For Release: Saturday, May 30, 2009
DEC & Partners Celebrate Opening of Multi-use Flume Trail System
Trail System in the Town of Wilmington Designed for Mountain Biking and Other Activities
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and its partners today celebrated the opening of the Flume Trail System as the first trail system on forest preserve lands in the Adirondacks designed to allow mountain biking.
Representatives and staff from DEC, the Town of Wilmington, the Wilmington Mountain Peddlers, Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) and Whiteface Mountain Ski Area were joined by the general public in a ribbon cutting ceremony at the trailhead in the Wilmington Wild Forest. The Town of Wilmington and the Wilmington Mountain Peddlers hosted a barbecue immediately following the ceremony. Earlier that morning volunteers spent time working on the trails.
"This trail system is a great example of how DEC can partner with municipalities and organizations to develop environmentally safe recreational opportunities on state lands in the Adirondacks," said DEC Regional Director Betsy Lowe. "The trail system demonstrates the value of the forest preserve to the people of Wilmington as well as outdoor enthusiasts across New York State."
The Flume Trail System includes approximately eight miles of trails for four season recreational activities including mountain biking, hiking, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing. The trails were designed to meet the specifications of the International Mountain Bicycling Association and include trails rated as easy, moderate and hard. The system includes a trail along the West Branch of the Ausable River and a hiking only trail to Flume Knob.
The majority of the trails lie within the Wilmington Wild Forest unit of the forest preserve, however, approximately two miles of trail are located on the Whiteface Mountain Ski Area, which is operated by the Olympic Regional Development Authority.
The Town of Wilmington strongly advocated for mountain bike trails during DEC's development of the management plan for the Wilmington Wild Forest. In addition to the Flume Trail System, the management plan, which was approved in October 2005, also proposes a seven mile multi-use trail system in the Beaver Brook Tract, off of Hardy Road, designed to include mountain biking. The Town also appropriated funds to pay for the Adirondack Mountain Club's professional trail crew to construct new trail segments at the Flume in 2007.
"This is very exciting to have the grand opening of the Flume Trail System," said Wilmington Supervisor Randy Preston. "This project should serve as a model for other recreational projects in the Park. The partnership between the Town of Wilmington and DEC has been a very positive one. People of all ages and abilities can enjoy the trails whether it be mountain biking or a walk along the river, this is truly a beautiful spot which until now has been one of Wilmington's best kept secrets."
The Wilmington Mountain Peddlers have been involved from the early days of trail development at the Flume, and have also been strong advocates for mountain bike trails. The group has volunteered countless hours to construct and maintain the trails. They will continue to maintain the Flume Trail System under DEC's Adopt-A- Natural-Resource program.
"It has taken a long time to get the Flume Trail System open but I am proud of the work all of the partners have done to reach this point," said Bert Yost of the Wilmington Mountain Peddlers. "Our success today exemplifies the best example of private citizens, organized groups, state, and local government all working together for one goal - mountain biking in the Wilmington Wild Forest."
In addition to work by their professional crew, the Adirondack Mountain Club has organized numerous volunteer work projects to upgrade existing trails and construct new trail segments at the Flume. An ADK volunteer trail crew will be constructing a new trail to connect the Flume Trail System with the Whiteface Trail from the Wilmington reservoir this summer.
"The Flume trail system and the Beaver Brook Tract provide an ideal opportunity for us to develop fun and sustainable trails for a diversity of different users," said Matt McNamara, Adirondack Mountain Club's trails coordinator. "It's been encouraging to get positive feedback from bikers, hikers and trail runners -- all talking about the same trails. This area is a great example of how, with good planning and good trail-building, we can successfully accommodate multiple users within Wild Forest areas."
The Whiteface Mountain Ski Area has allowed some of their trails to be included in the Flume Trail network for the free use of the public. These include a scenic trail along the West Branch of the Ausable River, utilized by bikers, hikers, and anglers. Mountain bikers can pay a fee to access the ski areas other 25 trails and the gondola to the top of Little Whiteface. Crews from Whiteface also assisted in the construction of some of the initial trails in the trail system. A proposed hiking only trail to Bear Den Cliffs, will be constructed in the future on the Whiteface Mountain Ski Area lands, and will be open to the public as part of the Flume Trail system.
"The Flume Trail System is great - Whiteface Mountain Ski Area is pleased to participate in this project," said Jay Rand, Manager of the Whiteface Mountain Ski Area. "These trails enhance the ski area's mountain bike trail system."
The Flume Trail System can be accessed from trailhead on Route 86, approximately 2 miles west of the hamlet of Wilmington or from the Kid's Campus parking lot at the Whiteface Mountain Ski Area.
