Harriman State Park

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Harriman State Park

At 46,613 acres (186.4 km²), Harriman State Park is one of the largest state parks in New York

New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
. Located in Rockland

Rockland County, New York

Rockland County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, north-northwest of New York City. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area....
and Orange

Orange County, New York

Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie , New York–Newburgh , New York–Middletown, Orange County, New York, NY Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown metropolitan area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York City–Newark, New Jersey–Bridgeport, Connecticut...
counties 30 miles (48 km) north of New York City

New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
, it is a haven for hikers with over 200 miles (320 km) of hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often on trail. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous :Category:Hiking organizations worldwide....
trails. The park is also known for its 31 lakes, multiple streams, public camping

Camping

Camping is an outdoor recreational activity.The participants, known as campers, get away from urban areas, their home region or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or more nights, usually at a campsite....
area, and great vistas. The park's hiking trails are currently maintained by volunteers from the New York - New Jersey Trail Conference

New York - New Jersey Trail Conference

The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference is a federation of approximately 10,000 individual members and about 100 member organizations . The organization, now located in Mahwah, NJ, is volunteer-based....
. On its northeastern edge, Harriman State Park borders the smaller Bear Mountain State Park

Bear Mountain State Park

Bear Mountain State Park is located on the west side of the Hudson River in Rockland County, New York. The park offers biking, hiking, boating, picnicking, swimming, cross-country skiing, cross-country running, sledding and ice-skating as well as a zoos, trailside museums, a hotel called Bear Mountain Inn, a carousel and a dining facility....
.

lass="link1" onMouseover='showByLink("m3086367",this)' onMouseout='hide("m3086367")'href="http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/E._H._Harriman">Edward Harriman

E. H. Harriman

Edward Henry Harriman was an American railroad executive....
and Mary Averell Harriman

Mary Williamson Averell

Mary Williamson Averell was born in New York, New York into a prominent New York family, she was tutored at home and completed her education at a finishing school with the ??expectation that one day she would become a fine wife and mother for some young man of equal or greater social standing than the Averells?....
owned 30,000 acres (120 km²) in Arden, New York

Arden, New York

Arden, is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Hamlet around the town line of Tuxedo, New York and Monroe , New York, New York, in the United States....
as part of their estate.

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History

Edward Harriman

E. H. Harriman

Edward Henry Harriman was an American railroad executive....
and Mary Averell Harriman

Mary Williamson Averell

Arden, New York

Arden, is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Hamlet around the town line of Tuxedo, New York and Monroe , New York, New York, in the United States....
as part of their estate. They opposed the state's decision to build a prison at Bear Mountain and wanted to donate some of their land to the state in order to build a park. A year after the death of her husband in 1909, Mary Harriman proposed to Governor Charles Evans Hughes

Charles Evans Hughes

Charles Evans Hughes Sr. was a lawyer and United States Republican Party politician from the State of New York. He served as Governor of New York , United States Secretary of State , Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and Chief Justice of the United States ....
that she would donate 10,000 acres (40 km²) of land and $1 million for the creation of a new state park. As part of the deal, the state would do away with the plan to build the prison, appropriate an additional $2.5 million to acquire additional land and construct park facilities. The Palisades Interstate Park Commission

Palisades Interstate Park Commission

Palisades Interstate Park and its creator, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, was formed in 1900 by governors Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Foster M....
would have its authority extended north into the Ramapo Mountains

Ramapo Mountains

The Ramapo Mountains are a forested mountain range of the Appalachian mountains in northeastern New Jersey and southeastern New York in the United States....
and the Hudson Highlands, and New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north by New York, on the east by the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean, on the southwest by Delaware, and on the west by Pennsylvania....
would also contribute an amount of money deemed reasonable by the Commission. The state agreed and on October 29, 1910, William Averell Harriman

W. Averell Harriman

William Averell Harriman was an United States United States Democratic Party politician, businessman and diplomat. He was the son of railroad baron E....
presented a deed for the land and a million-dollar check to the Commission.

In 1913, Major William A. Welch

William A. Welch

Major William Addams Welch was an American engineer and environmentalist who would have a major impact on the state and national park systems of the United States....
started construction on the road from Bear Mountain

Bear Mountain

Bear Mountain may refer to:Summits and peaks* Bear Mountain , several* Bear Mountain , several* Bear Mountain , of the Taconic Mountains...
to Sloatsburg

Sloatsburg, New York

Sloatsburg is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Village in the Ramapo, New York Rockland County, New York, New York, United States located east of Orange County, New York and sits at the southern entrance to Harriman State Park....
, known today as the Seven Lakes Drive

Seven Lakes Drive

Seven Lakes Drive is a 17.91 mile long parkway in the U.S. state of New York. The southern terminus of the route is at New York State Route 17 in Sloatsburg, New York....
. In 1962 a new road from the Southfields section of Tuxedo

Tuxedo, New York

[Image:Henry W Poor house.jpg|thumb|250px|Home of Henry W. Poor Image:Clemens at Tuxedo NY.jpgTuxedo is a town located in Orange County, New York....
to Kanawake Circle was opened. There were also numerous other roads completed around Bear Mountain and Dunderberg Mountain

Dunderberg Mountain

Dunderberg Mountain stands at the so-called southern gate of the Hudson Highlands where the region's namesake Hudson River enters a dramatic gorge....
in order to make it easier for people to reach the new park. In addition, there was steamboat

Steamboat

A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam engine, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels....
service from Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is one of the five borough of New York City, located primarily on Manhattan Island at the mouth of the Hudson River.With a United States Census of 1,620,867 living in a land area of 22.96 square miles , Manhattan, coextensive with New York County, is the most population density county in the United States, w...
offering round trip tickets for 85 cents for adults and 45 cents for children.

The park received a large influx of free labor during the Great Depression

Great Depression

File:International depression.pngThe Great Depression was a worldwide economic Recession starting in most places in 1929 and ending at different times in the 1930s or early 1940s for different countries....
. The Civilian Conservation Corps

Civilian Conservation Corps

File:CCC constructing road.gifThe Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program for unemployed men, focused on natural resource conservation from 1933 to 1942....
(CCC) offered thousands of young men work such as building roads, trails, camps and lakes. Projects completed by the CCC in the park included Pine Meadow, Wanoksink, Turkey Hill, Welch, Silvermine and Massawippa Lakes.

Trails in Harriman Park

There are more than forty marked hiking trails (225 miles total) in Harriman, and another 57 unmarked trails and woods road (103 miles, foot traffic only). Some of the better known trails include:

Appalachian trail
Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply The A.T., is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States, extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine....
, are within the park
Long Path
Long Path

The Long Path is a 347.35-mile long-distance trail hiking trail running from George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, New Jersey, New Jersey to Altamont, Albany County, New York, New York, in the Capital District....
, are within the park
Pine Meadow trail,
Ramapo-Dunderberg trail,
Red Cross trail,

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Seven Hills trail,
Suffern-Bear Mountain trail,
Timp-Torne trail,
Tuxedo-Mt Ivy trail,
White Bar trail,

In addition to the hiking trails there are a number of horse trails in the southeastern portion of the park and a mountain bike trail at the Anthony Wayne Recreation Area in the northeast of the park. In winter some of the trails are open for cross-country skiing.

Lakes

There are 32 lakes and ponds in Harriman. Some of the larger ones are:

Lake Sebago
Lake Sebago

At 310 acres, Lake Sebago is the largest lake in Harriman State Park in the U.S. state of New York. The name is Algonquin for "big water". It has a swimming beach, hand boat launch , and cabin camping....
, , swimming beach, boat launch, cabin camping
Lake Tiorati, , swimming beach
Lake Welch, , swimming beach, camping
Lake Kanawauke
Lake Kanawauke

Lake Kanawauke is a primarily man-made lake in Harriman State Park. The name is Onondaga in origin, and means "place of much water". There are three parts to the lake, lower, middle and upper; the total area is ....
(lower, middle and upper),
Lake Stahahe,
Silver Mine Lake,
Pine Meadow Lake
Pine Meadow Lake

Pine Meadow Lake lies at the end of the most popular hiking trail in Harriman State Park in the US State of New York, the Pine Meadow Trail....
,
Turkey Hill Lake,
Island Pond,
Lake Askoti,
Lake Skanatati,
Lake Wanosink,
Lake Skenonto,
Queensboro Lake,
Hessian Lake,
Summit Lake,

Shelters

There are 17 lean-to

Lean-to

A lean-to is term used for two similar, yet different types of building.It can be a free standing structure of three walls and a sloping roof....
shelters in Harriman and Bear Mountain parks.

Sources

Myles, William J., Harriman Trails, A Guide and History, The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, New York, N.Y., 1999.

Harriman State Park

History

Trails in Harriman Park

Lakes

Shelters

See also

Sources

External links