With a blue sky peaking through the clouds overhead and only six people sharing the back country trails of the High Peaks in the Adirondacks with us, one would normally be shocked to see the trails this empty on such a beautiful day. However, given the 40 mile per hour winds practically pulling my fellow hikers and I off Skylight Mountain's exposed summit, the two feet of snow we fought through to arrive here, and the average temperature for the week somewhere between -10 and -30 degrees Fahrenheit, winter in the Adirondacks is no walk in the park.
Be it guides, gift shops, or water parks, a large part of the economy in the park is supported by tourism. Of the 10 million visitors the park annually receives, 100,000 of them are seasonal residents come to live on the private land within the park's boundaries. The remaining visitors may be drawn to the scenic and historic towns and lakes spread throughout the park, but the main attraction is Lake Placid and the High Peaks region of the northeastern section of the Adirondacks. Boasting a fully equipped winter Olympic Stadium that hosted the games in 1932 and 1980, Lake Placid is a central hub for sports fans and outdoorsy people alike. It is only a 15 minute drive from the sports complex to the Adirondack Loj, one of the central outposts into the High Peaks wilderness. Come to this region on any weekend in the summer, and you'll meet dozens of friends hiking along the trail.
However, as soon as the nights turn chilly and frost coat the tent, the number of people on the trails and within the Adirondacks drastically drops. Between September 1 and March 31, a period of seven months, the park experiences only 40% of its total annual visitors. Where as within the three months between June 1 and August 31, 49% of the yearly tourists visit the park. Whenever I am in the Adirondacks, I notice the versatility of the companies fighting to survive. With too few people exploring the park in the winter, residents and companies must adjust to the change in economic demand. Many companies that cater towards outdoor summer sports, such as canoeing and paddle boarding, hide their snow mobiles for rent until the winter, when they switch over and cater towards winter recreation sports. The ingenuity is all for naught if no one is there to buy the gear, though, and increasing tourism in the winter months is a constant battle against the elements. In order to survive, Adirondackers need to find a new pull to the wilderness that does not include sleeping in -30 degrees. Maybe the Olympics need to make a third round through the park in order to reinvigorate the winter spirit.
Work Cited:
Adirondack Forest Preserve Visitor Survey Summary:
http://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.esf.edu/nywild/publications/docs/Visitor-study-summary.pdf&sa=U&ei=YsrPVLGgFoubyQTz04CoDg&ved=0CCEQFjAB&sig2=2eMq9rPD18NEcmKzYJBweA&usg=AFQjCNEdsADU_6tYvNEoWdeZ3rPseuCzVQ
Lake Placid: Olympic Center and Lake Placid Museum:
http://www.lakeplacid.com/do/family-fun/olympic-center-and-lake-placid-olympic-museum
The Adirondacks. Schneider, P. 1997.
Businesses in the Adirondacks are clearly dependent on summertime visitors to survive, but I wonder what other events or activities could held in the park that to help keep businesses afloat in the winter. A third winter Olympics in Lake Placid probably isn't feasible because of how much larger of an operation that the Olympics have become since 1980 and a lack of facilities in the Adirondacks that can meet the needs of a host city in today's world. Lake Placid already hosts many winter sports events every year, so perhaps more events like ADK's Winterfest or the Mountaineer's Mountainfest and Backcountry Ski Festival can bring in more visitors with an outdoor recreation focus.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised that as many as 40% of the park's visitors make it there in the winter! There definitely seems to be a pretty big draw from the winter mountain sports in the more populated areas of the park where they have the infrastructure to support such an economy. I'm almost jealous of the isolated winter wonderland that the Adirondacks must be in the "off-season". While businesses built around tourism struggle with the decreasing numbers of visitors in the off season, the empty park itself had its own appeal. All parks struggle with seasonal shifts and they make it through one way or another. I feel like the cycle of the park visitors is part of the beast, as unavoidable as the cycle of the seasons.
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