The latest expansion of Minnewaska State Park Preserve includes a 291-acre section of the northern Shawangunk Mountains, safeguarding important ecosystems and protecting viewsheds.
Bringing Minnewaska’s total size to 23,974 acres, this acquisition supports the State’s goal to conserve 30 percent of its lands and waters by 2030.
The completed acquisition in the Town of Rochester, Ulster County, was made by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) from the Open Space Institute Land Trust using the State’s Environmental Protection Fund for a total of $641,000.
This latest acquisition will help protect biodiversity and ecosystems, and prevent fragmentation of the forest in the northern Shawangunk Mountains. They include important views both from the park and the adjacent Rondout Valley.
The addition of this acquisition brings Minnewaska State Park Preserve to 23,974 acres.
The park is situated on the dramatic Shawangunk Mountain ridge, which rises more than 2,000 feet above sea level and is surrounded by rugged, rocky terrain.
It features numerous waterfalls, three “sky lakes,” dense hardwood forests, sheer cliffs and ledges opening to beautiful views, clear streams cutting into valleys, 35 miles of carriage roads and 50 miles of footpaths on which to bike, walk and hike.
Minnewaska State Park Preserve protects a wilderness gorge through which the Peterskill stream flows, along with several rocky summits, including Dickie Barre, Ronde Barre and portions of Rock Hill.
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