Accumulating snow frequently caused vehicles to get stuck there, as plowing was done on a sporadic and sometimes voluntary basis. As the snow came and stayed, so did the rail trail users. This led to an official agreement to maintain the lots on a daily basis, as needed, between local governments and the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The town of North Elba agreed to plow there Mondays and Tuesdays. The town of Harriestown agreed to take Fridays, and the village of Saranac Lake took Saturdays and Sundays. Officials with each municipality confirmed those dates.

The DEC, which manages the state-owned Adirondack Rail Trail, tentatively agreed at the meeting to take Wednesdays and Thursdays, according to Adirondack Rail Trail Association Executive Director Julia Goren, though an agency spokesperson wrote on July 29 that the DEC is still finalizing the agreement and couldn’t yet confirm any specific dates. The spokesperson noted that the agency is in support of the shared plowing as it works to cement it.

“This trail was envisioned as a year-round community resource and has long been a popular snowmobile and cross-country ski trail,” the DEC spokesperson wrote. “Plowing responsibilities will be shared between the municipalities and DEC. Partnerships between DEC and local municipalities further support winter use along this trail and improve safe parking access for winter users.”

Fowler’s Crossing is about two-tenths of a mile east of Saranac Lake village limits in the town of North Elba. In its second winter season since that phase of the trail opened in Dec. 2023, there was no formal plowing agreement in place last winter, according to Harrietstown Town Supervisor Jordanna Malloch. Between Dec. 1, 2024 and March 1, 2025, trail counters around Fowler’s Crossing picked up 24,300 passes, according to Goren.

It’s not quite the same as individual uses; as the counters pick up each time a user passes through its infrared beam in one direction — but it was solid evidence that the trail was being used heavily enough to warrant routine parking lot servicing, Goren said.

Goren noted that the rail trail’s busiest day this winter was Feb. 8 — which was Saranac Lake’s Winter Carnival. The trail counter near Fowler’s Crossing registered about 1,200 passes that day.

“Multiple visitors and residents got stuck in the parking lot,” Malloch said. “At that point, everyone agreed we needed to do something. We didn’t know what that something was, and then it was through subsequent conversation and emails … and then it was kind of agreed that, ‘Alright, let’s get together and sort this out.'”

Goren was pleased with the mindset that local leaders came into it with. This year, months before the first flakes begin to accumulate on roadways and parking lots, there is already a plan in place.

“Rather than starting with, ‘We can’t do this,’ or ‘We can’t pay for that,’ everyone came to the table with the agreement that the parking lots get plowed so that people have a good, safe place to get on and off the trail,” she said. “Each of the different entities involved talked about what was easiest for their workflow, who was coming from the greatest distance, which days would be better — and what happened was each entity agreed to take different days of the week.”

Goren said the goal was to be proactive rather than reactive, and added that with a winter’s worth of use data, the municipalities were able to see that the rail trail was a frequently used resource, bolstering the case for reliable winter access.

“It was agreed that we were going to divide it up,” Malloch said. “And then the specific impact on any one municipality — it’s not insurmountable when we divide up the work.”

Town of North Elba Highway Superintendent Ken Porter noted that the North Elba Park District, which is tasked with plowing the North Elba Town House on River Street in Saranac Lake, will be taking the lead on the Fowler’s Crossing plowing for the town.

“When they go over there to plow it, it makes sense,” he said. “They’re driving right by it.”

Porter added that given the town highway department will step in and assist as needed, noting that they have the specialized equipment to clear larger amounts of snow that the Park District doesn’t.

While the trail forbids motorized vehicles in the summer, snowmobiles are allowed in the winter. Goren said with the first two seasons under its belt, shared use between riders and those on skis or snowshoes has been a success, with snowmobilers using prudent speeds and making courteous passes.

“I think the snowmobile associations have quite a bit of history and interest in making sure that the snowmobiles are a really good partner on the trail and a really good recreational user,” she said.

The rail trail’s third and final phase of construction, between Floodwood Road to Tupper Lake, is expected to be completed this fall.

“From what I’ve seen, they’re definitely on or slightly ahead of schedule,” Goren said. “It looks like it’s going to be really worth the wait.”