SARANAC LAKE — The state Department of Environmental Conservation’s program for the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest is a behemoth of a plan, one that entails changes to numerous existing trails around the area as well as the creation of several new paths for a wide variety of activities.

Mountain bike trails figure heavily in the unit management plan, which covers most of the state land around the Tri-Lakes, but there are also opportunities for hunters along with hiking trails, canoe carries, and snowmobile and ski trails.

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Hiking

The DEC plans on two new trail systems: one at Lake Colby and the other at Lake Clear.

The Lake Colby trails, which would include interpretive signage, would be open to the public but would also likely be used by Camp Colby, the DEC’s summer camp for kids at the lake.

The plan calls for about 1.75 miles of foot trails, and mountain biking would also be allowed. However, the DEC says in the UMP that bikes may be banned if there are user conflicts. The UMP also calls for improvements to a herd path from Lake Colby to the proposed Adirondack Rail Trail.

Another system is planned for the Paul Smith’s pine plantation near Lake Colby. This would also be an interpretive trail system named after former Paul Smith’s College professors Gould Hoyt and George Peroni.

In Ray Brook, the DEC plans to add a trail from Averyville Road to the summit of Seymour Mountain, using parts of a planned mountain bike loop around the base of Scarface Mountain.

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Canoe carries

The wild forest UMP would open a new canoe carry that would connect Lake Clear and Little Clear Pond, via Conley Road.

At Bartlett Carry between Upper and Middle Saranac lakes, the DEC plans to reroute nearly a half-mile of the portage path through the woods. The current carry goes along a road, and the reroute may also necessitate moving the canoe launch there.

Another new carry would reopen a historic route from Lake Clear to Upper St. Regis Lake. The Sangemo Canoe Carry, as planned in the UMP, would require permission to cross private land, but the state says the carry could be routed on dirt roads if a deal with the private landowner(s) cannot be obtained.

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Snowmobile trails

The DEC proposes just a couple of miles of new snowmobile trails, while also planning to close more than 15 miles of existing trails.

Some of the closures include permanently closing trails that have been closed for several years, such as the Old Wawbeek Road near Tupper Lake. Snowmobiling has not been allowed there, and this plan would make the prohibition permanent.

Another trail that leaves Rollins Pond campground would be closed but replaced by a new trail that would connect Fish Creek and Rollins Pond campgrounds with the proposed Adirondack Rail Trail.

The DEC also plans to reopen a nearly 2-mile section of trail to Heavens Pond, near Rollins Pond. This former trail has been closed since the state bought the land, and the new trail would take snowmobilers from the rail trail to the pond.

Also from Fish Creek, there is a proposed trail that would, assuming a change in designation to a canoe carry goes through, connect the popular staging area with Little Square Pond.

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Ski trails

The popular hiking trail to Moose Pond, between Saranac Lake and Bloomingdale, would see a new loop created, mainly for cross-country skiers. The DEC also plans upgrades to the Moose Pond parking area and may add an additional winter parking area along state Route 3.

In Ray Brook, there is currently a herd path across state Route 86 from the McKenzie and Haystack Mountain trailhead. The state plans to upgrade the herd path to a ski trail that would connect to the Prison Water Line Truck Trail.

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Trail-less area

In addition to all the new trails, the DEC proposes to keep more than 7,000 acres trailless, mainly for hunters.

The lack of trails in the area around Forest Home Road as well as Middle and Saranac lakes is meant to encourage hunting while simultaneously reducing the potential for user conflicts.

The DEC has put fact sheets, intended to be easy to understand, on many of the UMP proposals on its website.

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Chance to weigh in

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The DEC will hold two kinds of public sessions on the Saranac Lakes Wild Forest Unit Management Plan in July: public availability sessions, where DEC staff will be on hand to give presentations and answer questions, and public meetings, where people can offer verbal or written comments. People can also submit comments in writing by Aug. 11. Email r5.info@dec.ny.gov.

Wednesday, July 12, Saranac Lake

≤Public availability session, 1 to 4 p.m., Harrietstown Town Hall auditorium, 39 Main St.

≤Public meeting, 6 p.m., Saranac Lake High School auditorium

Thursday, July 13, Tupper Lake

≤Public availability session, 1 to 4 p.m., Goff-Nelson Memorial Library, 41 Lake St.

≤Public meeting, 6:30 p.m. Wild Center’s Flammer Theater, 45 Museum Drive