Hudson Highlands State Park
Hudson Highlands State Park | |
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Location | Hudson Valley, New York, United States |
Coordinates | 41°27′31″N 73°57′35″W / 41.45861°N 73.95972°W |
Area | 11.98 sq mi (31.0 km2) |
Elevation | 1,260 ft (380 m) |
Named for | Location in Hudson Highlands |
Visitors | 224,015 (in 2014[1]) |
Operator | New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation |
Website | Hudson Highlands State Park |
Hudson Highlands State Park is a non-contiguous state park in the U.S. state of New York, located on the east side of the Hudson River. The park runs from Peekskill in Westchester County, through Putnam County, to Beacon in Dutchess County, in the eastern section of the Hudson Highlands.
The park's lands, heavily mined,
Due to its panoramic views of the river and mountains, and easy access by both automobile and rail, it has become a very popular destination for
Geography
The park is composed of four separate tracts of land, two of which are contiguous, reflecting its piecemeal acquisition. The southernmost section begins just north of
The AT leaves the state park for a
North of the villages of Cold Spring and Nelsonville is the central and largest section. Starting at the Little Stony Point area along the river, which is separated from the rest of the parcel by the easement for the New York City water supply system's Catskill Aqueduct, this section contains Bull Hill and Breakneck Ridge, with Breakneck Brook between them, then sprawls into Dutchess County, where it includes Pollepel Island, Sugarloaf Mountain, the south summit of Beacon Mountain and Beacon Reservoir, reaching its northern terminus at the Dry Brook trailhead at the end of Pocket Road in the city of Beacon. It is complemented by Storm King State Park across the river.
The Fishkill Ridge Conservation Area, owned by the environmental organization Scenic Hudson but managed by NYSOPRHP, bridges the gap between that central tract and the northern tract, a trail-less parcel on Sour Mountain at the Highlands' northern end, reaching almost to Interstate 84 at the bottom of the slope.[5]
Also in Beacon is the 66-acre (27 ha) Denning Point parcel. This small wooded promontory is located where Fishkill Creek drains into the Hudson.[6]
History
The Eastern Highlands before the 20th century
Eastward a high chain of mountains whose sides were covered with woods up to no more than half their height. The summits, however, were quite barren, for I suppose nothing would grow there on account of the great degree of heat, dryness, and the violence of the wind to which that part was exposed.[7]
Kalm landed in the area and wrote the first scientific description of mountain laurel, a plant species still abundant in the area.[7]
For most of American history, the Highlands were harvested for their natural resources, particularly mineral.
By the beginning of the 20th century, the eastern Highlands had been mostly tapped out as an easy source of minerals and were reforesting. Early hikers began to explore them, following the abandoned paths and roads from the earlier extractions. One, William T. Howell, catalogued their history and lore. In 1910, he pleaded for the land to be left alone and preserved in near-wilderness condition as summer vacationers started to head north looking for green spaces:
There is but one perfect solution as to the preservation of the Highlands, though I know in my heart that it will never be realized. That is, to leave them alone. By that I mean, keep out all foreign influences. That means more than quarries and manufacturies. It means hotels and parking projects, and even ... roads and easy paths. There is something more at stake here than the preservation of the scenery ... There is a wild charm and isolation about the Highlands that will fly forever when the "improvements" begin to come in.[8]
Creation of park
As New York began creating its first state parks in the Hudson Valley Region during the 1910s and 20s, it concentrated its efforts on larger tracts it had acquired such as Harriman and Bear Mountain to the southwest and Fahnestock to the east. Much of the present Hudson Highlands State Park was either part of large estates or owned by commercial interests seeking to exploit their mineral resources. An organization called the Hudson River Conservation Society (HRCS) worked to preserve the lands by persuading owners to donate them to the state or include clauses in deeds that forbade or greatly restricting quarrying and mining operations on the property.[9]
In 1938 the society made its first significant accomplishment when it persuaded Rosalie Loew Whitney to give the state Conservation Department 177 acres (72 ha) on the northwest face of Breakneck Ridge from the estate of Thomas Nelson, the local landowner from whom Nelsonville took its name. The next year, an appeal to save Anthony's Nose raised enough money to purchase 200 acres (81 ha) of its northern slope.[9]
No more major land acquisitions took place until the 1960s, when the
The park finally began to come together towards its present form in the next few years, as the
The north end of the park became the center of a local controversy in the late 1990s. It is home to a
Flora and fauna
The park's plants and animals are part of the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion.[13] Its variety of
Besides rattlesnakes, the park also supports some other state-listed threatened species, such as the
Public use and access
The park is open during daylight hours year-round. It is used mainly for passive recreation, mostly
Pollepel Island, while accessible by water a short distance from the east bank of the river, is the only area of the park to which access is restricted. It and the ruins of Bannerman's Castle, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, can only be visited by making advance arrangements through NYSOPRHP for a guided tour.[16]
Access
The park is most frequently entered from its western side. NY 9D runs near or along its boundaries, particularly between Cold Spring and Breakneck Ridge, and two of its major trailheads are along that section at Little Stony and Breakneck points. The Osborn Preserve and Anthony's Nose sections have trailheads along the Bear Mountain Highway and at the Appalachian Trail crossing at South Mountain Pass Road south of Canada Hill. The AT's junction with US 9 and NY 403 allows access from the east. In Garrison it is also possible to use the trails from Manitoga and the Castle Rock Unique Area to reach the park parcels on the ridgetops.[4][5]
The Fishkill Ridge areas and Mount Beacon are commonly climbed from the east either by following the Fishkill Ridge trail from its northern terminus at Pocket Road in Beacon. From the west, they can be reached from the Wilkinson Memorial Trail on Old Albany Post Road North just south of the county line along US 9.[5]
Hikers coming from the south also have the option of taking the train to the trails from as far away as
Trails
The trails of the park are maintained by volunteers from the
Many take advantage of the ridgetop topography and thinly wooded summits to offer panoramic viewpoints over the river and region.
Some of the longer and more frequently-hiked trails in the park are:
- Appalachian Trail (AT): A 5.1-mile (8.2 km) section of the Georgia-to-Maine long-distance trail passes through the southern portion of the park near the Osborn Preserve. From NY 9D just north of the Bear Mountain Bridge, it ascends Canada Hill and follows that ridge for two miles before descending to the US 9/NY 403 junction at Graymoor.[18]
- Breakneck Ridge Trail: One of the most popular trails in the park,[19] due to the challenge of the westernmost section, which climbs 1,250 feet (380 m) in its first 0.75 miles (1.21 km) through steep rocky chutes that require scrambling and offer views of Storm King and Newburgh Bay. The entire trail, 4.6 miles (7.4 km) in length, continues over the mountain along the ridgetop to South Beacon Mountain.[20]
- Camp Smith Trail: This 3.7-mile (6.0 km) trail follows a narrow corridor through of parkland between the Bear Mountain, the bridge and Haverstraw Bay to the south.[21]
- Fishkill Ridge Trail: Starting from the Pocket Road trailhead in Beacon, this 4.9-mile (7.9 km) trail makes a large loop over that mountain, offering some views over Fishkill and southern Dutchess County along the way.[22]
- Notch Trail: Formerly the Three Notch Trail, this 5.8-mile (9.3 km) trail follows wood roads from near the summit of Bull Hill, down into the col and up the north face of Breakneck Ridge. There it joins that trail for 1.3 miles (2.1 km) along the ridge, then descends the face of Sunset Point to Squirrel Hollow Brook and continues a long traverse across the lower slopes of South Beacon Mountain to reach Route 9D in Dutchess Junction south of Beacon, near Melzingah Brook.[23]
- Osborn Loop: This 3.4 miles (5.5 km) trail connects to the AT near Canada Hill at both ends. It can be reached from Manitoga, the AT, or the trails around Sugarloaf Mountain.[24]
- Undercliff Trail: A four-mile (6.4 km) route from Nelsonville to Breakneck Ridge that crosses the shoulder of Bull Hill along the way. It takes its name from the many cliffs whose foot it passes.[25]
- Washburn Trail: The main route up Bull Hill from the Little Stony Point trailhead just north of Cold Spring climbs the mountain's 1,420 feet (430 m) in almost 2.3 miles (3.7 km). This is the greatest vertical ascent of any trail within the park.[26]
- Wilkinson Memorial Trail: Longest trail in Hudson Highlands State Park at 9.5 miles (15.3 km). It begins along NY 9D just north of Breakneck Ridge and gradually ascends to cross all the summits of Scofield Ridge, the highest peak in Putnam County, located outside the park. It descends from there to Old Albany Post Road North, just off US 9 near the county line.[27]
See also
References
- ^ "State Park Annual Attendance Figures by Facility: Beginning 2003". Data.ny.gov. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
- ^ "Section O: Environmental Conservation and Recreation, Table O-9". 2014 New York State Statistical Yearbook (PDF). The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. 2014. p. 672. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 16, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
- ^ "Hudson Highlands Hiking". Putnam County News & Recorder. Putnam County News & Recorder, LLC. 2007. Archived from the original on July 21, 2009. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
South Beacon Mountain. Marked by its abandoned fire tower, this is the highest summit of the Hudson Highlands.
- ^ New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. 2008.
- ^ New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. 2008.
- ^ New York Walk Book, 172–73.
- ^ ISBN 0-88150-292-8.
- ISBN 0-910146-73-X.
- ^ a b c New York Walk Book, 148.
- ^ New York Walk Book, 149.
- ^ "Spitzer And DEC Win Court Order For Threatened Snakes" (Press release). Office of the Attorney General. March 5, 1999. Archived from the original on October 15, 2009. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
- Ottaway Community Newspapers. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
Basically, Sour Mountain Realty put up a snake fence on its Fishkill Ridge rock mine property to prevent rattlesnakes from gliding onto the land – land targeted for dynamite-aided quarry expansion. In the first real legal test of the New York Endangered Species Act in more than two decades, two courts in 1999 and 2000 upheld the state Department of Environmental Conservation's right to impose the Act on private property. And the judges held that state law was based in sound habitat protection biology.
- doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0933:TEOTWA]2.0.CO;2.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ "Appendices, Biodiversity in New York's State Park System" (PDF). (214 KB), 90–91. Retrieved February 8, 2009.
- ^ "STATE PARKS HIGHLIGHTS UNIQUE ECOLOGICAL INVENTORY" (Press release). New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. April 20, 2007. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
There are only five existing populations of fence lizard in New York, making this the rarest of New York's three lizard species. All of these populations are within state parks and three are in Hudson Highlands State Park. Fence lizards are at the northern extent of their range in New York and are listed as state threatened.
- ^ a b "Hudson Highlands State Park". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
- ^ "Hudson Line Schedule" (PDF). (289 KB), Metro-North Railroad, October 5, 2008. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
- ^ New York Walk Book, 165–66.
- ^ McMartin, 53. "Judging by the cars that line NY 9D two miles north of Cold Spring, near the underpass and trailhead below Breakneck Ridge's cliffs and jagged skyline, it is easy to believe that this mountain is everybody's favorite in the Hudson Highlands."
- ^ New York Walk Book, 151–53.
- ^ New York Walk Book, 171–72.
- ^ New York Walk Book, 155–56.
- ^ New York Walk Book, 158–59.
- ^ New York Walk Book, 167–68.
- ^ New York Walk Book, 160–61.
- ^ New York Walk Book, 161–62.
- ^ New York Walk Book, 162–64.