The Open Space Institute (OSI) has begun 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.
Improvements to the Lake Awosting Carriage Road include repairing rocky, uneven, and eroded surfaces; improving drainage; widening sections of the carriage road to a consistent 10-foot width; and new surfacing to better accommodate walkers, hikers, runners, bikers, cross-country skiers, and equestrians. The $1.3 million project is expected to be completed by summer 2026.
Originally built in the 19th century for use by horse-drawn carriages, Minnewaska’s crushed stone carriage roads traverse the park’s 24,000 acres, showcasing stunning vistas and dramatic rock formations. Today, these wide, gently graded trails allow people of virtually all ages, abilities, and recreational interests to enjoy accessible and immersive outdoor experiences.
After a competitive bidding process, OSI has contracted with Mombaccus Excavating from Kerhonkson, NY, to complete the restoration project. As the project progresses, the public is reminded that the site is an active construction area and visitors are asked to respect all posted road closures and stay clear of construction equipment.
The Lake Awosting Carriage Road reconstruction project is supported in part by a $500,000 grant from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) through Title 9 of the Environmental Protection Act of 1993, which was awarded to OSI in 2023 through the Consolidated Funding Application.
Once the Lake Awosting Carriage Road improvements are complete, OSI will have fully restored nearly 18 miles of the park’s carriage road network. OSI has also more than doubled the size of the Preserve, including the addition of the Sam’s Point area; and raised more than $3 million toward the design and construction of the Lake Minnewaska Visitor Center, which opened in 2020.
The Awosting project is part of an effort to restore major sections of Minnewaska’s 35-mile carriage road network. Over the last decade, OSI 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.
The carriage road restoration projects have been completed by OSI in partnership with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and PIPC.
Minnewaska State Park Preserve
Just 90 minutes from Manhattan, Minnewaska is one of the most popular state parks in the Hudson Valley, attracting more than 520,000 visitors in 2024. Situated atop the Shawangunk Ridge in Ulster County, the 23,000-acre park preserve features panoramic views of the Hudson Highlands, Catskill Mountains, and farmlands in the Wallkill and Rondout Valleys. Minnewaska also features impressive “sky lakes” and waterfalls and is a world-class rock-climbing location.
Restoration of Minnewaska’s carriage road system is part of a larger regional vision led by OSI to create, improve, and connect more than 250 miles of rail trails, carriage roads, and regional hiking trails across Ulster, Sullivan, and Orange Counties. The effort is detailed in OSI’s “Growing Greenways: West of Hudson Greenway Trails Vision Plan.”
In 2009, OSI partnered with the Wallkill Valley Land Trust to acquire 9.5 miles of the Rosendale and Ulster sections of what is now the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. OSI raised $1.5 million to restore the Trail’s Rosendale Trestle and completed a $1.1 million renovation of the northern stretch of the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail in 2020.
In 2011, OSI partnered with the Wallkill Valley Land Trust to acquire the 118-acre Joppenbergh Mountain in the Ulster County hamlet of Rosendale. The mountain sits along the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail near the north end of the Rosendale Trestle.
The Wallkill Valley Rail Trail adjoins OSI’s six-mile River-to-Ridge loop trail, on the eastern side of the Shawangunk Ridge in New Paltz. The River-to-Ridge Trail, which welcomed its millionth visit in 2024, connects New Paltz directly to more than 90 miles of recreational carriage roads and trails at Minnewaska, the Mohonk Preserve, Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, and Empire State Trail.
Illustrations, from above: Bicyclists on Lake Awosting Carriage Road (John Rozell photo provided by State Parks); and a map of the Lake Awosting Carriage Road (provided by Open Space Institute).
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