COLTON -- A canoe and car-top boat access trail to the Raquette River at Moody Falls will open July 29, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The new access site is off State Rt. 56 north of Sevey’s Corners on lands owned by Lyme Adirondack Timberlands.

There is a new trail that leads down to the Raquette River upstream of Moody Falls. There is a four-car parking lot and improved road access.

“Completion of this waterway access site and trail demonstrates the importance of conservation easements and partnerships to enhance recreational access for the public,” said DEC Regional Director Judy Drabicki. “The Interim Recreation Management Plan proposed installing a public parking area and launch site for non-motorized water craft. DEC worked with Lyme to design the access road, parking area and water access sites. DEC built the parking area, upgraded the road and installed signs, and volunteers from the Laurentian Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club and SUNY Canton brushed out the new trail to the river.”

There will also be a trail from above to below Moody Falls which should be completed later this year or early next year.

All of these actions were proposed in the DEC’s Raquette-Boreal Unit Management Plan, which was completed in 2006. The recommendations were used as part of the basis for negotiations with the landowner for the conservation easement that DEC now owns.

John Barron, chair of the St. Lawrence County-based Laurentian Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club said, “Our group is delighted with this development. Over the years, DEC has established conservation easements that lay the groundwork for recreational use, which is good; even better is seeing the development of facilities like this that actually enable and encourage recreational access. We were happy to play a part in clearing the trail, which chapter member Blair Madore planned and a group of volunteer trail workers from the chapter and SUNY Canton carried out. We look forward to using this access point to the Raquette.”

The official opening of the Raquette River Access Trail at Moody Falls will be on Sunday, July 29 at 10 a.m. as part of the Raquette River Awareness week, which runs from July 28 to Aug 4.

The Raquette River is the second longest river in New York State at 174 miles, from its source at Blue Mountain Lake in the middle of the Adirondacks to the St. Lawrence River at Akwesasne.

The official opening of the access trail is one of dozens of events through the week all along the river.

Information on Raquette River Awareness Week can be found at http://www.wpbstv.org/cms-display/PaddleOn.html under “events.”