LAKE PLACID — The state Department of Environmental Conservation will temporarily move hikers from the popular, and often overflowing, parking areas outside of Lake Placid due to the anticipated crush of hikers over the Columbus Day Weekend.

Hikers will not be allowed to park at any of the parking areas for Cascade and Porter mountains or Pitchoff Mountain. Instead, those parking areas will be closed and hikers will be forced to park at Mount Van Hoevenberg.

From dusk on Thursday, Oct. 5 through Monday, Oct. 9, the parking areas on state Route 73 will be closed, with state police and the Essex County Sheriff enforcing the parking ban.

Hikers will be sent to the Olympic facilities at Van Ho for free parking. From there, hikers will have to walk a 2-mile cross-country ski trail to access the Cascade trail. The parking situation will greatly increase the Cascade Mountain trip, from its current 4.8 miles round-trip to 8.6 miles.

The Pitchoff Mountain trail will more than double due to parking at Van Ho. The current Pitchoff hike is 4 miles roundtrip, and the new route will be 8.4 miles roundtrip, including road walking and traversing a private driveway.

For more information, go to www.dec.ny.gov/press/111497.html.