Snowmobiler Killed After Being Thrown From Sled in Adirondack Mountains

A Saranac Lake man died after being thrown from a snowmobile in the Adirondacks.

New York State Police were called to the Saranac Lake Rail Corridor trail in the town of North Elba on January 2. 46-year-old William Paye Jr. went off the trail and was thrown from his sled. He was taken to the Adirondack Medical Center for treatment where he later died.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Snowmobile Safety

Oneida County Sheriff Rob Maciol is encouraging riders to use extra caution when snowmobiling on trails this winter. Avoid driving too fast or blindly driving into and over snowbanks. You don't know what all that snow is covering. "Snowbanks may form over obstacles that could prove dangerous, including barbed wire."

Respect the Trails

The lack of respect from snowmobilers refusing to follow trails has caused 3 large landowners in Saratoga County to permanently close their properties in recent years. "We have been tirelessly working the past several months to reroute these areas as it is and now we have another area to reroute," the Charlton Snowmobile Club said.

Keith Canary owns 23 acres and says there is a path for snowmobilers at the end of his property, but they don't always follow it. "One year over and over, they circled the house in the middle of the night causing the dog to bark and wake up the babies," he shared on Facebook.

The Snowmobile Trail System includes over 8,000 miles of snowmobile trails stretching from one end of New York state to the other, crossing both public and private land along the way. The trail system is administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and is maintained by snowmobile clubs and funded, in part, by a portion of snowmobile registration fees.

Open Trails

Need to know what trails are open? There's an app for that. The Sled NY Snowmobile Trails App includes trail status, reroutes, local club trails, trail closures, alerts, services, as well as scenic vistas, and business Points of Interest. The app can also target your location and follow your travel as you go.

Snowmobile Clubs around the state work tirelessly opening, re-routing, grooming, and maintaining trails for everyone to enjoy every winter. Please learn to respect the trails, the land, and the landowners when out riding.