For Immediate Release: November 28, 2007
Contact:
Andy J. Flynn | Public Relations | Adirondack Park Agency
contact@apa.ny.gov | (518) 327-3000
PAUL SMITHS VIC OPENS TWO CROSS-COUNTRY SKI TRAILS NOV. 28
PAUL SMITHS, NY -- The Adirondack Park Agency Visitor Interpretive Center (VIC) at Paul Smiths opened two trails for cross-country skiing on Wednesday, Nov. 28, launching the visitor center's earliest ski season in several years.
With 6 inches of fresh snow at the snowstick, VIC maintenance crews groomed the 0.8-mile Heron Marsh Trail and 0.7-mile Shingle Mill Falls Trail, which features a pontoon bridge crossing the Heron Marsh. Environmental Educator 3 Mike Brennan tested the trails in the afternoon and returned to the VIC with good news about the trail conditions.
"They're a lot better than I thought they'd be with only 6 inches of snow," Brennan said. "There was even enough cover underneath the evergreen trees, which normally prevent a lot of snow from reaching the trail."
The Heron Marsh and Shingle Mill Falls trails are bark-surfaced, so it doesn't take much snowfall to create cross-country ski trails that can be groomed. When the VIC opens its entire winter trails system, there are about 9.5 miles of snowshoe and cross-country ski trails available for outdoor enthusiasts.
In the past couple of years, cross-country skiing opportunities at the Paul Smiths VIC have been sparse in November and December due to unseasonably warm temperatures. In fact, VIC staff did not open its winter trail system last season until Dec. 28, 2006 with only 3 inches of snow on the ground. And people were forced to walk the trails, not ski, during the annual Chilly Ski Festival on Jan. 14, 2007. This season's Chilly Ski Festival will be held on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2008.
"Since we don't make our snow, the winter recreation opportunities at the VICs are dictated by the whims of Mother Nature," said VIC Senior Public Information Specialist Andy Flynn. "The early snow is a sight for sore eyes. There are plenty of residents and visitors looking to go skiing as soon as possible every season, and this is good news for skiers. Now we just need more snow for the snowshoers."
The Newcomb VIC, which features 3.6 miles of snowshoe trails and no cross-country ski trails in the winter, currently has 2 inches of snow and is not yet open for snowshoeing. Walking is permitted.
The New York State Adirondack Park Agency operates two VICs, in Paul Smiths and Newcomb, which are open year-round from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Christmas and Thanksgiving. They offer a wide array of educational programs, miles of interpretive trails and visitor information services. Admission is free.
The Paul Smiths VIC is located 12 miles north of Saranac Lake on Route 30. For more information about the VICs, log on to the centers’ Web site at www.adkvic.org.