First Day Hikes Can Get You Moving In The New Year

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Starting the new year with exercise is probably a good idea, and New York’s governor is encouraging residents to celebrate the start of 2024 at a state park.

Governor Kathy Hochul said the 13th annual First Day Hikes program is offering varied hike options for people to enjoy at more than 80 locations across the state.

“New York’s public lands are something to behold,” she said. “We lead the nation on state public lands, and we house the nation’s oldest state park.”

Hochul said, with New York State Parks celebrating its centennial in 2024, the First Day Hikes is the first of many celebratory events.

“I invite all New Yorkers to begin the New Year by experiencing New York’s beautiful landscapes and enjoying the environmental and cultural legacy we call home,” she said.

The walks and hikes are family friendly and typically range from 1 to 5 miles depending on the location and conditions.

More than 90 likes are being offered at state parks, historic sites, DEC state lands, wildlife areas, forest preserve and canal trails and environmental education centers.

In the Hudson Valley/Catskills, there are the following hikes:

• Bramley Mountain, Delhi; 845.428.0160
• Catskills Visitor Center, Mount Tremper; 845.688.3369
• Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park, Yorktown; 914.245.4434
• Little Stony Point/Hudson Highlands State Park, Cold Spring; 410.456.8998
• John Jay Homestead State Historic Site, Katonah; 914.232.5651
• Minnewaska State Park Preserve, Peter's Kill, Kerhonkson; 845.255.0752
• Minnewaska State Park Preserve, Sam's Point, Cragsmoor; 845.647.7989
• North-South Lake Day Use Area, Haines Falls; 518.303.6050
• Olana State Historic Site, Hudson; 518.751.6938
• Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park, Dobbs Ferry; 646.303.1448
• Rockefeller State Park Preserve, Pleasantville; 914.631.1470
• Staatsburgh State Historic Site, Staatsburgh; register here
• Sterling Forest State Park, Tuxedo; 845.351.5907
• Stony Kill Farm Environmental Education Center, Wappingers Falls; 845.831.3800
• Taconic State Park - Copake Falls, Copake Falls; 518.329.3993 (2 hikes)
• Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park, Poughkeepsie; 845.834.2867
• West Kill Mountain, Hunter-West Kill Wilderness Area, West Kill; 607.832.4413
• Willowemoc Wild Forest, Livingston Manor; 845.693.4181