Reservation System At Popular NY Trailhead

[DayTrip]

Some good follow up info in this article:
https://www.adirondackexplorer.org/...fYPkZ_GqXYI6vDb7yqmybdki-FIyc4tmTUZaamW4fW4to

 

[skiguy]

I meant other trailheads in NY like the Garden or the Loj, as well as other states like NH, ME, etc.

There already is a parking fee at the Loj and The Garden. Reservations can't be far behind. Bring it along sooner than later at Pinkam Notch, Appalachia, Falling Waters and Lincoln Woods!

 

[DayTrip]

There already is a parking fee at the Loj and The Garden. Reservations can't be far behind. Bring it along sooner than later at Pinkam Notch, Appalachia, Falling Waters and Lincoln Woods!

I know. Paying a parking fee and needing a reservation are two different things.

 

[skiguy]

I know. Paying a parking fee and needing a reservation are two different things.

Absolutely..but if your going to have to pay to park why not have it reserved in advance.

 

[Mike P.]

Everyone going to climb Mt Katahdin in Maine has to have a day use parking reservation or a campsite reservation in the park, this system has been in place for quite a while. The system had bugs early on but seems to work well these days. I hear far more complaints about the dog ban than the day use parking system. Folks have a choice, book a spot far in advance or take their chances as the date approaches or show up at the gate in the AM. If there are open slots in the AM the gate sells the open slots and then waits until 7:30 when they resell the passes of no shows. There is also the side benefit that the 7:30 AM cut off for reserved passes encourages hikers to set off earlier in the day which cuts down on hikers running out of daylight. To further the insult to some, they have to pay a road fee if they are not a Maine resident to drive on the park roads.

The claim is the day use fee was established as the cost of administering it but given its largely managed electronically and by the staff at Togue Pond gate, I suspect its really just a additional revenue stream.

I was unaware of the change at BSP for Katahdin, does that apply to hiking the other peaks within the park? Maybe on the way back from the Allagash I could end up at the gate. Since the Roaring Brook lot is also for South Turner, it would probably be, at least, any lot that services a Katahdin trailhead.

On DT's post, I assume he means the High Peaks Info Center at Heart Lake as the Loj lot is just for guests of the Loj. Staying at the Loj or the campground may be the best way to hike out of Heart Lake very soon.

 

[Mike P.]

Absolutely..but if your going to have to pay to park why not have it reserved in advance.

Would paying for a reservation in advance have some hikers going up and hiking in questionable weather because they paid for that date already? Would some people pay for lots of spots and sell them at a premium? (Stub-Hub, ticket scalping?) How much could I sell 7/4 parking spots for if I had them all? (And to be utterly stupid, If I won the lottery, Could I buy every spot at the Pinkham lot and have an almost wilderness experience in Tuckerman Ravine?)

 

[JoshandBaron]

Would paying for a reservation in advance have some hikers going up and hiking in questionable weather because they paid for that date already? Would some people pay for lots of spots and sell them at a premium? (Stub-Hub, ticket scalping?) How much could I sell 7/4 parking spots for if I had them all? (And to be utterly stupid, If I won the lottery, Could I buy every spot at the Pinkham lot and have an almost wilderness experience in Tuckerman Ravine?)

I imagine reservations would be tied to your plate, making them non-transferable and limiting you to 1 spot.

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

How much could I sell 7/4 parking spots for if I had them all? (And to be utterly stupid, If I won the lottery, Could I buy every spot at the Pinkham lot and have an almost wilderness experience in Tuckerman Ravine?)

Great fantasizing!

I imagine reservations would be tied to your plate, making them non-transferable and limiting you to 1 spot.

Unfortunate reality check!

 

[Mike P.]

I can see why there is so much hiker angst. You can only book your reservation two weeks in advance. I suspect the Friday, Saturday and Sunday spots will disappear in just a few minutes. (I signed up /created a profile already.) Not sure how the late hiker exit will work. The lot is open from 5AM to 7PM with an overnight section (3nights) and there will be personal onsite until 10PM. Sunset around the solstice is 8:42 with last night at 9:19. It appears you will be sleeping in your car if you get back after 10:00 PM. I can only assume there will be a gate with a combination or a key lock.

When I was actively chasing the peakbagging list, I would plan the next year as far as vacation days and which peaks to climb in December. I see that Keene and Keene Valley Residents still have access. Bus riders for now have access with a bus ticket within 24 hours of your hike. I just have the one hike left in that area for the list but in past years I was in that lot twice in a week that I was actually staying the ADK Loj.

If you are staying in the area, I have to make my reservations more than two weeks in advance. If I have two or four peaks left in the AMR area and a few over in Corey's, I'm staying in two different places for those two destinations unless I have a friend who's house I stay in. As someone mentioned, that's going to drive traffic to places like Cascade, Hurricane and possibly others. (Not the Garden, that will already be full) Sounds like they may be building some type of trail from the Van Hovenberg Center to Cascade, which might actually be a nice option.

 

[Mike P.]

I imagine reservations would be tied to your plate, making them non-transferable and limiting you to 1 spot.

For the AMR site, at least for now, I did not have to put vehicle info in my profile and for people renting cars, you wouldn't know your plate until you picked your car up.. (is there still car sharing outfits?)

 

[DayTrip]

On DT's post, I assume he means the High Peaks Info Center at Heart Lake as the Loj lot is just for guests of the Loj. Staying at the Loj or the campground may be the best way to hike out of Heart Lake very soon.

The huge 200 car $10 lot at or near the Adirondack Loj is what I meant. Not sure what it's real name is. That's what I thought it was called.

 

[Peakbagr]

"Most club members are not hikers, (but I know some are)" - Actually not the case. I've hiked with some and friends with others. I had the privilege of staying as a guest a couple of weekends when I led ADK Fall Outing hikes from the AMR. The Ausable Club used to allow non members to ride the bus with members along the Lake Road. Riders would be dropped off along the road or paddle to the Upper Lake. The practice ended when non members crowed ahead of members for spots on the bus which ended the practice.

 

[JoshandBaron]

For the AMR site, at least for now, I did not have to put vehicle info in my profile and for people renting cars, you wouldn't know your plate until you picked your car up.. (is there still car sharing outfits?)

Well, then. Let the games begin.

 

[Mike P.]

"Most club members are not hikers, (but I know some are)" - Actually not the case. I've hiked with some and friends with others. I had the privilege of staying as a guest a couple of weekends when I led ADK Fall Outing hikes from the AMR. The Ausable Club used to allow non members to ride the bus with members along the Lake Road. Riders would be dropped off along the road or paddle to the Upper Lake. The practice ended when non members crowed ahead of members for spots on the bus which ended the practice.

You're either old or you remember the bus from hiking with your parents. I recall reading they had recently stopped allowing hikers to ride the bus but never had the ability to ride it. (&nd I'm old)

DT, yes, the large lot is the High Peaks Visitor Center. (The Loj has a small lot for Loj guest only) The main road is Loj Road and the dirt road full of calls parking is South Road. I'll have to visit ADK High Peaks Forum to see if Parking at Corey's has also exploded in the last couple of years.

In the comparison between staying at the Loj VS an AMC shelter, I prefer the Loj. (In comparison, it's probably more like the Highland Center as far as being roadside, full service Breakfast and Dinner, one on Heart Lake, the other with Ammonosuc Lake just a little behind and Saco across the Street, One with Willard as the close peak with great views, the other with Mt. Jo. offering great views (Jo is the steeper climb) You can swim (wade, the swim area is shallow) at Heart Lake or take a canoe out.

 

[TCD]

Well I guess I'm old. Here's how I remember the bus:

We started hiking there in 1984. Then, the bus would pick up hikers along the road. Anyone who waved at the bus could get a ride. The hikers were few; the Club members were many. I had the distinct impression that the Club members (in their dress whites) were not happy about having the dirty stinky hikers on the bus. After a couple years, the Club started charging $1 for the ride. Hiker ridership did not change; the bus riding market was inelastic to the $1 fee. After a couple more years, the Club started charging $10 for the ride. Hiker ridership still did not change; remarkably, the bus riding market was inelastic to the greatly increased $10 fee. The next year, the Club stopped allowing hikers to ride the bus.

I learned two things: 1. Don't count on a convenience, as it may go away; 2. Today's hikers value convenience, and are willing to pay for it.

 

[Tom Rankin]

The one time I was near the gate when the bus went by (after the era hikers got a ride), the driver stopped, turned off the bus, removed his seat belt, got out of the bus, opened the gate, went back in the bus, put on his seat belt, started the bus, drove 50 feet, stopped the bus, took off his seat belt, got out of the bus, shut the gate, got back in the bus, put on his seat belt, started the bus, and continued driving. Apparently, either no one in the bus was willing to jump out and operate the gate, or it was forbidden.

I did get to drive all the way to the end of the road once, but that's another story.

 

[Mike P.]

The one time I was near the gate when the bus went by (after the era hikers got a ride), the drive stopped, turned off the bus, removed his seat belt, got out of the bus, opened the gate, went back in the bus, put on his seat belt, started the bus, drove 50 feet, stopped the bus, took off his seat belt, got out of the bus, shut the gate, got back in the bus, put on his seat belt, started the bus, and continued driving. Apparently, either no one in the bus was willing to jump out and operate the gate, or it was forbidden.

I did get to drive all the way to the end of the road once, but that's another story.

That would be a fun ride. While no interaction with people on the AMR bus, I've overheard tourist children ask their parents that don't hikers know you can drive up Whiteface, why would you walk. I've had fun with that statement with other friends when we've reached the top of almost all the peaks where you can drive.

 

[ChrisB]

Absolutely..but if your going to have to pay to park why not have it reserved in advance.

An upside to the reservation system is implicit control of hiker numbers, which I think is necessary and a good thing.

We’ve met the enemy and he is (too many of) us,

At a long-ago Gathering in the Dacks Hammerdee and I did a Gothics traverse. One of my lasting memories of that hike is the lousy and eroded condition of the trails. It can only be worse 20 years on.

Baxter Park gets this and that is a major reason for their parking system.

 

[Mike P.]

An upside to the reservation system is implicit control of hiker numbers, which I think is necessary and a good thing.

We’ve met the enemy and he is (too many of) us,

At a long-ago Gathering in the Dacks Hammerdee and I did a Gothics traverse. One of my lasting memories of that hike is the lousy and eroded condition of the trails. It can only be worse 20 years on.

Baxter Park gets this and that is a major reason for their parking system.

The difference is though that BSP is tiny in comparison of the ADK or small compared to Whites. (BSP is about 1/4 the size of the High Peaks Region or the Whites and only has a couple of roads into park. Both the Whites and ADK have people living within that space also. The whole ADK Park is the size of VT)

 

[Tom Rankin]

The difference is though that BSP is tiny in comparison of the ADK or small compared to Whites. (BSP is about 1/4 the size of the High Peaks Region or the Whites and only has a couple of roads into park. Both the Whites and ADK have people living within that space also. The whole ADK Park is the size of VT)

The parking areas discussed here can be used to access 9 46R peaks (or more if you're a super hiker). So, it's roughly comparable to the number of peaks frequently hiked inside Baxter State Park.