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New High Peaks shuttle programs start next week

A new multi-day hiker shuttle is starting up next week for those who want to hike and camp in the High Peaks without having to drive or park there. Another new shuttle — for people visiting the High Peaks during leaf-peeping season and for Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day — will start up in October.

Both the multi-day shuttle and the October shuttle are free and begin at the Frontier Town Gateway in North Hudson.

The multi-day shuttle will take off on Monday, Aug. 8 and Aug. 15 from the Frontier Town Gateway. The shuttle stops at the Adirondack Loj in Lake Placid, where hikers can access hiking trails to Marcy, Haystack, Colden, Panther Gorge, Wallface and Indian Pass.

Hikers using the shuttle would be able to camp anywhere between one and three nights in the High Peaks region. A pickup van will return for hikers on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from the Tahawus parking lot — the Upper Works trailhead — in Newcomb and bring them back to the Frontier Town Gateway.

The Aug. 8 shuttle will leave the Frontier Town Gateway at 2 p.m., and Tahawus pickup will follow at 2 p.m. on Aug. 9, 10 and 11. The Aug. 15 shuttle will leave the Frontier Town Gateway at 2 p.m., and Tahawus pickup will follow at 2 p.m. on Aug. 16, 17 and 18.

The multi-day shuttle is free, but registration is required. Hikers can register at www.loveyouradk.org/shuttle-reservation. People with questions about the shuttle can email shuttle@loveyouradk.org.

Keene town Supervisor Joe Pete Wilson, Jr. said in a statement last week that the shuttle could increase hiker safety and help relieve some of the vehicle congestion that tends to build up in the state Route 73 corridor around this time of year.

“The shuttle helps alleviate the time and logistics required for through and multi-day hikes as there is no need to drop vehicles off at multiple trailheads,” he said. “Saving both time and gas, it alleviates congestion at the region’s trailheads and it provides a measure of safety as those using the service must register for a pickup day — it’s one more entity that knows about hikers’ plans, which is always a good thing.”

The free fall foliage shuttles will run on Oct. 1 and 2 and again over Indigenous Peoples’ Day/Columbus Day weekend on Oct. 8, 9 and 10. The route will start at the Frontier Town Gateway and stop at the Giant Mountain, Roaring Brook Falls, and Rooster Comb trailheads and the Marcy Field parking lot. The shuttle will operate in a loop from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Seating is available on a first-come-first-served basis.

The multi-day shuttle and fall foliage shuttle are an addition to the Essex County state Route 73 hiker shuttle program that started up last year to address road safety and parking concerns. The Route 73 shuttle picks people up from the Marcy Field parking lot and stops at the Rooster Comb, Giant Mountain Ridge and Roaring Brook Falls trailheads.

Dogs aren’t allowed on either the Fronter Town Gateway or the Route 73 shuttle and masks are required.

The new Frontier Town Gateway shuttles are sponsored by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, the towns of Keene and North Hudson, and the Frontier Town Gateway.

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