Paddling the Legal Waters of the Adirondacks
14 Jul
In Canoeing.com’s newest feature story, contributor Phil Brown describes a paddling route in the Adirondack Park Preserve that takes paddlers from Little Tupper Lake to Lake Lila in a two-day paddle.
Brown’s route is unique because it tests the bounds of New York State’s navigable waters law, staying on waters that flow through private land within the park. Brown, a long-time paddler in the vast upstate New York park, eschews the final mile-long portage out of Lilypad Pond suggested in guidebooks and on maps, and instead paddles down Shingle Shanty Brook which runs through a gauntlet of private land.
“The common law of New York state grants paddlers the right to travel on “navigable” waterways,” Brown writes. “This right of navigation includes the right to portage around rapids, dams, and other obstacles. It does not include the right to pursue other activities, such as camping, picnicking, and swimming.”
Read Brown’s full story HERE.
Photo by Sue Bibeau.
