Sam's Point Preserve
Encyclopedia
Sam's Point Preserve, or Sam's Point Dwarf Pine Ridge Preserve, is a 4,600-acre (19 km²) preserve in Ulster County
on the highest point (2,289 feet/697 m, on the Ellenville
/ Shawangunk
border) of the Shawangunk Ridge
in New York
. It is owned by the Open Space Institute
and managed by The Nature Conservancy
. Its unique environment
features dwarf pine trees along the ridgetop. Located within the park is Lake Maratanza
, the highest lake on the ridge, and the Ellenville Fault Ice Caves.
.
The land was once owned by the nearby village of Ellenville
to protect its watershed
and partly by a company which offered tours of the ice caves. The Open Space Institute, working with The Nature Conservancy bought it with assistance from the Lila Acheson and Dewitt Wallace Fund for the Hudson Highlands, after the village considered selling the land to developers.
In 2005, the Preserve opened the Sam’s Point Conservation Center with education facilities, exhibits and a gift shop. A parking fee of $10 per vehicle is charged.
, hemlock
, mountain ash
, and creeping snowberry
, and bryophytes such as isopterygium distichaceum are able to survive. It was designated a National Natural Landmark
in November 1967.
There are hiking trails to the ice caves which are open in the summer.
long-distance hiking
trail
crosses it, eventually reaching VerKeerderkill Falls
. A branch leads to Sam's Point (with a view of land for many miles, sometimes as far as High Point in New Jersey
), and another to the ice caves, with solar powered lights. Visitors who want to get to Sam's Point have to go through Cragsmoor
. Sam's Point Preserve is near the Mohonk Preserve
and Minnewaska State Park Preserve
.
Ulster County, New York
Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...
on the highest point (2,289 feet/697 m, on the Ellenville
Ellenville, New York
Ellenville is a village in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 4,135 at the 2010 census. The postal ZIP code is 12428. The telephone exchange is predominantly 647 and an overlaid 210 in the 845 area code.- Geography :...
/ Shawangunk
Shawangunk, New York
Shawangunk is a town in southwestern Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 12,022 at the 2000 census. Like the neighboring mountain range, for which it is named, it is pronounced either as the Munsee Lenape, Shawangunk , or as the colonial Shongum by local residents...
border) of the Shawangunk Ridge
Shawangunk Ridge
The Shawangunk Ridge , also known as the Shawangunk Mountains or The Gunks, is a ridge of bedrock in Ulster County, Sullivan County and Orange County in the state of New York, extending from the northernmost point of New Jersey to the Catskill Mountains.The ridgetop, which widens considerably at...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It is owned by the Open Space Institute
Open Space Institute
Open Space Institute is a conservation organization and think tank with an extensive mission statement. It seeks to preserve scenic, natural and historic landscapes for public enjoyment, conserve habitats while sustaining community character, and help protect the environment...
and managed by The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
. Its unique environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
features dwarf pine trees along the ridgetop. Located within the park is Lake Maratanza
Lake Maratanza
Lake Maratanza is the highest lake in New York's Shawangunk Ridge at 2,245 feet above sea level. It is within Sam's Point Preserve.The lake is dammed, and supplies drinking water to Ellenville, New York....
, the highest lake on the ridge, and the Ellenville Fault Ice Caves.
History
The name derives from a story that a man named Sam, pursued by Indians, jumped off the cliff to avoid capture and miraculously survived the drop. Roads throughout the preserve were built as fire roads in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation CorpsCivilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
.
The land was once owned by the nearby village of Ellenville
Ellenville, New York
Ellenville is a village in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 4,135 at the 2010 census. The postal ZIP code is 12428. The telephone exchange is predominantly 647 and an overlaid 210 in the 845 area code.- Geography :...
to protect its watershed
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
and partly by a company which offered tours of the ice caves. The Open Space Institute, working with The Nature Conservancy bought it with assistance from the Lila Acheson and Dewitt Wallace Fund for the Hudson Highlands, after the village considered selling the land to developers.
In 2005, the Preserve opened the Sam’s Point Conservation Center with education facilities, exhibits and a gift shop. A parking fee of $10 per vehicle is charged.
Ellenville Fault Ice Caves
The Ellenville Fault Ice Caves is the largest known open fault in the United States with corresponding ice caves. As a result of the cool microclimate, ice is present throughout the year and more northern plants such as black spruceBlack Spruce
Picea mariana is a species of spruce native to northern North America, from Newfoundland west to Alaska, and south to northern New York, Minnesota and central British Columbia...
, hemlock
Tsuga
Tsuga is a genus of conifers in the family Pinaceae. The common name hemlock is derived from a perceived similarity in the smell of its crushed foliage to that of the unrelated plant poison hemlock....
, mountain ash
Sorbus americana
The tree species Sorbus americana is commonly known as the American Mountain-ash. It is a relatively small deciduous perennial tree, native to eastern northern North America....
, and creeping snowberry
Gaultheria hispidula
Gaultheria hispidula, commonly known as the Creeping Snowberry or Moxie-Plum, is a spreading ground-level vine of the heath family Ericaceae native to North America that produces small white edible berries. It fruits from August to September...
, and bryophytes such as isopterygium distichaceum are able to survive. It was designated a National Natural Landmark
National Natural Landmark
The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...
in November 1967.
There are hiking trails to the ice caves which are open in the summer.
Trails
The Long PathLong Path
The Long Path is a long-distance hiking trail beginning at the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, New Jersey and currently ending at Altamont, New York, in the Albany area...
long-distance hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
trail
Trail
A trail is a path with a rough beaten or dirt/stone surface used for travel. Trails may be for use only by walkers and in some places are the main access route to remote settlements...
crosses it, eventually reaching VerKeerderkill Falls
VerKeerderkill Falls
VerKeerderkill Falls is the highest waterfall in Sam's Point Preserve in the Shawangunk Mountains in the town of Shawangunk, Ulster County, New York. It is 180 feet tall and has a 3-mile long trail going to it branching off from the main trail, which is in Sam's Point Preserve. The waterfall is...
. A branch leads to Sam's Point (with a view of land for many miles, sometimes as far as High Point in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
), and another to the ice caves, with solar powered lights. Visitors who want to get to Sam's Point have to go through Cragsmoor
Cragsmoor, New York
Cragsmoor is a hamlet in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 449 at the 2000 census.Cragsmoor is located atop the Shawangunk Ridge, in the south part of the Town of Wawarsing...
. Sam's Point Preserve is near the Mohonk Preserve
Mohonk Preserve
The Mohonk Preserve is located in the Shawangunk Ridge, a section of the Appalachian Mountains, north of New York City in Ulster County, New York, USA. The Preserve is west of the Village of New Paltz...
and Minnewaska State Park Preserve
Minnewaska State Park Preserve
The Minnewaska State Park Preserve is a 21,106 acre preserve located on the Shawangunk Ridge in New York on US 44/NY 55, five miles east of New York State Route 299. The park is managed by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. It is primarily used for picnicking, hiking, mountain biking,...
.
1987 Disappearance Near Ice Caves Remains Unsolved
Joseph David Helt, age 17, disappeared on January 16, 1987 and has never been found. Joe, who was an Ellenville High School student, was out late partying with friends the night he went missing near a popular party spot, the remnants of the old Mount Cathalia Lodge, just outside of Ellenville in the hamlet of Cragsmoor. After spending some time at Mount Cathalia, Joe left with three acquaintances, Kelly Diaz, John LaForge and Wade Marks to take a joyride in LaForge's Subaru. According to the accounts given by these three acquaintances, LaForge's Subaru got stuck in a ditch near Sam's Point Ice Caves and they were unable to get the car out. They stated that Joe left to walk 5 miles back down the mountain to Ellenville, and shortly after this Kelly Diaz and Wade Marks left to do the same. A short time later John LaForge gave up and walked to his home in Cragsmoor. LaForge, Diaz and Marks made it safely, but Joe was never seen again. Laforge and his companions said that night that they had expected to come across Joe on their way down the mountain, but they didn't think much of it when they didn't because he had a head start. They claim that it wasn't until LaForge retrieved his car from the mountain the next afternoon that they found out that Joe never made it down the mountain. A huge snow storm moved in the next day, hampering search attempts. The search was called off after 6 days as it was believed that Joe could not have survived the storm. In spite of renewed interest in Joe's case in late 2010, no trace of Joe has ever been found. An effort to bring awareness to Joe's case has been established on Facebook.External links
- Nature Conservancy page
- Open Space Institute page
- NY-NJTC: Sam's Point Preserve - Sam's Point Dwarf Pine Ridge Preserve Trail Details and Info
- Trail Map to Ice Caves