Program areas at ADK
Visitor centers:adk's two visitor centers, the high peaks information center (hpic) and cascade welcome center are year-round resources for recreationists, providing trip planning, weather reports, trail conditions, maps, and gear for rent or purchase to ensure safe, enjoyable adventures. The hpic provides essential preventative search and rescue (psar) education to help avoid rescues by an already overstressed forest ranger force. The hpic also provides bathroom facilities, which reduce both pressure on backcountry privies and the impacts of improperly disposed of human waste. When hikers are lost or injured, the hpic is a base for nys forest rangers. See schedule o for many of the 100,000 visitors to adk's property, their interaction with adk staff at the hpic is their only opportunity to engage with a knowledgeable authority on the Adirondack park. The cascade welcome center is located on rt 73, outside the village of lake placid. It attracts both novice and experienced recreators seeking information or use of the facility's trails. It is also a place where those who have not found a parking space at the busy trailhead at the hpic can regroup and get help finding another adventure. The cascade welcome center also hosts community events, provides a year-round front country trail experience, public restrooms, and guidance to other events and services in the community.
Education:adk provides education programming and experiences for all ages and abilities. Adk's school outreach program works with fourth graders from twelve Adirondack elementary schools to transform student lives by bringing them to the outdoors and the outdoors to their classroom. Our program has three components: classroom visits, journals, and field visits. All are designed in conjunction with teachers to help meet classroom goals and are aligned with new york state learning standards. This program is donor and grant funded and offered free of charge to schools. Adk's outdoor skills workshops and guided hikes teach responsible recreation and skills to helprecreationists meet their goals. See schedule o all programs teach leave no trace outdoor skills and ethics and safe backcountry travel. All programs are led by nys licensed guides. Adk is one of ten national providers of the highest level of leave no trace training.
Hospitality:adk provides unique lodging experiences at the adirondak loj, heart lake wilderness campground and cabins, and johns brook property. These facilities are tucked away in the high peaks wilderness area, one of the wildest and most remote places in the northeast. Providing a variety of lodging options, including those fully accessible for all persons, accomplishes adk's mission of responsible recreation. These further reduce pressure on the backcountry of the high peaks wilderness and provide access for those who may not have developed the skills necessary for backcountry camping.