Explore the Adirondacks at the VIC!
Paul Smiths VIC: Black Pond from the Black Pond Trail (27 September 2012)
Paul Smiths VIC Programs
The Paul Smith's College VIC (Visitor Interpretive Center) in Paul Smiths, New York, offers a variety of free and fee-based arts, sports, and educational programs throughout the year, including bird walks and nature walks, trail runs, children's educational programs, art exhibits, concerts, lectures, workshops, and naturalist-led paddles. The VIC also hosts the annual Great Adirondack Birding Celebration in June. An adjacent Butterfly House features butterflies and moths in all stages of development.
The
3,000-acre VIC features 6 miles of interpretive trails and 8
miles of back country trails that showcase the natural beauty
of the Adirondacks and provide unparalleled opportunities to
view, hear, photograph, and enjoy nature. The trails weave through
woodland and marshland, by ponds, brooks, and bogs. Many of
the trails are surfaced for easy walking. Many have trail-side
signs explaining natural and man-made features of the landscape.
The trail system traverses every habitat type found in the Adirondack
Park (with the exception of alpine vegetation) and includes
extensive boardwalks through wetland ecosystems. The VIC is
also a bird-watching haven and attracts birders from throughout
the Adirondacks and the northeast. The trails are open from dawn to dusk and free from
spring through fall. During the winter months, the trails are
open for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing for a fee. VIC facilities are also available for rental for conferences, weddings, parties, and other gatherings.
History of the Paul Smiths VIC
The Paul Smith’s College VIC (Visitor Interpretive Center) was originally a state-funded facility -- one of two centers created by New York State so local residents and visitors would get to know the natural ecosystems of the six-million acre Adirondack Park. The Paul Smiths VIC opened in 1989 and the Newcomb center opened in 1990. For two decades, the two centers served both tourists and local residents, providing a wide range of public programs, many of them free, thanks to state funding.
New York State curtailed funding to both visitor centers in 2010. The Newcomb VIC was transferred to the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and became the Adirondack Interpretive Center (AIC). In January 2011, Paul Smith’s College, which owns the land on which the VIC building is located, agreed to take over the Paul Smiths VIC.
The Paul Smiths visitor center was reopened under the auspices of Paul Smith’s College in the summer of 2011. Many of the programs that made the Paul Smiths VIC popular under state management have continued under Paul Smith’s College management. However, because the VIC is no longer receiving New York State funding, some of the programs that were provided free of charge when the VIC was part of the Adirondack Park Agency can no longer be offered cost free.
Access to the extensive trail system is free in the spring, summer and fall months. Skiers and snowshoers who wish to use the trails in winter are asked to purchase trail passes, in part to cover the costs of trail grooming and maintaining a greatly expanded winter trail system. This expanded winter trail network is designed to appeal to skiers of all skill levels, as well as to the skate skiers in the area.
The revitalized VIC is also branching out into a wide range of new activities, linking the center more closely to the regional arts community and to the College, and offering meeting and event rental opportunities. Under Paul Smith’s College management, the VIC is now offering a wider range of educational, music, art, sports, and children’s programs, while expanding the trail system and retaining the popular Native Species Butterfly House.