New York State photo
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The 34-mi.-long Adirondack Rail Trail in northern New York State, from Lake Placid in the east to Tupper Lake in the west, is now fully open for year-round use.
State and local officials, along with rail trail advocates and stakeholders, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Tupper Lake train station on Oct. 4, 2025, to mark the occasion, as well as to celebrate the recently completed renovations to the village's train station.
The station serves as the northern terminus for the scenic Adirondack Railroad, which originates in Utica and includes stops at Remsen and Thendara/Old Forge, according to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise in an Oct. 6 article.
The project's completion caps off several years of work, done in three phases, to remove old train tracks and build a multi-use recreation trail along the rail bed with a crushed stone and gravel base beneath a compacted fine stone dust surface. Although most of it is not paved, the trail's even surface, relatively gentle grade and new access points have made the pathway ADA-compliant.
In 2020, crews began pulling up the old rail tracks ahead of the start of the trail construction in November 2022 in the Lake Placid to Saranac Lake corridor. That part of the effort was completed in December 2023.
The second phase of work took place from June 2023 to August 2024 and ran from Saranac Lake west to Floodwood Road near the town of Santa Clara. The third phase's construction, from Floodwood Road south to Tupper Lake, began in August 2024.
While the trail is open, minor work will continue in the third phase this fall, including the installation of mileage signs, the Daily Enterprise noted.
The rail trail cost nearly $40 million to build, according to an earlier statement from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who did not attend the event.
Rail Trail Result of Agencies Working Together
Three New York State agencies involved in the project — the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and Office of General Services (OGS), along with the Adirondack Rail Trail Association (ARTA), all sent speakers to the event.
Joe Zalewski, the DEC's Region 5 director, served as the event's emcee, and agency Commissioner Amanda Lefton was the first to give prepared remarks. She began by acknowledging the decades of work that went into making the rail trail — and the rehabilitated railway from Remsen to Tupper Lake — a reality.
"This is really an incredible milestone today, having completed the entire rail trail which unites the communities of Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake through a 34-mile accessible trail that highlights the unique charms and beauties of the Adirondacks," Lefton said.
She was especially proud of the trail being built to ADA standards, which Lefton said furthers the mission of making sure that access to these lands is for everyone, regardless of ability. She also noted that the trail was a world-class asset — one that is unique to the Adirondacks in terms of how many outdoor activities it can support over such a long distance with direct access to wild lands.
"It's going to be open to bicycles, hikers, runners, birders and so many more," Lefton said.
In addition, the Adirondack Rail Trail is open to cross-country skiers and snowmobilers in the winter, is free to use anytime and is maintained in a partnership between the DEC and ARTA through a volunteer stewardship agreement.
In her remarks, Jeanette Moy, commissioner of the New York OGS, praised Hochul's commitment to the rail trail construction. OGS oversaw the contracts and bidding associated with the project.
"Three years ago, Governor Hochul, under her direction, asked that our agency move full speed ahead with this project," Moy said. "She wanted to make sure that the concept wasn't just being discussed [but] that we were putting it into action."
When it was his turn to speak at the trail's opening ceremony, NYSDOT Region 7 Director Robert Haynes highlighted the $13.5 million project to upgrade the historic Tupper Lake train station.
The renovations included a new train platform, a maintenance facility and rehabilitated track.
He also noted that the rail trail's ribbon cutting was different from most of those he attends.
"Usually, the DOT is at an event celebrating bridges and roads, but today is different," Haynes said. "We're celebrating partnerships [with] the DEC, with OGS and with many local governments. We're talking about economic development and tourism."
According to ARTA Executive Director Julia Goren, the work between local governments was a highlight of the rail trail effort. She cited the cooperation of several towns and villages along the trail's route, including Tupper Lake, Santa Clara, Harrietstown, Saranac Lake, North Elba and Lake Placid.
Goren added that trail counters have so far recorded 229,000 hikes since they were installed in 2024.
Finally, Joe Martens, the former DEC commissioner who oversaw the beginning of the rail trail project, gave a shoutout to his then-counterpart, former NYSDOT Commissioner Joan McDonald.
He recalled when the two rode the corridor together 20 years ago by taking a train to the southern end, then a high roller to Lake Placid. Martens said they spent a large amount of time poring over reports from railroad and rail trail advocates before agreeing to split the corridor and meet in Tupper Lake. He said it was proof that compromise is still possible.
"For all the angst around the world these days and the division, this has brought people together — it's brought the rail community with the trail community," Martens said. "It's brought health benefits. [There are] a lot of people who can't hike the High Peaks in the Adirondacks. But people can handle the rail trail, and they can experience the wilderness without having to hike a million miles to do it."
He acknowledged that the Adirondack Rail trail was not cheap, but it was money "extraordinarily well spent."
And with the trail officially open, Martens had a simple message to those in attendance: "Go out and enjoy it and enjoy life."
