fbpx
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
    • Get Home Delivery
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Customer Support
    • Submit A News Tip
    • Where’s My Paper?
  • Manage HV1 Account
Hudson Valley One
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Log In
No Result
View All Result
Hudson Valley One
No Result
View All Result

Wings of desire

by Frances Marion Platt
February 13, 2020
in Nature
0
Wings of desire

Major change is afoot at the end of the winding road that leads up from Route 44/55 to the top of the cliff that overlooks Lake Minnewaska. The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is installing a new septic system and burying utility lines underground; the parking lots are being radically reconfigured and landscaped; and, very near the footprint of the grand old Wildmere Hotel that burned down in 1986, a new four-season $6.1 million, 5,421-square-foot visitors’ center will soon rise, with completion slated for fall 2020.

The 24,000-acre Minnewaska State Park Preserve draws nearly half a million visitors annually and is widely regarded as one of the most spectacular destinations in the state parks system, home to a rare dwarf pitch-pine ecosystem in the Sam’s Point Area, along with 35 miles of carriage roads, 50 miles of trails, four pristine sky lakes and numerous waterfalls. Old-timers who have been visiting Minnewaska since the park’s founding – and perhaps even before that, when it was a privately owned resort, established by the same Smiley twins who founded Mohonk Mountain House and taken over in 1955 by the late Kenneth B. Phillips, Sr. – still lament the days when there was a building near the lake where you could thaw out after cross-country skiing, or use a flush toilet and wash your hands, or obtain snacks and drinks. 

That’s about to change. Once complete, the Minnewaska Visitor Center will offer a welcome/information desk to help visitors explore the park’s expansive trail network and other features; drinking water stations and public restrooms; a warming hearth to complement the use of the park during cold months; an outdoor patio overlooking Lake Minnewaska, where visitors can take in the park’s dramatic views; and a classroom for education and interpretive programs.

The new building is part of a $28.2 million public/private investment in Minnewaska State Park Preserve under Governor Cuomo’s NY Parks 2020 initiative, which includes $21.2 million in state funding. When the multiyear project, currently underway, is complete it will include the restoration of more than 21 miles of carriage roads, creation of the Shawangunk Gateway campground, a reconfigured main entrance on Route 44/55 to relieve traffic backups, improved parking areas, new walkways, public drinking water, new self-composting restrooms and other site improvements.

Here’s where the public/private part comes in, and how you can contribute: The Open Space Institute (OSI) has raised $2.5 million and is launching a public campaign to raise the final $500,000 toward the project, matching the state’s contribution of $3.1 million. OSI’s involvement has already been crucial to improvements to the park; a recent example is the $1.9 million restoration of a 4.5-mile stretch of the Smiley Carriageway, which used to carry hotel guests up to Cliff House and Wildmere from Ellenville – literally via horse-drawn carriage – back in the early days of the resort. The section of trail that was refurbished in 2019 begins behind the old ranger station opposite the swimming beach on Lake Awosting and leads westward past the trailhead for the Stony Kill Carriage Road, which affords access to the top of Stony Kill Falls. It also connects with the Upper Mine Hole segment of the Long Path, filling in a missing link in the 358-mile trail network that enables hikers to walk from New York City to the Capital District.

Now OSI has announced the public phase of its campaign to match state resources in the building of the new Minnewaska Visitor Center. The fundraising effort focuses on features that will transform the visitor experience and expand access to and appreciation of the park for all audiences, including state-of-the art interactive exhibits highlighting the park’s geology, natural history, cultural significance and conservation. “From the park’s establishment, when those who loved its precious sky lakes, cliffs and historic carriage roads rallied to ensure its protection, it has needed a central welcoming location,” says campaign co-chair Jim Ottaway. “By participating in OSI’s forward-thinking campaign, we can ensure that future visitors to the park understand and care for its treasures.”

One way to participate, and to honor or memorialize a loved one or celebrate hiking excursions, engagements and other fond memories of the park, is to sponsor a window tile in an exhibit depicting one of the “Birds of Minnewaska.” Each window tile will feature a full-color five-by-four-inch songbird ($500 level) or ten-by-four-inch raptor ($1,000 level) and will include a personalized dedication or other inscription.

The Birds of Minnewaska window tiles are available for sponsorship through OSI’s website at www.openspaceinstitute.org/minnewaska-birds. For more information about the campaign, including other ways to donate, visit www.minnewaskavisitorcenter.org.

Thank you for reading Hudson Valley One. We rely on your support to continue providing local, substantive news. Please check out our subscription options to keep local journalism alive in the Hudson Valley.
- Geddy Sveikauskas, Publisher
Previous Post

Quantum mechanics: stranger than you can imagine

Next Post

Police name victim of Kingston shooting death

Frances Marion Platt

Frances Marion Platt has been a feature writer (and copyeditor) for Ulster Publishing since 1994, under both her own name and the nom de plume Zhemyna Jurate. Her reporting beats include Gardiner and Rosendale, the arts and a bit of local history. In 2011 she took up Syd M’s mantle as film reviewer for Alm@nac Weekly, and she hopes to return to doing more of that as HV1 recovers from the shock of COVID-19. A Queens native, Platt moved to New Paltz in 1971 to earn a BA in English and minor in Linguistics at SUNY. Her first writing/editing gig was with the Ulster County Artist magazine. In the 1980s she was assistant editor of The Independent Film and Video Monthly for five years, attended Heartwood Owner/Builder School, designed and built a timberframe house in Gardiner. Her son Evan Pallor was born in 1995. Alternating with her journalism career, she spent many years doing development work – mainly grantwriting – for a variety of not-for-profit organizations, including six years at Scenic Hudson. She currently lives in Kingston.

Related Posts

Waghkonk Notes: Glorious day
Columns

Waghkonk Notes: Glorious day

May 12, 2022
Peak time for birders
Nature

Peak time for birders

May 1, 2022
Minnewaska, Sam’s Point brace for Southern pine beetle attacks
Nature

Minnewaska, Sam’s Point brace for Southern pine beetle attacks

April 29, 2022
Waghkonk Notes: Winterspring
Columns

Waghkonk Notes: Winterspring

April 8, 2022
Woodstock sets up Task Force to evaluate its tree law
Nature

Woodstock sets up Task Force to evaluate its tree law

March 30, 2022
Over 71 acres of the Shawangunk Ridge permanently protected
Nature

Over 71 acres of the Shawangunk Ridge permanently protected

March 29, 2022
Next Post
Jail CO who’s suing sheriff charged with assault

Police name victim of Kingston shooting death

Trending News

  • Local therapists provide uninterrupted free care to foster-care kids 2.7k views
  • Eating order executed in New Paltz 1k views
  • Uproar in New Paltz over plan to abandon green electricity 866 views
  • Village of Saugerties planners hold public hearing for Dragon Inn 647 views
  • Hapag Kainan in Highland offers Filipino culinary delights 578 views







Latest HV1 Podcast

Weather

Kingston
◉
55°
Cloudy
5:27am8:18pm EDT
Feels like: 54°F
Wind: 5mph NNE
Humidity: 59%
Pressure: 30.26"Hg
UV index: 0
WedThuFri
77/48°F
73/61°F
79/61°F
Weather forecast Kingston, New York ▸

Ulster County COVID-19 Active Cases

Subscribe

Independent. Local. Substantive. Subscribe now.

  • Subscribe & Support
  • Sign up for Free Newsletter
  • Print Edition
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Contact
  • Manage HV1 Account

© 2022 Ulster Publishing

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Schools
    • Business
    • Sports
    • Crime
    • Politics & Government
  • What’s Happening
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Featured Events
      • Art
      • Books
      • Kids
      • Lifestyle & Wellness
      • Food & Drink
      • Music
      • Nature
      • Stage & Screen
  • Opinions
    • Letters
    • Columns
    • Editorials
  • Local
    • Special Sections
    • Local History
  • Marketplace
    • All Classified Ads
    • Help Wanted
    • Post a Classified Ad
  • Obituaries
  • Podcast
  • Subscribe & Support
  • Contact Us
    • Customer Support
    • Advertise
    • Submit A News Tip
  • Print Edition
    • Read ePaper Online
    • Newsstand Locations
    • Where’s My Paper
  • HV1 Magazines
  • Manage HV1 Account
  • Log In

© 2022 Ulster Publishing