More Improvements Finished At Fahnstock State Park

The Open Space Institute has completed the latest enhancements aimed at improving access to Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park: the stabilization of an eroded streambank and the construction of a new 65-foot pedestrian bridge.

OSI restored and improved a key stream crossing of the park’s Hubbard Perkins Loop Trail that had been damaged by Hurricane Irene in 2011. The new pedestrian bridge completes the first one-mile loop along the trail, and the stream bank stabilization — which included hardening of the stream channel and plantings of native flora — provides wildlife habitat and helps improve water quality downstream.

The improvement project was the newest activity in a 10-year, OSI-led initiative to improve visitor access to OSI-protected lands in the northern section of Fahnestock. In coordination with New York State Parks, OSI has successfully completed projects outlined in its multi-phase Fahnestock State Park Improvement Plan, including:

• A full renovation of 9.5 miles of trails along the Hubbard Perkins Loop Trail;
• Creation of a new Big Woods Trailhead and 25-car parking area off Route 301;
• Establishment of a second new trailhead and 15-car parking area providing direct access to the Appalachian Trail;
• Installation of park entry and wayfinding signage at Route 9 and Taconic State Parkway.

OSI’s projects have created welcoming gateways to the park, increasing public access and improving accessibility in underutilized areas of Fahnestock. The improvements have also protected the region’s hiking trails and precious natural resources by better dispersing visitors throughout the area.

Altogether, OSI has fundraised and invested more than $6.5 million, improved or created more than 12 miles of trails, and constructed 14 new pedestrian bridges and trail crossings, five of which were completed through an ongoing collaboration with the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Each project builds upon OSI’s commitment to protecting and improving parks for public health and enjoyment. Since the 1990s, working in partnership with New York State Parks, OSI has doubled the size of Fahnestock State Park for its 300,000 annual visitors, bringing the park to more than 14,000 acres of protected woodlands, valleys, and plateaus.

“From our diligent efforts to increase the size of the park, to achieving the goals outlined in our Fahnestock Improvement Plan, OSI is dedicated to giving the public new, safe, and enjoyable opportunities to connect with nature at Fahnestock State Park,” said Peter Karis, OSI’s vice president of parks and stewardship. “We are fortunate to have great partners at New York State Parks and the USMA West Point who share our vision for increasing and improving access to nature for the people of New York.”

"New Yorkers need quality outdoor spaces to refresh their physical and mental health,” said State Parks Commissioner Pro Tempore Randy Simons. “I am grateful to the Open Space Institute for its ongoing work to improve recreational access within Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park and create much-needed options to explore all the Hudson Valley has to offer.”

The continued progress of OSI’s Fahnestock State Park Improvement Plan would not be possible without the generous support of Lucy R. Waletzky, Anne Perkins Cabot, and the Topfield Foundation, with major support from Chris Buck & Hara Schwartz, Judy & Leonard Lauder, The Society for the Preservation of Putnam County, The Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund, and Jennifer P. Speers; and additional support from Wendy & Bob Bickford, William Burback & Peter Hofmann, Mary R. Morgan, Norman Selby & Melissa Vail, the Friends of Fahnestock and Hudson Highlands State Parks (with support from the Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust), and New York-New Jersey Trail Conference volunteers.

As part of this work, the Hubbard Perkins Loop Trail project was supported in part by a $600,000 grant from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation through Title 9 of the Environmental Protection Act of 1993.