Bikepacking in the Central Adirondacks, Where Gravel Can Truly Be a Grind

Bikepacking along a gravel road crossing the Miami River in the Central Adirondacks

No worries of alligators or Burmese pythons crossing this Miami River.

Just sweet gravel, heinous snowmobile trails and a pick of your poison of mosquitoes or deer flies. The Adirondacks in a nutshell. 

I guess there is a price of admission for the solitude I seek, I can't complain. No humans in 24 hours not seen on a paved road and even on those roads just a few cars passed me on a wide shoulder. I can live with that. 

The potential here is off the charts. I call it a gravel park (like a mountain bike park) and these towns are missing out on huge potential. Despite the abundance of gravel (probably over 60 miles in these two units)...all of it leads to either pavement or dead ends. To form a loop you need to suffer on some pretty single use snowmobile trails, which there are plenty of, already cut into the forest.

This is where the Adirondacks fail. We have all these miles of snowmobile trails cut in the forest for a vanishing 3 month season that could be hardened for 4 season use without cutting a single tree, 4 season use includes cycling, adaptive (disabled) uses, hiking, canoe portage and equestrian.

Instead these trails are by their nature, single use, seasonal. 

4 season snowmobile trails do exist in the Adirondacks. The SW part of the Forest Preserve has many good ones (my 70mi, 96% off pavement Moose Tracks route is primarily based off these high quality trails, and I would put that route up there against anything for quality riding). High, dry, good surface and grading. The majority of these single season trails aren't unrideable due to equipment or skill, but simply inherent design. They are designed for the ground to be frozen. In summer they can be endless bottomless mud pits with a trail bed obscured by brush. Even a skilled and prepared rider can struggle to make miles on these. 

This is a missed opportunity by the APA/DEC and local towns to promote a lucrative summer form of recreation. Cyclist spend money that hikers and paddlers do not. They visit towns for resupply and a cold drink. They travel further and they aren't confined to segregated forest preserve units. 

Exiting what was a couple of mile long stretch of some moderately challenging snowmobile trail (moderate because it was actually pretty rideable even if still extremely challenging). 

Marshall lifeguarding while I swim in a pristine Adirondack lake, which we had to ourselves for almost 12 hours of the time we camped