Adirondack Mountain Club Public Affairs

Lakes to Locks Passage was established in 2002 by the New York State Legislature as a New York State Byway, and designated the same year as an All-American Road by the Federal Highway Administration (one of 31 nationally). The Byway follows the interconnected waterway of the Upper Hudson River, Champlain Canal, Lake George, Lake Champlain, Richelieu River and Chambly Canal through six Counties in New York State: Rensselaer, Saratoga, Washington, Warren, Essex, and Clinton. Through the Quebec/New York Trade Corridor, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed in 2005 with the CRE Monteregie Est in Quebec for cross-border promotion of tourism to national and international markets. The Byway is managed by the 501c3 non-profit organization Lakes to Locks Passage, Inc, with twenty board members, five officers, and two staff persons. Goals of the organization include: Create a great place to live -- which is also a great place to establish a business, invest public resources, and to visit! Establish a grassroots forum for voluntary inter-municipal planning and implementation of NYS Byway, waterfront and community revitalization programs. Assist communities through a process of sensitivity, awareness, understanding, appreciation, and finally, a commitment to the stewardship of the historic, natural, and cultural resources that are embodied in Lakes to Locks Passage, as the basis for community revitalization.