The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has announced 15 grant recipients for its campground and day-use improvement initiative, the Enhanced Visitor Experience (EVE) program that provides money for new amenities and activities for visitors.
The new EVE program empowers campers and day-use visitors to play an active role in improving their favorite state parks across New York by making small donations during the reservation process for State Parks facilities.
Funds are pooled and up to $10,000 can be distributed to various projects throughout the state parks system to support small but impactful campsite enhancements.
Examples of eligible projects include campsite beautification, ADA accessibility upgrades, public programming events, educational opportunities, and new recreation equipment.
Visitors are able to donate to the EVE program when making campsite and day-use site reservations on the ReserveAmerica website and choosing to round up the cost of their booking.
An optional part of the reservation process, these small-dollar donations add up and help improve our campgrounds with new amenities and activities for visitors to enjoy.
Of the more than 226,000 reservations made in 2024, nearly 23,500 donations were received. Since the donation program’s roll-out in August 2022; $287,200 have been raised for State Parks’ campgrounds and day-use facilities.
Campground improvements funded by the EVE program’s first round of grants include:
Allegany Region
Six campsites in progress to be converted to accessible campsites at Allegany State Park
Central Region
22 rentable pairs of snowshoes at Glimmerglass State Park
Finger Lakes Region
Swing set and fire ring replacements at Stony Brook State Park
An accessible walkway to the water at Fair Haven Beach State Park
Fire ring and grill replacements at Newtown Battlefield State Park
Long Island Region
Outdoor movie nights at Heckscher State Park
18 Accessible picnic tables at Hempstead Lake State Park
Niagara Region
Five sunset benches at Golden Hill State Park
Palisades Region
Two upcoming projects to begin upon approval; projects include ADA improvements and recreational opportunities at Harriman State Park
Saratoga/Capital Region
Complimentary kayaks and campground storage at Moreau Lake State Park
Seesaw replacement at Max V. Shaul State Park
An accessible path, wheelchair swing set, and repaved basketball court at Thacher State Park‘s Thompson’s Lake
Taconic Region
Environmental education resources at Taconic State Park, including furs, skulls and other supplies
Thousand Islands Region
All-terrain beach wheelchairs for Southwick Beach State Park, Westcott Beach State Park, and Jacques Cartier State Park
Progress updates for EVE-funded projects can be found on the ReserveAmerica website.
New York State Parks Loyalty Program
The Loyalty program allows visitors to earn points for every dollar spent on overnight accommodations and redeem the points toward use fees on future stays.
Points are awarded upon departure for all camping stays, so campers can earn points on already-booked reservations and any new reservations as soon as they enroll in the program, either online or by phone. More information can be found on the ReserveAmerica website.
The Natural Heritage Trust
The Natural Heritage Trust is a non-profit, public-benefit corporation with the mission to receive and administer gifts, grants and contributions to further public programs for parks, recreation, cultural, land and water conservation and historic preservation purposes of the State of New York.
The NHT accomplishes its mission by accepting donations, raising funds, and through cooperative programs and projects with its agency partners: New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP), Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Department of State (DOS). For more information visit www.naturalheritagetrust.org.
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees more than 250 parks, historic sites, recreational trails, golf courses, boat launches and more, and welcomes over 88 million visitors annually. For more information on any of these recreation areas, visit parks.ny.gov
New York Almanack regularly covers recreation news, events, books, and more. Check out our Recreation page for more, visit tags like hiking, paddling, or camping.
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