Bear Mountain Park, NY


Bear Mountain Park, NY

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Bear Mountain State Park is the flagship of the Palisades Interstate Park System.

The park is 45 miles north of New York City, in the Hudson Highlands. Facilities include playing fields, picnic groves, rowboat docks on Hessian Lake, swimming pool and bathhouse, nature trails, an ice-skating rink, basketball court, Trailside Museums and Zoo, Iona Island Estuarine Reserve and Bird Refuge, Perkins Tower, and the newly constructed Merry-Go-Round and pavilion. Banquet rooms, an ala carte restaurant, refreshment stands, and extensive parking lots are available. The Bear Mountain Inn, a rustic style historic building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, provides overnight accommodations, fine dining, banquet, and meeting facilities. The four stone lodges, Cliffhouse and Overlook Lodge all offer fantastic views of Hessian Lake and the Hudson River Valley.

Bear Mountain is primarily a day-use park. Accessible by car and bus, the park features an extensive system of pedestrian and hiking trails, including the first segment of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and a key segment of the Long Path.

Please contact us at 845-786-2701.


Virtual Tour of Bear Mountain

Bear Mountain Attractions   
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Bear Mountain Suggested Hikes   View PDF

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Bear Mountain Merry-Go-Round

The Merry-Go-Round at Bear Mountain State Park is a new building anchored in a distinguished history.

The stone-and-timber pavilion reflects the Adirondack "Great Camp" architectural style that became the model for other Palisades Park buildings such as the 1915 Bear Mountain Inn and, later, the National Park System. It is also the realization of an old dream. The Commission had discussed building a carousel at Bear Mountain in 1916, then again in the 1930s; on both occasions, however, insufficient funding had impeded the plans. Also in the 1930s, lack of funds had forced PIPC to sell the "Coney Island"-style carousel it operated at Hook Mountain.

The Merry-Go-Round also has distinguished origins in that it was made possible thanks to the Perkins family, of PIPC fame. George W. Perkins, to whom the Merry-Go-Round was dedicated, was PIPC's first president, from 1900 to 1920. He was followed at PIPC by his son George Perkins Jr., president from 1944 to 1960, and by his grandson, George Perkins III. Ann Perkins Cabot, PIPC Commissioner since 1990, the fifth Perkins to serve PIPC, made the donation on behalf of her family.

The 8,000-square-foot pavilion includes a viewing area, fireplace hearth, catering facilities for small receptions, and snacks and restrooms. The merry-go-round itself features 38 carved renditions of Hudson River Valley animals, including raccoons, bear, deer, eagles, foxes, river otters, and bobcats. Its rounding boards illustrate the park's early history with hand-painted scenes of the Hudson River, Perkins Tower, Bear Mountain Inn, etc. The music played during the rides was recorded at an original carousel in Rochester, New York, from a 1926 Wurlitzer Pipe Band Organ.
The MERRY-GO-ROUND at Bear Mountain State Park features hand-painted scenes of the Park and 42 hand-carved seats of native animals including black bear, wild turkey, deer, raccoon, skunk, canada goose, fox, swan, bobcat, rabbit, and more. From June 21 through Labor Day, hours are daily from 10 AM to 5 PM. After Labor Day, hours are weekends and holidays from 10 AM to 5 PM. Rides cost $1.00 per person. For more information, call 845-786-2701. To book a party, call 845-786-2731.


Bear Mountain Skating Rink

2009-2010
Saturday, October 31 through Sunday, March 7
Public Skate Sessions (Weather Permitting):

MONDAYS & TUESDAYS:
10AM-11:30AM;
12Noon-1:30PM

FRIDAYS
8:00PM-9:30PM

SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS*:
10AM - 11:30AM
12Noon - 1:30PM
2PM - 3:30PM
4PM - 5:30PM
6PM - 7:30PM
8PM - 9:30PM (*No 8 PM on Sundays)


PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR OUR SPECIAL HOLIDAY SCHEDULES

*PRIVATE SESSIONS may be available Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays from 8AM to 3:30PM
(NON-HOLIDAY).
Reservations must be made in advance. Cost for a private session is $180.00/hour.

FEE SCHEDULE FOR PUBLIC SKATING
(Anyone entering the building must pay the fee)

Adults (12 and up)……………………………… $4.00 per person…$5.00 after 6PM
Children aged 4 to 11…………………………… $3.00 per person…$4.00 after 6PM
Non-skaters and seniors……………………….…$2.00 per person
Children aged 3 or under………….. FREE

Skate Rental (per pair)…………….. $4.00
Skate Sharpening (per pair)………...$5.00
Parking (weekends and holidays)…. $7.00 per car
Buses........................................................Call for permit

PRICES AND SCHEDULE ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

For more information, contact Bear Mountain State Park at (845) 786-2701. Please call in advance for updated schedules and weather conditions: Bear Mountain State Park at 845-786-2701 x242.
NOTE: BEAR MOUNTAIN ICE RINK 09-10 SPECIAL SCHEDULES:

HOLIDAY SCHEDULES:
(Holidays and Holiday Periods)

November 3rd (Election Day)
10:00AM-11:30AM, 12:00PM-1:30PM, 2:00PM-3:30PM, and 4:00PM-5:30PM

November 11th (Veteran's Day)
10:00AM-11:30AM, 12:00PM-1:30PM and 2:00PM-3:30PM

November 26th (Thanksgiving Day)
10:00AM-11:30AM, 12:00PM-1:30PM, 2:00PM-3:30PM, 4:00PM-5:30PM
November 27th
10:00-11:30AM, 12:00-1:30PM, 2:00-3:30 PM, 4:00-5:30PM, 6:00-7:30PM and 8:00-9:30PM

December 24th (Christmas Eve)
10:00AM-11:30AM, 12:00PM-1:30PM, 2:00PM-3:30PM, and 4:00PM-5:30PM

December 25th (Christmas Day)
CLOSED


December 26th – December 30th (Holiday Break)
10:00AM-11:30AM, 12:00PM-1:30PM, 2:00PM-3:30PM, 4:00PM-5:30PM
6:00PM-7:30PM, and 8:00PM-9:30PM

December 31st (New Year's Eve)
10:00AM-11:30AM, 12:00PM-1:30PM, 2:00PM-3:30PM, and 4:00PM-5:30PM

January 1st – January 3rd (New Year's Break)
10:00AM-11:30AM, 12:00PM-1:30PM, 2:00PM-3:30PM, 4:00PM-5:30PM
6:00PM-7:30PM, and 8:00PM-9:30PM

January 18th (Martin Luther King Day)
10:00AM-11:30AM, 12:00PM-1:30PM, 2:00PM-3:30PM, and 4:00PM-5:30PM

February 7th (Super Bowl)
10:00AM-11:30AM, 12:00PM-1:30PM, 2:00PM-3:30PM, and 4:00PM-5:30PM

February 15th (President's Day)
10:00AM-11:30AM, 12:00PM-1:30PM, 2:00PM-3:30PM, and 4:00PM-5:30PM

February 16th – February 18th (President's Week)
10:00AM-11:30AM, 12:00PM-1:30PM, and 2:00PM-3:30PM

February 19th (President's Week)
10:00AM-11:30AM, 12:00PM-1:30PM, 2:00PM-3:30PM, and 8:00PM-9:30PM

Special Note: Children's birthday party packages are available through the Bear Mountain Office.

For more information, contact Bear Mountain State Park at (845) 786-2701, ext. 242 or visit http://www.bearmountainicerink.com


CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS


Hiking Trails

Hiking: Bear Mountain State Park

FEATURES: This loop hike follows portions of the never-completed Dunderberg Spiral Railway and passes several expansive viewpoints over the Hudson River.

LENGTH: 3.9 miles.

DIFFICULTY: Moderate to strenuous.

TIME: About three hours.

MAP: New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Harriman-Bear Mountain Trails Map 119.

DOGS: Permitted on leash.

HOW TO GET THERE: Take the Palisades Interstate Parkway to its northern terminus at the Bear Mountain Circle and go south on U.S. Route 9W for about four miles. Park in a large parking area on the right, at the base of a downhill section of the road, as the road reaches the river level.
From the parking area, walk south on Route 9W for a few hundred feet. Just beyond road signs for Routes 9W and 202, you'll see three blue blazes and three red-on-white blazes on a tree. These mark the start of the Timp-Torne (blue) and Ramapo-Dunderberg (red-on-white) trails.

Follow the blazes into the woods along a level footpath. Soon the trail bears left and climbs stone steps, and you'll see a stonearch tunnel to the left. This is a remnant of the Dunderberg Spiral Railway, built in 1890 but never completed. The tunnel was designed to allow the ascending trains to pass over the route of the descending trains.

The trail bears right and ascends more steeply on switchbacks and stone steps. At the top of the climb, you'll reach a junction. Here, the red-on-white blazes continue ahead but turn left to follow the blue blazes, which head southwest, parallel to the river. The trail continues to climb, but on a more moderate grade, with views of the river through the trees.

In another 10 minutes, the trail turns right and heads away from the river. After traversing a rocky area on switchbacks, you'll arrive at a graded section of the railway. Follow the blue blazes as they turn left and continue along this level embankment for the next quarter-mile. With the railbed ahead blocked off by a fallen tree, the trail turns right and climbs to the next higher level, where it turns left. Just ahead you'll come to the portal of an unfinished tunnel, intended for use by the descending trains.

The trail returns to the lower level of the graded railway, which it follows around a curved embankment, with excellent views over the Hudson River. The curved roadbed ends at the opposite end of the uncompleted tunnel, but the trail bears left, crosses a stream and reaches a woods road.

Turn right and follow this road, known as the Jones Trail. As of this writing, there are orange blazes along the route (although the trail is officially unblazed). In about a third of a mile, after once again crossing the stream, you'll reach a junction with another grade of the railway. Turn left and follow the unmarked grade for about a quarter-mile to a T-intersection with the red-on-white-blazed Ramapo-Dunderberg Trail.

Turn right onto this trail, which climbs to a high point with a view, descends slightly, then climbs steeply to reach an even better viewpoint. You can see the Hudson River to the right (south), with Bear Mountain and the Bear Mountain Bridge to the left (north). Continue along the ridge of Dunderberg Mountain, passing through thickets of dense birch saplings.

After descending from the ridge, steeply in places, you'll notice a viewpoint from a rock outcrop just to the right of the trail, with Peekskill directly across the river. A short distance beyond, as the trail curves to the right, a short white-blazed trail leads ahead to another viewpoint. The trail soon joins another graded section of the railbed, with several gaps where the grading was never finished.

At a stone abutment (built to carry the cars going up the mountain), the trail turns sharply left and descends steadily along the right-of-way excavated for a cable incline. After about 10 minutes, you'll reach a junction with the blue-blazed Timp-Torne Trail. Continue ahead, following both blue and red-on-white blazes back to the parking area where the hike began.


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Iona Island

The Island's geography made it an ideal military post. During the Revolutionary War, American General George Clinton strung a chain between Anthony's Nose on the east side of the Hudson River and Fort Montgomery on the west side in an effort to stop British ships. More than a century later, the Island caught the attention of the Navy which wanted a site that would be “sufficiently remote from populous towns and so far from the seacoast as to be safe from attack.” Iona Island fit the bill: a 129-acre rock 40 miles upriver from New York City, it was large enough to accommodate significant storage facilities, close enough to the ocean for its cargo to reach supply ships quickly, and sufficiently isolated to make an attack on it unlikely. The Navy purchased the island in 1899, and it quickly became an ordnance plant where ammunition was stored, assembled, and tested. During the first world war, most of the ammunition and explosives used by the Atlantic Fleet transited from Iona Island. The facilities were further expanded during World War II to accommodate the need to aseemble naval ammunition for the war effort. By the time the Navy decided to decommission the depot in 1947, it counted nearly 150 buildings. Only six remain.

With the blasts of test detonations long gone, Iona has returned to a more natural state. Migratory birds are now regular visitors in summertime, as are bald eagles during the winter. New York has designated the Island as an Important Bird Area in 1997. In 1976, the National Park Service designated Iona Island a National Natural Landmark. Iona Island is one of four wetlands that make up the Hudson River Estuarine Reserve.

PIPC purchased Iona Island in 1965 for $290,000 from the U.S. Navy.



Perkins Memorial Tower

The Perkins Memorial Drive and Tower were built with funds provided by his descendants, to honor George Walbridge Perkins, first PIPC president and widely regarded as its founder.

The sinuous and steep Drive, which leads to the Tower 1,305 feet above the Hudson River, was blasted off the mountain by 1,500 workers using 50,000 tons of dynamite. The tower, built to serve as a weather station and fire lookout, served those purposes until the 1950s. Work began in 1932, thanks to labor provided by the NYS Temporary Relief Administration. The drive and tower were inaugurated in 1934.

With its 360-degree panorama, the Perkins Memorial Tower offers spectacular views of the Hudson River, the Bear Mountain Bridge, U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Storm King, and Fort Montgomery. Four states are visible (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania), as well as the New York City skyline. The observation floor has interpretive displays that describe the distant views, which include several mountain ranges: the Taconics, Ramapos, Shawangunks, and even the Catskills. Perkins Memorial Drive and Tower truly are a highlight of any visit to Bear Mountain.

Please telephone us at 845-942-5873 to confirm opening dates and times. If there is no answer, please call 845-786-2701.


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Trailside Museums and Zoo

Nature study has been a staple in the Palisades Interstate Park since 1921, when the American Museum of Natural History installed a facility at the Boy Scouts headquarters on Lake Kanawauke. Four years later, the same Museum began a program for the study of insects in Harriman State Park. The Commission added a bear den in 1926, which became a small zoo, as the facility took in more injured animals in need of shelter. Today's Trailside Museums and Zoo occupy 40 acres on a bluff 250 feet over the Hudson River. The trails – including the first section of the Appalachian Trail – are among the oldest in the country; they link the various homes of Samantha, the eagle, and other birds of prey, the bear den, as well as habitats for beavers, a river otter, foxes, coyotes, etc. Staff uses various enrichment methods to stimulate the animals, ranging from toys, foods, and scents, to altering the landscape of the enclosures.

Open Daily from 10:00 AM -4:30 PM. Suggested donation: $1 per visitor.
Trailside DOCENTS are volunteers for the wildlife and historical exhibits at Bear Mountain. They interact with visitors, lead tours, plan and implement special events. Adults who would like to share their interests in local flora and fauna, history, or geology are encouraged to get with the program! No experience is necessary...just enthusiasm and a few hours a month. Training and mentors will be provided. For details, phone 845-786-2701 x293


Bear Mountain Inn

The Bear Mountain Inn is one of the architectural jewels of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission and is a familiar landmark for many visitors. Built in Bear Mountain State Park in 1915, the building is a distinctive rustic style that complements its forested site above the Hudson River in Rockland County. Park employees constructed the Inn using natural materials, including stone and logs found in the park. The Inn's interior is outfitted in the rustic style with handcrafted chairs, sofas, tables, light fixtures, and other accessories all made of natural materials to complement the building's exterior design and woodland setting.

For more information, please contact us at 845-786-2731 or visit visitbearmountain.com
For more information, please contact us at 845-786-2731 or visit visitbearmountain.com

The historic Bear Mountain Inn is currently undergoing an extensive renovation to bring it back to its original splendor. At the completion of the renovations, the Inn will offer 15 luxury suites, a spa and fitness center, full-service restaurant and lounge, over 20,000 square feet of meeting and catering space, the Hiker's Lounge including a grab-and-go food concept, and the Hudson Valley Store featuring park memorabilia and local crafts.

Overlook Lodge and Stone Cottages are available for overnight lodging. For reservations please contact a guest services agent today at 845-786-2731 or online reservations at
www.secure-res.com/res/vn3/checka.aspx?hotelid=3312.

Meetings & Celebrations
Let the beauty of Bear Mountain inspire your next meeting or celebration. Here, you'll find the ideal combination of rustic but modern facilities set in the beautiful Hudson Valley location. Bear Mountain features deluxe accommodations, dining services, and versatile venues designed to handle groups from 15 to 300. Whether you are planning a conference, wedding, retreat, or reunion, our pristine setting creates the ideal backdrop for gatherings of all shapes and sizes. For more information contact are catering mangers at 845-786-2731 or catering@bearmountain.com

Gift Shop
Pick up all your Bear Mountain souvenirs at the Lodge Gift Shop or Stand 10. We carry a variety of unique gifts for all ages, from children's plush toys to apparel and logo keepsakes. For more information about Bear Mountain Inn visit www.visitbearmountain.com or please call (845)786-2731.

You may also enjoy the visitor services found at the state park faclities including the Merry-Go-Round, Hessian Lake Picnic Grove, Ice Rink, and our Trailside Museums and Zoo.

Paddle and Row Boat rentals are available from May-September. Our popular Wednesday night car cruise will also continue May-September, 2009. Oktoberfest will be celebrated every fall weekend in the picnic grove. Please see our calendar of events to confirm times and dates.

Events

Sunday Brunch at the Overlook Lodge 11am – 2:30pm
Our Sunday Brunch offers an array of chilled salads, made-to-order omelets, carving station, lavish desserts and much more. Complimentary champagne, Mimosa or Bloody Mary

$26.95 per person $15.95 Children (ages 6-12)/ Age 5 and under free


For more information about park related activities, please call 845-786-2731 or explore www.visitbearmountain.com


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www.hudsonrivervalley.net
www.njpalisades.org
www.visitbearmountain.com
www.hudsonriver.com
www.orangetourism.org
www.iloveny.com
www.nysparks.com
www.thepurpleheart.com
www.hudsonrivervalley.com
www.rocklandlakenaturecenter.org
www.exploreny400.com/home.php
www.heritageny.gov/RevWar/revwar.cfm
www.highlandfallsny.com
www.hikefordiscovery.org/wch
www.nynjtc.org//index.php
www.ptny.org
www.rocklandlakeandhookmt.org
www.reserveamerica.com
www.shawangunks.org
www.artistsintheparks.org/
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© 2003-2007 The Palisades Parks Conservancy. Administration Building. Bear Mountain, NY 10911. 845-786-2701