Parks and Recreation

The Village's parks are maintained by a dedicated staff employed year-round to ensure that each park and its unique features are kept up. The parks crew utilizes staff expertise in areas such as tree care and ski area management in order to provide community spaces in our Village parks.

About

 

Each Village park is unique in terms of its environmental context, connection to natural resources, proximity to the Village core, facilities, uses, and generally include the following range of urban and natural conditions: waterfront access, beaches, trails, interpretive elements, court games, open space recreation areas, riverwalk, urban plazas, public art performance venues, a skate park, a carousel, pocket parks, play equipment, paddling, mountain biking, fishing, and winter recreation. The Park Vision Plan, adopted in 2018, sets out goals and strategies to manage the existing park resources and enhance these key community destinations, improve park user experiences, and create improved access to local and regional parkland networks. Utilizing the Park Vision Plan, the Village can continue to improve each park through the phased implementation of prioritized projects. A stakeholder group that was essential in developing the Park Vision Plan and continues to advocate for the health of the Village's parks is the Parks and Trails Advisory Board.  

 

 

Park Use

 

The recreational opportunities provided by the Village's parks include providing a space for hosting a special event. Baldwin Park, Berkeley Green, Hydro Point Park, Ken Garwood POW Park, the Mt. Pisgah Recreation Center, Prescott Park, Riverfront Park, Riverside Park, The Saranac River Walk, Saranac Lake Skatepark, William Morris Park, William Wallace Beach, Ward Plumadore Park, and the World War 1 Memorial are all parks that can be used in some capacity as a special event space. A park must be reserved at least 30 days prior to the actual event. Fill out an Event/Park Use Request Form today. Community events that routinely take place in a Village park include: 

  • 90 Miler Canoe Race- Finish 
  • Farm to Fork Festival 
  • Farmer's Market
  • Northern Current Music Festival
  • Music on the Green Concert Series
  • Thursday Fun Runs


For a more detailed list of the amenities offered at each of the Village's parks, visit the Recreation page. 

 

 

Mount Pisgah 

 

The Village's local ski hill is a fully operational recreation center that functions as the alpine sports destination in the winter and mountain biking trail system in the summer. Additional amenities include a tubing hill, cross-country ski trails, hiking trails, a combined basketball and tennis court, a lodge with restrooms and an outdoor deck. Visit the Mount Pisgah Recreation Center page for additional information on this community center. 

 

 

 

Tree Committee

 

The Village established an advisory committee to care for the health of street trees and trees and shrubs within the Village's parks. The members of this committee apply their working knowledge to provide a long-range plan every five years for the Village relating to street trees and shrubs, provide the Board of Trustees with a yearly estimate of the cost of nursery stock to be used, and establish a suggested species list for the Village for the type and kind of trees to be planted upon Village property, among other tree care practices. The Tree Committee provided input during the drafting of the Community Forest Management Plan.

 

Committee Members

Name

Term Expiration

Steve Langdon 2025
Taylor Samburgh 2025
Jason Smith 2024
Christian Wissler 2025

 

The Tree Committee works closely with the Parks Manager, the DPW Superintendent, and the Village Manager.

DPW Location:

95 Van Buren Street

Saranac Lake, NY 12983

Hours of Operation: 7:00am - 3:30pm Monday through Friday


Mount Pisgah Location:

92 Mount Pisgah Drive

Saranac Lake, NY 12983 


Contact:

Andy Testo, Parks Manager

pisgahmanager@saranaclakeny.gov

518-891-0970

Baldwin Park Redesign

The Village has secured funding for site and architectural design for Baldwin Park to map out the prioritized park projects that are included in the Park Vision Plan. The redesign is focused on enhanced views and waterfront access as the park is located on the banks of the Saranac River.

Visit the Baldwin Park Redesign page. 

Saranac Lake Recreation

Check out our interactive Recreation Map to view boat launches, canoe access sites, trailheads, bicycle access, and scenic walkways around Saranac Lake.