10 Months After Deluge, Appalachian Trail At Bear Mountain Reopening

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Ten months after the fatal rainstorm that led to its closure, the Appalachian Trail at Bear Mountain State Park will reopen for Memorial Day weekend 2024, New York State Parks officials announced.

Additionally, the previously closed sections of the Major Welch and Suffern – Bear Mountain trails will also open to hikers.

On July 9, 2023, a massive storm dropped approximately 10 inches of rain on Bear Mountain, damaging the park’s infrastructure, water supply, and trail systems and forcing the park to close for two months during the summer season.

"July's unprecedented flooding dealt a devastating blow to our trail system in Bear Mountain and Harriman State Parks, causing extensive damage that destroyed trails and vital structures, wiping some trails completely off the map," Josh Howard, Executive Director of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, told Patch at the time.

The damage across Bear Mountain State Park was so bad that it was seven weeks before just some picnic grounds and one small trail reopened, parks officials announced. You could only get into the park through its main entrance off Route 9W near the Bear Mountain Bridge. Parking was limited due to severe damage to parking lots.

The torrential rains in the Hudson Valley July 9-10 also caused one death, severely damaged the United States Military Academy at West Point, and damaged or destroyed homes, roads, cars, train tracks and bridges.

In the aftermath of the storm, the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the New York State Office of General Services and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission worked together to repair the parks roads, bridges, drains, water, power, and sewer. Approximately $40 million has been spent to ensure that the park is back and open for the 2024 season.

Though many of the roads and bridges were reopened during the Summer and Fall of 2023, the trail system has taken longer to repair. Nearly every trail in the park’s 42-mile system received some level of damage, with some of that damage forcing complete reconstruction.

After 10 months of work with support, guidance, and expertise from the NY-NJ Trail Conference, volunteer labor from West Point and elsewhere, and funding from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC), the Appalachian Trail from the top of Bear Mountain to the Bear Mountain Inn – a section that had been closed since July 2023 – will reopen in time for the park’s official summer season this Memorial Day Weekend.

This includes two areas atop Bear Mountain that are meant as accessible amenities within the park – the All Peoples’ Trail and the newly-renovated accessible viewing area at Perkins Tower. These sections were restored thanks to the Palisades Parks Conservancy, who will complete additional upgrades to the viewing area this summer.

OPRHP and PIPC are still working together to develop plans to repair many of the trails, including those in Doodletown that were severely damaged.

“The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference’s staff and volunteers are proud to support our partners at the Palisades Interstate Park Commission in providing enjoyable and safe recreational opportunities on trails," Howard said. "Our restoration work in response to the devastation in the aftermath of last summer’s storms highlights the importance of this partnership. The dedication, craftsmanship, and commitment displayed by our volunteers and Conservation Corps members in restoring and reopening the Appalachian Trail in Bear Mountain State Park is remarkable. It is a true testament to their passion for trails and our collective goal of helping the public enjoy nature through exceptional trail experiences."

Bear Mountain’s section of the Appalachian Trail was the very first to be constructed along the now 2,190+ mile path. The trail continues through the nearby Trailside Museums & Zoo and over the Bear Mountain Bridge. The Bear Mountain section of the A-T will celebrate its 100th year in 2025.

Bear Mountain State Park is one of 21 parks and 9 historic sites in New York and New Jersey that are operated by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC). Established in 1908, Bear Mountain is one of the oldest State Parks in New York. The park receives some 2 million annual visitors who come to picnic, hike the Appalachian Trail, swim at the pool, visit the Zoo, and more. PIPC work with the New York State Office Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation to manage these parks for public recreation and to protect natural and cultural resources.

Visit https://parks.ny.gov for more information.

Formed in 1900, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) is the nation’s first bi-state entity established to protect and conserve natural lands. Today it manages 21 parks and 9 historic sites spanning over 125,000 acres in New York and Northern New Jersey. PIPC’s early work helped inspire the emerging fields of environmental stewardship and education, pioneered the goal of exposing children to nature through its group campgrounds, and served as a model for the early growth of the national park system. The Commission’s maple and oak leaf logo represents the official state trees of New York and New Jersey.