Hoping to end-to-end the Northville Placid Trail. Questions: 1) Recommendations for parking/shuttles at either end of the trail that are safe, easy? Contact numbers? 2) How does the terrain compare with sections of the AT? Tough like Maine? Gentle like VT/MA? etc. If I can handle 15-mile days on the AT with no problem, can I do more of the NTP? Thanks.
_"John Galt" MEGA '03_Northville-Placid Trail: parking, etc
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#1
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#2
The N-P Trail is fairly gentle, although muddy in places. There is only one big climb just before long lake as you go NOBO. I can't tell you about shuttles by we parked cars at both the Lake Placid trailhead and the South trailhead with no problems. The one at the South end (Bensonville or something like that) is way out in the woods. Do not leave anything of value in plain site of people who may pass by and you should be okay. I heard that the Lake Placid trailhead had some car break ins but we had no problems when I did it a few of years ago.
_Big B_
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#3
The NPT is a lowland trail it seems to go mostly lake to lake. For difficulty, its definitely more like the Mass AT than Maine, New Hampshire or even Vermont. It felt like it was the opposite of the AT in Maine or the Whites. While the AT twists and turns to stay pretty much on the high ground, the NPT runs way below the Adirondak peaks and seems to follow the water. Its flatter than Vermont, probably flatter than Mass. It is much wetter on average and its quite beautiful. Parts are much less well maintained than the AT - big untouched blow downs in some areas when I did it, parts of the trail were swamped by Beaver activity and it was quite a job to find a way around it. I saw a bear (only one I've seen from a trail) on the NPT and more deer than I've seen in any other 100 miles. There are often multiple shelters in an area and groups of boaters come and seem to feel one group can claim one shelter.
I’d advise skipping the road walk at the southern end.
_pedxing_
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#4
My daughter and I hiked 50 miles of it in 2006. Unlike the AT, the trail is not brushed out in many areas. A real car wash in the rain. When we hiked it, a beaver dam was built across the trail, and we had to follow flag tape through and over the dam. I'm not complaining. The trail was loads of fun. Great swimming holes! Especially at the north end.
Can’t help you with trailhead parking, but I’ll echo the above comments about the trail staying low. Have a blast!
_Hunter_
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#5
As others noted,NP trail is mostly a lowland trail.There is one high point of 3008 ft,with a vertical gain of 1165 ft.lots of little ups and downs on most of the trail.
It’s one of my favorite short trails with a true wilderness feeling.
Warning:Do not leave your car at the State parking lot at the north end of the trail.The last time I hiked my friends car was broken into there.I would try to leave your car in Lake Placid at a garage for a fee.You could get a cab to the Trail.
At the Upper Benson [South End] is a private parking lot you can use for a very small fee.
Have a good hike.:cheers
P.S.You can order the Guide Book from the Adirondack Mountain club. call 518-668-4447
_old&intheway_
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#6
have you found these forums yet? http://www.adkforum.com/showthread.php?t=11354
I used this for planning and shuttling info for my 06 hike. I also have a TJ on here for the hike: www.trailjournals.com/bluebeareeNPT
We used a local guy who monitors that forum heavily named Red Hawk, he shuttled us from LP to the southern terminus (10 miles up from Northville, where most people start) for a tidy sum, but it was a long ways around and he stopped in Long Lake and Piseco for us to drop off our mail drops, which was very kind.
It’s a very very muddy trail, I can’t even imagine what it will look like this year with the East Coast weather, assuming the Daks have been getting what Maine has had.
We didn’t use the guidebook, just the map. Went late Sept/first of October and had days of seeing no one. It’s a nice trail, but the mud makes VerMud look like the desert. We left out car at the northern LP trailhead w/o incident for 11 days.
Have I mentioned the mud? (and beaver activity!)
_Bluebearee_
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#8
There is a great new website available devoted to the Northville Placid trail that will answer most if not all of your questions about the NPT. Check out www.nptrail.org. Red Hawk is no longer running an NPT Shuttle but someone else is and an email link is provided on the website to the new Shuttle operator. There is a page for Latest Trail Conditions and another for Hike Planning. Still more information with regard to community resources, hiking gear and publications and a way for NPT hikers to report trail conditions online. Check it out: www.nptrail.org
_Tom Wemett_