The River Walk along the Saranac River is seen in Saranac Lake Tuesday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

SARANAC LAKE — A dream of bringing a whitewater paddling park back to the Saranac River is seeing movement again, after years of being held up by the coronavirus pandemic, state bureaucracy, money and storms.

The park, on a stretch of the Saranac River below the George LaPan Memorial Highway bridge on state Route 3, has also recently changed its name from the “Tom Boothe Whitewater Park” name to “Boothe River Park” as planners hope it to be a place for a range of paddlers, anglers and visitors.

Scott McKim, president of the Friends of the Boothe River Park group, said the project has renewed momentum with state money flowing in after being dammed up in Albany for a bit. As organizers begin their designs for the park, they want to hear from the public. The friends group and the village are co-hosting an open house on the topic from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday Nov. 7 in the Cantwell Room of the Saranac Lake Free Library.

They’re looking for comment on topics like safety, accessibility, parking, economics and recreation, McKim said.

There’s also an online survey at tinyurl.com/mw65rjz8, but McKim recommends filling it out after the open house.

The project received $411,000 from a larger Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant the village got from the state in 2018. After the pandemic and a change in fiscal sponsor, that money got delayed for a while. Earlier this year, it started rolling in and the friend’s group is in the design and permitting phases simultaneously now.

They have a 30% design plan with hope for a 60% design plan by the end of winter.

Part of getting there is gathering public feedback from user groups at the open house next week — downtown business owners, paddlers, anglers and tourists. McKim said they want as many eyes on the 30% design as they can.

They’ll have a concept plan and rendering of the park. McKim will talk about the project and its history, as well as what a river park is.

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Name change

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On Monday, the village of Saranac Lake approved a name change for the planned park — from “Tom Boothe Whitewater Park” name to “Boothe River Park.”

Tom Boothe, of Saranac Lake, was a member of the Keeseville-based AdkAction board, an avid paddler and a major supporter of the park. After his death in 2020 at the age of 71, the park was named in his honor.

McKim said the change is subtle, but important. He said a river park better captures the intended use there — which includes shoreline improvements, fishing and other types of recreation.

Also, he said the term “whitewater” can be seen as elitist or excluding unseasoned paddlers. The park is meant to be a place for paddlers with a range of skills.

The whitewater portion of the park would include a single riverwide standing wave paddlers can play around in. McKim said, depending on experience, people could surf, practice strokes or eddy out on this feature. He envisions paddling clinics for schools, colleges and the public being held there.

And it’s not just for paddlers. He said inner tubes could be ridden down the river.

There are also plans to increase fishing access there. It’s already a favorite in-town angling spot. Currently, just about every tree along the shoreline has fishing line and bobbers hanging from it, McKim said.

He also sees the shoreline as a place for people to picnic and watch paddlers surfing the wave.

It’s a unique water feature in the Northeast, and McKim believes it will be a “magnet.”

Paddling is already a part of the local culture, McKim said, adding that in the summer, just about every other car driving around has a boat or two on top.

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Flow of history

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Work on this area of the Saranac River began when the Saranac Lake River Corridor Commission formed in 1992 with plans for the village River Walk, the whitewater park, canoe launches and parks.

Local paddling enthusiasts built a 500-foot whitewater run known as “Hydro Point Park” in this section of the river in 1995, which was used heavily for several years. The poles for the 24 wooden slalom gates are still in the river. But the course wasn’t engineered. Most of its boulders weren’t secured and were placed manually.

“Mother Nature did a number on it with storms,” McKim said.

McKim said they are standing on the shoulders of this previous park.

In 2008, Luke Eckert, who was a 16-year-old Eagle Scout with a passion for whitewater kayaking at the time, tackled the rebuilding of the park. But shortly after he finished, Tropical Storm Irene hit in August 2011 and washed away his work.

Around 2016, McKim was working in his boat shop and talking with Tyler Merriam about bringing back the paddling park. They created the Friends of the Tom Boothe Whitewater Park nonprofit group.

After a few years of minor fundraising they applied to be part of the village’s DRI grant package and won.

They were awarded $411,000 in seed money funding from the state.

McKim said Gov. Kathy Hochul, who was the lieutenant governor at the time, said she wanted to be the first one down the run when it opened.

Now, the friends group is fundraising for the rest of the project, as well as seeking more grants. McKim said they have a goal of an additional $1 million to get it finished. But after years of dormancy, the project is sort of an “underground” one and needs more awareness, he said.

The AdkAction nonprofit was the initial fiscal sponsor for the project, funneling money to the project from the DRI. But in 2022, the group felt it did not have the capacity, experience or insurance for the project, and the village adopted the fiscal sponsor role.

McKim said he’s been gracious for the village being a loyal partner.

They’re excited with the new movement, McKim said, but moving with trepidation, cautiousness and humility. The project is “not a slam dunk yet,” he said, and permitting is a “daunting task.”

Working in the water requires permits from a long list of local, state and federal agencies — including the Adirondack Park Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Army Corps of Engineers.

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Flow of nature

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While the whitewater feature will definitely be a change to the landscape of the river, McKim believes it will be seen as an improvement in an area that’s already seen a lot of human impact. There are unnatural boulders that channelize the flow of the water, and this portion of the river had been degraded from its natural form before the Lake Flower dam was built in 1827.

“Creation of the whitewater park will restore natural elements such as eddies and pools in this section of river to provide fish habitat,” according to the friends group website.

McKim said the village River Walk in that area could also use a redo. The River Walk plan was drafted in 1992 based on a 1909 master plan from the Village Improvement Society. The docks on the town hall side of river were built as a Boy Scout project by Eric Freeburg.