Restoration work on nearly three miles of the Minnewaska State Park Preserve’s Lake Awosting Carriage Road, a historic trail circling Lake Awosting, the largest “sky lake” on the northern Shawangunk Ridge is now complete.
Improvements to carriage road included the repair of rocky, uneven, and eroded surfaces; improving drainage; widening sections of the carriage road to 10 feet; and new surfacing to better accommodate walkers, hikers, runners, bikers, cross-country skiers, and equestrians. The project cost $1.3 million.
Originally built in the 19th century for use by horse-drawn carriages, Minnewaska’s 35 miles of crushed stone carriage roads traverse the park’s 24,000 acres.
The Awosting project is part of an effort to restore major sections of the carriage road network. Over the last decade, the Open Space Institute has invested more than $5 million to restore Minnewaska’s carriage roads, including the 4.6-mile Castle Point Carriage Road, 2.9-mile Hamilton Point Carriage Road, other portions of the Lake Awosting Carriage Road, 3.6 miles of the Smiley Carriage Road, and 2.8 miles of the High Point Carriage Road.
Today, the carriage road trails provide an accessible way for visitors of all abilities to enjoy the Shawangunk Ridge’s most impressive rock formations, waterfalls and views.
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Illustrations, from above: Lake Awosting via Lower Awosting Carriage Road; a map of Minnewaska State Park Preserve Lake Awosting Carriage Road (provided by Open Space Institute).
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