In support of the goals outlined in Governor Kathy Hochul’s State of the State and executive budget, New York State Parks has announced support for several initiatives they say are designed to create jobs, enhance state park experiences, improve access to outdoor recreation and preserve state history. [Read more…] about State Parks Outlines New Investments Hoped for 2026
Palisades Interstate Park
Restoring the Cornell Mine Trail at Bear Mountain State Park
To ensure that the trail system continues to be safe and accessible for the hiking public, New York State Parks has developed a statewide trails program. This program funds staff in each region and provides them with the tools and materials needed to make improvements to trails, repair damage, and more.
In the Palisades Region, two trail crew leaders work with NYS Forest Rangers, regional staff, and seasonal trail staff to assess trail conditions, map problem areas, make repairs to existing trails, and in some cases make major improvements or build new trails. [Read more…] about Restoring the Cornell Mine Trail at Bear Mountain State Park
Knickerbocker Ice Festival Celebrates Rockland County’s Ice Industry
On the January 2026 episode of Crossroads of Rockland History podcast, host Clare Sheridan welcomed Timothy Englert, co-founder of Rockland County‘s Knickerbocker Ice Festival with Rob Patalano (1964-2025), returning on January 24-25, 2026.
Rockland Lake became world famous a century before it became a Rockland Lake State Park as “the ice box of New York City,” thanks in part to the Knickerbocker Ice Company’s large-scale harvesting operations from the 1830s to the 1920s which shipped ice as far as Australia, Asia and South Africa. [Read more…] about Knickerbocker Ice Festival Celebrates Rockland County’s Ice Industry
The Palisades Hiking Trails: Some History
With nearly 450 miles of blazed trails crisscrossing almost 130,000 acres of publicly accessible open space, the Palisades region’s hiking system is among the most expansive in New York State.
The region hosts the oldest section of the Appalachian Trail running through Bear Mountain State Park an extensive section of the Long Path, a 358-mile trail from the George Washington Bridge to near Albany; approximately 50 miles of carriage roads in Minnewaska State Park, and dozens of other well-loved trails that bring the region’s seven million annual visitors to waterfalls, wetlands, streams, lakes and forests. [Read more…] about The Palisades Hiking Trails: Some History
Bear Mountain State Park’s Cornell Mine Trail Reopens
The popular Cornell Mine Trail at Bear Mountain State Park has reopened. Now reconstructed following severe storm damage in 2023, the trail features a hand-built stone staircase and provides access to Doodletown from the Iona Island area and connects to the Appalachian Trail. [Read more…] about Bear Mountain State Park’s Cornell Mine Trail Reopens
240 Acres Preserved in Rockland County
The Open Space Institute (OSI) and Rockland County are celebrating the conservation of the “Eagle Valley Assemblage,” nearly 240 acres that is hoped will safeguard an important clean water source, strengthen a corridor of undeveloped land between Sterling Forest and Harriman State Parks, and enhance regional recreational opportunities. [Read more…] about 240 Acres Preserved in Rockland County
How The New Deal Helped Ignite Interest in American Skiing
Following the stock market crash of October 1929, an economic malady gripped the United States and much of the world, lasting several years. Loss of employment created excessive hardships, limiting even basic necessities of life.
The President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had previously been the two-term Governor of New York State, developed a composite plan to help citizens cope with the financial disaster and provide jobs, commonly known as “The New Deal.”
The ambitious program was multi-faceted, with one face being the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps (C.C.C.) established in 1933, where young men were organized into military style labor, housed in barracks at remote locations. [Read more…] about How The New Deal Helped Ignite Interest in American Skiing
A Palisades Interstate Park History Podcast
The Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) was formed in 1900 by Governors Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Foster Voorhees of New Jersey in response to the quarrying operations along the Palisades Cliffs of New Jersey.
Before the creation of the vast Palisades Interstate Park spanning New York and New Jersey, people lived and worked there in small villages and hamlets. [Read more…] about A Palisades Interstate Park History Podcast
Peanut Leap Cascade: The Lawrence–Tonetti Waterfall in Palisades, NY
On the April 2025 episode of Crossroads of Rockland History the topic of conversation was the Lawrence–Tonetti Waterfall in Palisades, NY.
Also known as Peanut Leap Cascade, this natural waterfall was beautifully enhanced by sculptors Mary Lawrence and Francois Tonetti in the early 20th century by creating stream-fed pools, sculptural fountainheads, and a Roman-style pergola on the shore of the Hudson River. [Read more…] about Peanut Leap Cascade: The Lawrence–Tonetti Waterfall in Palisades, NY
State Parks’ Post-War Pools and Bathhouses
As New York’s state park system continued to develop in the post-war era, buildings and features accommodating an expanding range of functions were needed to meet the surge of visitation that followed the end of the war.
Among these were pool complexes, such as at James Baird State Park in the Taconic region in Dutchess County, NY. While the swimming pool no longer exists, the complex’s keynote feature — the bathhouse (1950) — remains. [Read more…] about State Parks’ Post-War Pools and Bathhouses
The Hudson River’s Snedens Landing & Peanut Leap Cascade
In August of 1874, J. H. Serviss of Englewood, New Jersey, compiled a map of Palisades, New York, just over the border from New Jersey. The map included Snedens Landing, what was from Colonial days the western terminus of the Dobbs Ferry crossing, and what in Serviss’s day became the site of summer homes for wealthy New York families.
On his map Serviss gave this particular waterfall, just south of Snedens, the name “Peanut Leap Cascade.” [Read more…] about The Hudson River’s Snedens Landing & Peanut Leap Cascade
Update on Wildfires in the Lower Hudson River – Palisades Region
In the last week several brush fires and wildfires have broken out throughout the NY Metropolitan area and lower Hudson Valley. In the Palisades region alone, more than 5,000 acres have already burned – an area roughly ⅓ the size of Manhattan.
These fires come on the heels of the driest October on record. [Read more…] about Update on Wildfires in the Lower Hudson River – Palisades Region