Hudson Highlands State Park is a non-contiguous state park in the U.S. state of New York, located on the east side of the Hudson River. The park runs from Peekskill in Westchester County, through Putnam County, to Beacon in Dutchess County, in the eastern section of the Hudson Highlands.

The park's lands, heavily mined, logged and quarried in the past, were assembled over the mid-20th century from different purchases by the state, totaling as of 2025. They range from riverside salt marshes to mountain summits, including the highest in the Highlands, the south summit of Beacon Mountain. It is managed by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYSOPRHP) from offices at Fahnestock State Park to the east. Its parcels adjoin others owned by other public agencies and private preserves, some of which are managed by NYSOPRHP as well and are open to the public.

Due to its panoramic views of the river and mountains, and easy access by both automobile and rail, it has become a very popular destination for day hikes. The park's best known trail makes a steep, rocky ascent up Breakneck Ridge. Other trails climb neighboring Bull Hill and follow the cliffs of Anthony's Nose. The Appalachian Trail (AT) also goes through the southeast corner of the park.

Geography

The park is composed of four separate tracts of land, two of which are contiguous, reflecting its piecemeal acquisition. The southernmost section begins just north of Peekskill, abutting the New York National Guard's Camp Smith, following the Bear Mountain Highway (US 6 and 202) around the lower slopes of Anthony's Nose. In Putnam County, it serves as the AT's corridor along the north of the mountain and on Canada Hill. In the land above Manitoga, the former estate of industrial designer Russel Wright, the AT interconnects with its trail system and follows the border with another parcel known as the Osborn Preserve, formerly part of Wing & Wing, the estate of 19th-century Illinois Central railroad president William Osborn.

The AT leaves the state park for a National Park Service-owned corridor here, and the other trails provide access to Sugarloaf Hill, whose summit looks across the river at the village of Highland Falls and the United States Military Academy at West Point. Here, near Garrison, the southern parcels end.

Also in Beacon is the Denning Point parcel. This small wooded promontory is located where Fishkill Creek drains into the Hudson.

History

The Eastern Highlands before the 20th century

Swedish botanist Pehr Kalm sailed up the Hudson in 1749 and wrote one of the earliest accounts of the eastern Highlands:

Kalm landed in the area and wrote the first scientific description of mountain laurel, a plant species still abundant in the area.

Creation of park

As New York began creating its first state parks in the Hudson Valley Region during the 1910s and 20s, it concentrated its efforts on larger tracts it had acquired such as Harriman and Bear Mountain to the southwest and Fahnestock to the east. Much of the present Hudson Highlands State Park was either part of large estates or owned by commercial interests seeking to exploit their mineral resources. An organization called the Hudson River Conservation Society (HRCS) worked to preserve the lands by persuading owners to donate them to the state or include clauses in deeds that forbade or greatly restricting quarrying and mining operations on the property.

In 1938 the society made its first significant accomplishment when it persuaded Rosalie Loew Whitney to give the state Conservation Department on the northwest face of Breakneck Ridge from the estate of Thomas Nelson, the local landowner from whom Nelsonville took its name. The next year, an appeal to save Anthony's Nose raised enough money to purchase of its northern slope.

The north end of the park became the center of a local controversy in the late 1990s. It is home to a den of Eastern timber rattlesnakes, a New York State threatened species. The state's Department of Environmental Conservation brought suit to stop the snake-proof fences a local quarry operator had put up while it was applying for permission to mine stone from the operation. In 1999 then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer persuaded a court to order the fence be torn down. It survived appeal, and became a legal precedent establishing New York's right to enforce the state's Endangered Species Act on private property.

Flora and fauna

thumb|Park at its lowest point along the [[Hudson River]]

The park's plants and animals are part of the Northeastern coastal forests ecoregion.

Its variety of biomes – ranging from brackish tidal marsh and mudflats along the river's edge to pitch pine-oak-heath rocky summit forest and rocky grasslands at higher elevations – contribute to its biodiversity. The mountain slopes are dominated by oak hickory and chestnut oak forests.

Besides rattlesnakes, the park also supports some other state-listed threatened species, such as the bald eagle and least bittern. Three of New York's five known eastern fence lizard communities are found in Hudson Highlands State Park, near the northern end of its range.

Public use and access

The park is open during daylight hours year-round. It is used mainly for passive recreation, mostly hiking, but also birding. Limited hunting is allowed: bowhunters make take deer during that season in the late fall, and shotguns may be used during spring turkey season. Some areas near the riverside are accessible by kayak, and there is a state-owned launch for them off the Annsville Circle, where US 9 meets routes 6 and 202, north of Peekskill. Camping and open fires are prohibited, as are vehicles of any kind, and there are no designated campsites or shelters in the park.

200px|right|thumb|Bannerman's Castle on Pollepel Island

Pollepel Island, while accessible by water a short distance from the east bank of the river, is the only area of the park to which access is restricted. It and the ruins of Bannerman's Castle, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, can only be visited by making advance arrangements through NYSOPRHP for a guided tour.

Trails

The trails of the park are maintained by volunteers from the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, which also publishes detailed maps. Some follow, in whole or part, old woods roads left over from the quarrying and mining operations; at other times they climb the steep and rocky peaks directly. They are blazed with NYSOPRHP plastic disks, except for the Appalachian Trail which uses white paint blazes.

Many take advantage of the ridgetop topography and thinly wooded summits to offer panoramic viewpoints over the river and region.

225px|right|thumb|Hikers working their way up a steep section of Breakneck Ridge

Some of the longer and more frequently-hiked trails in the park are:

  • Appalachian Trail (AT): A section of the Georgia-to-Maine long-distance trail passes through the southern portion of the park near the Osborn Preserve. From NY 9D just north of the Bear Mountain Bridge, it ascends Canada Hill and follows that ridge for two miles before descending to the US 9/NY 403 junction at Graymoor.
  • Breakneck Ridge Trail: One of the most popular trails in the park, due to the challenge of the westernmost section, which climbs in its first through steep rocky chutes that require scrambling and offer views of Storm King and Newburgh Bay. The entire trail, in length, continues over the mountain along the ridgetop to South Beacon Mountain.
  • Camp Smith Trail: This trail follows a narrow corridor through of parkland between the National Guard base and the Bear Mountain Highway, traversing Anthony's Nose. It has many steep and rocky sections with views of Bear Mountain, the bridge and Haverstraw Bay to the south.
  • Fishkill Ridge Trail: Starting from the Pocket Road trailhead in Beacon, this trail makes a large loop over that mountain, offering some views over Fishkill and southern Dutchess County along the way.
  • Notch Trail: Formerly the Three Notch Trail, this trail follows wood roads from near the summit of Bull Hill, down into the col and up the north face of Breakneck Ridge. There it joins that trail for along the ridge, then descends the face of Sunset Point to Squirrel Hollow Brook and continues a long traverse across the lower slopes of South Beacon Mountain to reach Route 9D in Dutchess Junction south of Beacon, near Melzingah Brook.
  • Osborn Loop: This trail connects to the AT near Canada Hill at both ends. It can be reached from Manitoga, the AT, or the trails around Sugarloaf Mountain.
  • Undercliff Trail: A route from Nelsonville to Breakneck Ridge that crosses the shoulder of Bull Hill along the way. It takes its name from the many cliffs whose foot it passes.
  • Washburn Trail: The main route up Bull Hill from the Little Stony Point trailhead just north of Cold Spring climbs the mountain's in almost . This is the greatest vertical ascent of any trail within the park.
  • Wilkinson Memorial Trail: Longest trail in Hudson Highlands State Park at . It begins along NY 9D just north of Breakneck Ridge and gradually ascends to cross all the summits of Scofield Ridge, the highest peak in Putnam County, located outside the park. It descends from there to Old Albany Post Road North, just off US 9 near the county line.

See also

  • List of New York state parks

References

  • New York State Parks: Hudson Highlands State Park
  • New York-New Jersey Trail Conference: Hudson Highlands State Park