BIG ADK Rail Trail User Numbers
The Adirondack Rail Trail, though still unfinished, has already proven its popularity with tourists and locals alike, judging by data from trail counters installed last summer in Lake Placid and Saranac Lake.
The two counters detected nearly 92,000 users between July and December.
“Our numbers stack up with some of the most popular trails in the East,” said Brian Greene, vice chairman of the nonprofit Adirondack Rail Trail Association.
ARTA, who recently hired Julie Goren as its new executive director, installed the counters in July near Old Military Road in Lake Placid and Pine Street in Saranac Lake. Thus, the numbers don’t include people who biked or hiked on the 15-mile section between Saranac Lake and Floodwood Road--which constitutes more than half of the trail that has been open so far.
The currently released data only goes through December so it doesn't take into account winter use by snowmobilers, cross-country skiers and fat bikers.
Finally, most users take round trips, so they likely were counted twice.
Greene acknowledged that the raw numbers don’t tell the whole story. ARTA plans to install more counters along the trail to get better numbers and supplement the data with trailhead surveys. Users will be asked, among other questions, where they’re going, whether they’re biking or walking, and how much money they will spend.
The surveys won’t be conducted until the 34-mile rail trail is finished. Work on the final nine miles, from Floodwood Road to Tupper Lake, was to resume in April and could be finished as early as late summer. Meantime, that section is closed to public.
The data from the counters show that more people used the trail in Saranac Lake (57,291) than in Lake Placid (34,677). Greene attributes this to heavy use by Saranac Lake residents. The trail passes through the heart of the village.
Overall, the busiest month was August, with a count of 25,428. Both July and September also registered more than 20,000 users. Over six months, the devices counted 91,968 users.
Greene said the numbers compare favorably with other bike trails. He sent Bike Adirondacks a link to figures for the Philadelphia region. The city’s popular waterfront trail drew 8,099 cyclists and 12,918 pedestrians in February. Philadelphia has a population of 1.5 million, and no doubt most of these users were locals. The Adirondack Rail Trail, though in a rural area, attracted roughly the same number of users as the Philadelphia trail in each month of summer (and probably more cyclists).
In the fall, ARTA volunteers also made visual observations of trail use. The biggest finding, Greene said, was the “the vast majority of users were riding bicycles.” The observers counted slightly more users than the trail counters did. If people were walking or riding side by side, the devices would count them as one person.
The Department of Environmental Conservation, which manages the rail trail, predicts that usage will increase once the trail is finished and as more people learn about it.
Although the full length of the rail trail will be open to the public this year, DEC will add finishing touches in 2026. These will include signage, benches, and bike racks. The state also plans to rehabilitate the Saranac Lake depot.
Also, the Open Space Institute plans to create a park-like entrance to the trail at the Lake Placid end--with a pavilion, picnic tables, restrooms, and parking lot--next to the former depot (now a history museum).
Additionally, Franklin County recently awarded grants to several businesses to help them capitalize on rail-trail tourism.
An Adirondack Rail Trail Community Day is planned for June 21. Participants can sign up for maintenance projects and scavenger hunts, which will be followed by food and music at Riverside Park in Saranac Lake. Proceeds will benefit ARTA. The nonprofit also is planning a cleanup day in late April.
