands for the production of food and other agricultural products. The legislature, in implementing this policy, shall include adequate provision for the abatement of air and water pollution and of excessive and unnecessary noise, the protection of agricultural lands, wetlands and shorelines, and the development and regulation of water resources. The legislature shall further provide for the acquisition of lands and waters, including improvements thereon and any interest therein, outside the forest preserve counties, and the dedication of properties so acquired or now owned, which because of their natural beauty, wilderness character, or geological, ecological or historical significance, shall be preserved and administered for the use and enjoyment of the people. Properties so dedicated shall constitute the state nature and historical preserve and they shall not be taken or otherwise disposed of except by law enacted by two successive regular sessions of the legislature.