Adirondack Park

At 6.1 million acres this is the largest park in the contiguous United States, and it works unlike any other: about 52 per cent of the land inside the boundary is privately owned, with the remaining 48 per cent held by the state as Forest Preserve, and the Adirondack Park Agency regulates both. It was established in 1892 for the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure, and to protect the watershed. Inside are the 46 High Peaks, 2,800 lakes and ponds, 30,000 miles of rivers and streams, and 105 towns and villages.