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#1
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NY State Parks Kayak Permits
Hi -
Does anyone happen to know when New York State Parks began to charge money for people wanting to use kayaks? My wife and I went to Taghkanic Lake State Park this weekend with our boats. We paid the $7 to get in, and no one told us (until we were down at the lake) that they charged $15 bucks PER BOAT just to put in, and we'd have to adorn our kayaks with a numbered decal (about the size of a Euro license plate). Otherwise we would be ticketed. We nearly fell over. The State hits you up for $30 bucks just to put two boats in the water (and they don't tell you that at the door). Granted, they said that as long as we had the decal on the boat, we could use it for the rest of the year at that location. However, we later came to find out that each park region (of which there are many) has a differnt license tag -which required yet another registration. Another $30 bucks. The money wasn't worth it - as we don't usually go to there. I think this is a excessive. We're not taxing any of the resources of the park (ie: we're not taking up the lifeguards time, not taking fish from the lake, polluting the water like the jetski's do, etc). We just want to park, put in (no boat launch there, just from shore next to the beach), and get out of everyone's hair. They don't tax bicyclists, do they? Could someone please shed some light on the justification of this fee? Part of what attracted me to this past time was the idea that it was relatively free from costs like this. Was it always like this or is this a trend? Is my frustration at this situation unreasonable? Hey, I'm all for the upkeep of our parks and I don't mind the $7 cover charge at all. But how they apply their other fees - relative to all the different kinds of activities/traffic in the park, seems a bit unbalanced. Is it this bad in other states? Any insight and/or opinions are appreciated. Thanks, TwoK |
#2
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NY State Parks Kayak Permits
Next thing you know they'll be putting up toll boths on bike paths.
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#3
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NY State Parks Kayak Permits
Someone has to pay for the "sins" of New York City. I guess kayakers have
been elected to do so. If everyone refuses to pay it like you did and makes a stink about it, perhaps you can get the regulations changed. -- Regards Brian |
#4
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NY State Parks Kayak Permits
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#5
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NY State Parks Kayak Permits
John Fereira wrote in message
I assume that you mean Taughannock State Park. - No, that's a different Park. I meant the park as it is spelled which is in the mid Hudson Valley near the border of Columbia and Dutchess Counties. The spelling you used is interesting however. According to the park web site: The name "Taughannock" originates either from that of the Delaware Indian chief Taughannock or as the Delaware word taghkanic ("great fall in the woods"). That may be Joe, but the lake (and state park) is as I spelled it. It's access point is right off the Taconic State Parkway (yet another spelling...to add further confusion). NY State doesn't require any sort of registration or decals for kayaks or canoes so all this is news to me. I just got off the phone with someone from the Taughannock Park office and she told me that they do *not* charge a launch fee for canoes and kayaks out of the park. I'm sure they'd be very interested to know if someone you encountered at the park took $30 from you. They most certainly DO charge.....there (at least). I spoke with Park Director, Mr. Stuffleman (or at least that's the name he gave). The permits/decals are purchased at the main station on the beach itself. As I said, I paddle on the lake several times a week and know a lot of other people that do as well and have never heard any of them complaining about having to pay to paddle on the lake. Well, that's good news to hear, Joe. I'm glad to hear that it's not happening everywhere. For further evidence of the park that DOES charge, please visit this site: http://nysparks.state.ny.us/cgi-bin/...parks.cgi?p+77 Feel free to call: (518) 851-3631 and inquire as to what they charge to put in a kayak, and voice your opinion! Thanks for the information, Joe. I think it's time for me to head west! Your neck of the woods seems to be the place to go! TwoK |
#6
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NY State Parks Kayak Permits
Hi All -
After a little research I found out some interesting info. Joe's info is usually very good...so I sought to find out the discrepency between our two experiences. It appears that administration of NYS parks is actually divided up in between NYS Parks and Recreation and the Dept. of Environmental Conservation, which may explain the lack of uniformity when it comes to fee assesment. In the Adirondack's and Catskills, it's administered by ENCON, which probably doesn't charge fees. However the Palisades State Park Commission (part of Parks and Rec) oversees parks in the Taconic - there's that crazy spelling again - and Palisades Regions (think lower Hudson Valley). The permits for the Taconic region were as stated above, and the permits for the Palisades division are $25 per year. The woman at Parks and Rec, also told me that there was another site at Keewaydin (she thought it was in the thousand islands) that charges $50 per year for a permit (for 1-9 launches), and $100 for 20-24 launches, and Lake Hempstead on Long Island charged $50 for any car-top boat per year. So, while it all depends upon the administrative entity per region....I still think that it's an awful lot to pay. Two_K |
#7
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NY State Parks Kayak Permits
Everyone living in New York state pays for the sins of the City. They
are now shaking down visiters. Brian Nystrom wrote: Someone has to pay for the "sins" of New York City. I guess kayakers have been elected to do so. If everyone refuses to pay it like you did and makes a stink about it, perhaps you can get the regulations changed. -- Regards Brian |
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