The parking lot’s entry gate and Ausable Mountain Reserve Front Country Steward post — where parking reservations are checked between May 1 and Oct. 31 — are seen on Tuesday in St. Huberts. (Enterprise photo — Chris Gaige)

ST. HUBERTS — A popular area hiking trail hub is set to continue its parking reservation system, which will run May 1 through Oct. 31.

HikeAMR, the Adirondack Mountain Reserve’s reservation-based parking system, was first implemented as a pilot program in 2021. Now in its fifth iteration, the program appears to be here to stay. In a statement announcing this season’s HikeAMR dates, the state Department of Environmental Conservation wrote that based on the data collected during earlier years, it’s no longer considered a pilot program.

“Based on improved safety conditions in the corridor and positive user experiences, the ongoing reservation system is no longer considered a pilot, with features being adaptively managed to help further enhance its effectiveness as needed,” the statement said. “Alongside the active pilot program, researchers Dr. Jill Weiss and Deanna Sullivan of SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry … gathered data from 2021 to 2023 about the system and recreational users accessing the AMR lot using the parking reservation system.”

The researcher’s report can be viewed at tinyurl.com/a9zy5jjz.

The AMR parking lot provides access to numerous High Peaks and scenic vistas. The trails are extremely popular and their heavy usage, especially during the summer and foliage seasons, led to concerns about overuse. The parking lot and portions of the trails are not on state land.

AMR — which totals approximately 7,000 acres — is privately owned by the Ausable Club, which has a conservation easement with the state that allows the public to pass through club land, provided they remain on the designated trails, in order to access the surrounding destinations. Many of the trails originating on AMR land eventually cross over to state land en route to the High Peaks and surrounding destinations.

High Peaks commonly accessed from the AMR lot include Dial Mountain, Nippletop, Blake Peak, Mount Colvin, Sawteeth, Gothics, Armstrong Mountain, Upper Wolf Jaw Mountain and Lower Wolf Jaw Mountain. Other popular destinations include the Indian Head and Fishhawk cliffs, Rainbow Falls, Beaver Meadow Falls, Noonmark Mountain and Round Mountain.

The state and AMR worked together to establish the reservation system, with the AMR voluntarily expanding its parking lot from 20 spots, as the easement originally stipulated, to 70 spots.

“DEC remains committed to partnering with the Adirondack Mountain Reserve to offer safe and accessible entry to this busy Adirondack corridor,” said DEC Region 5 Director Joe Zalewski in the statement. “This system improves public safety and public access — making it a win-win for those travelling to explore the unparalleled natural beauty of the Adirondacks.”

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How the system works

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Reservations are free. They must be made online at hikeamr.org. Users must first create an account to make a reservation for the date(s) of their visit. For those planning multi-day trips, reservations can be made for up to three nights. Camping, however, is not permitted in the parking lot itself, nor is sleeping in vehicles.

Spots fill up on a first-come, first-served basis, meaning that once all 70 parking spots have been reserved for a certain day, subsequent users will not be able to book a spot then. However, spots can open as people cancel.

At the start of the season, reservations will be available from May 1 to May 15. On May 2 and thereafter, reservations can be made up to two weeks in advance of the date of the reservation, up until 4 a.m. on the day of the reservation.

People are allowed to make two reservations per week, although no more than one per day is permitted. There are no rain dates or postponements. However, if a user’s plans change and they are no longer coming to the lot on the day of their reservation, the DEC and AMR encourage them to cancel as soon as possible to give others the opportunity to use the lot, rather than having it empty for the day.

Each reservation allows for up to eight people per vehicle. The parking lot allows vehicles holding up to 15 people, although those that exceed eight need to make two separate reservations. Parties with multiple vehicles — even if they have eight or fewer people between the multiple vehicles — need to make separate reservations for each vehicle.

Upon arrival, people need to present proof of their reservation to the AMR steward in order to be granted entry to the parking lot, which is sent to the user upon booking. These can include a screenshot or a printed copy. The lot opens daily at 5 a.m. and closes at 7 p.m. Entry is allowed only during these hours, however, vehicles are able to exit outside of these times using an automatic one-way gate system.

People walking in, bicycling or getting dropped off — even though they are not taking up a parking spot — still need to make a reservation as if they were. Upon arrival, they will be asked by the attendant to produce proof of this, and will be turned away if they are unable to do so. Bike racks are available at the parking lot.

Reservations are not needed at other popular trailheads, although some, such as the Adirondak Loj, in North Elba, and the Garden, in Keene Valley, have a parking fee. Parking is often limited on busy days throughout the High Peaks region, with roadside parking illegal in many places. The DEC encourages recreators to have backup trips in case they are unable to park at their originally intended destination.

Additional information on the AMR parking reservation system is available at hikeamr.org.