Transportation is a crucial aspect of life in the Adirondack Park. Expansion of transportation in the 19th century first opened up the region from relative isolation to both tourism and industry. Up to the mid-19th century, the Adirondacks were populated with mostly subsistence farmers and hunters. Railroads were the first major avenue of transportation for both tourism and industrial purposes (Pulling, 2014). Railroads began their expansion into the Adirondacks in the mid-19th century, with the completion of the Adirondack Railway in 1871. The Adirondack Railway brought wealthy tourists up from New York City to summer homes and resort hotels, establishing the Adirondacks as a major vacation destination (All Aboard For A History Of Train Transportation In The Adirondacks, 2019). Although logging began in the Adirondacks in the 1830s, logging railroads built later in the century expanded the types of trees able to be transported to sawmills elsewhere in New York, establishing the area as a major logging power within the U.S. (Smith, 2013). Industrial railroads also fostered the expansion of iron and garnet mines further into the Adirondack Park (Pulling, 2014). Empowered by the ease of rail travel, the number of year-round residents, seasonal residents (usually loggers and miners), and tourists increased dramatically in the Adirondacks at the turn of the 20th century. 

As a rural area, transportation into and out of the Adirondack park is crucial for its economic and social health. Despite the ongoing significance of transportation into and out of the Adirondack Park, it is extremely different from how it was in the 19th and early 20th centuries. 

Railroads today are still used for both public transportation and industrial and freight transportation. Logging is an active industry within the park, although mining is almost nonexistent. There is also Amtrak service through the Adirondack Park. The Adirondack Train is an Amtrak route that runs from New York City, through Albany and the Adirondack Park, and up to Montreal (Adirondack Train, 2021). There are several stops on the route in the eastern portion of the Adirondack Park. The annual ridership for the Adirondack Train is over 132,000 people (Anderson, 2012). Although its role in the Adirondacks has diminished, it is clear that railroads are still a viable and significant mode of transportation. 

Highways and other roads facilitate the vast majority of transportation in the Adirondack Park. Private cars, logging trucks, freight trucks and buses all use highways, especially the Adirondack Northway, for transportation in the Park. The Adirondack Northway is the stretch of Interstate 87 that runs through the Adirondack Park from Albany to the Canadian border (About the Adirondack Park, 2021). When construction on the Adirondack Northway was proposed in 1959, it was met with severe opposition from stakeholders in the Adirondack Park, based mainly on the “forever wild” clause of the New York State Constitution. Thus, the Adirondack Northway required amendments to the New York State Constitution. The amendments passed and the Adirondack Northway was completed in 1967 (The Adirondack Northway, 2019). The Adirondack Northway serves the estimated 10 million people that visit the Adirondack Park annually, providing access to the Park from New England and downstate New York (Pulling, 2014). It is clear that roads, especially the Adirondack Northway, are crucial to the transportation of peoples within the Adirondack Park.

References

About the Adirondack Park | Adirondack Council. (2021). Www.adirondackcouncil.org; Adirondack Council. https://www.adirondackcouncil.org/page/the-adirondack-park-19.html

Adirondack Train | Amtrak. (2021). Www.amtrak.com. https://www.amtrak.com/adirondack-train

All Aboard For A History Of Train Transportation In The Adirondacks. (2019). Adirondack.net. https://www.adirondack.net/history/automobiles/

Anderson, E. (2012, October 12). Amtrak sets new ridership record at 31.2M. Times Union; Hearst. https://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Amtrak-sets-new-ridership-record-at-31-2M-3941044.php

Pulling, J. (2014). Transportation and Tourism in the Adirondack Park: How the historical development of transportation and tourism shaped the culture of the Adirondacks. In Union Digital Works. Union College. https://digitalworks.union.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=summerfellowships

Smith, P. (2013, September 7). Adirondack Wilderness. Wildadirondacks.org. https://wildadirondacks.org/adirondack-wilderness.html

The Adirondack Northway – History Of Construction And Opposition. (2019). Www.adirondack.net. https://www.adirondack.net/history/adirondack-northway/