LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 32 Looking back at my life so far, nearly every good thing seems to have mountain bike tire tracks all over it. This adventure started when I was twelve and a friend led me through a local trail where we grew up in rural Massachusetts. I can still picture the dappled light coming through the pines, casting the trail in a bit of mystery. Rather than feeling strange or foreign, that trail instantly felt like home. I knew I'd found something special. Little did I know just how much it would shape my life. Over the last 27 years, mountain biking has brought me to incredible places and created deep connections with special people. It's also been a massive part of making the Adirondacks feel like home. While mountain biking had exploded elsewhere in the '90s, riding opportunities inside the Adirondack Park were almost nonexistent before the Barkeater Trails Alliance (BETA) formed in 2010. By 2012, BETA was responsible for nearly 20 miles of trails in Lake Placid and Wilmington. Some of those miles were existing trails on private land. Seven miles were at Hardy Road, the organization's first trail project on state land. Since then, BETA has been wildly success- ful, building and maintaining over 125 miles of bike, ski, and multi-use trails in the High Peaks Region. It's grown into a professional and highly organized com- munity organization. In parallel with BETA's growth, other organizations, such as Adirondack Foothills Trails Alliance (AFTA), Upper Hudson Trails Alliance (UHTA), and Chasm Riders, have created significant networks in The Town of Webb (Old Forge), Caroga, Long Lake, Brant Lake, Chestertown, North Creek, and Keeseville, with more on the way. In fifteen years, we've gone from nearly zero mountain bike opportunities to hundreds of miles of high-quality trails. Building new trails on state land in New York brings a major challenge: time. Approval for these projects typically requires an amendment to that area's Unit Management Plan, which only comes up for review every ten to twenty years. Years! Trail organizations hoping to build on state land must plan far into the future, exercising a mix of persistence and patience. From this challenge, trail organizations around the Adirondacks have created opportunities by seeking out tracts owned by towns, counties, and land trusts. Planning and approval for projects on these lands are much simpler and don't require decades of patience. Land managers are typically thrilled to create recre- ational opportunities in their local communities. Trails enhance the lives of both locals and visitors. They allow people to enjoy nature, recreate with friends, and generally live happier and healthier lives. Many re- cent trail projects throughout the park have received municipal funding through local grants and commu- nity enhancement funds. BETA is currently improving trails at Craig Wood and Scott's Cobble with signifi- cant funding from the Town of North Elba. The Town of Keene has given from its community enhancement fund two years in a row to support the expansion of the East Branch Community Trails. The increasing professionalism of trail organizations and the growing support from towns and municipal- ities have created a snowball effect on project fund- ing opportunities, both private donors and grants. In 2024, the DEC Smart Growth Grants awarded nearly a million dollars to trail projects in the Adirondacks. Noteworthy mountain bike projects include the East Tire Tracks and Transformations: A Love Letter to Mountain Biking in the Adirondacks By Patrick Carey Photo Credit: Rachel Carey

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