More Updates Coming to Bear Mountain

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) have announced that the popular Cornell Mine Trail at Bear Mountain State Park has reopened for the fall hiking season. A $3 million capital construction project is also underway to restore and reopen additional trails in the Doodletown Trail Area of the park. The repairs follow widespread damage from heavy rains and flash flooding caused by thunderstorm activity on July 9-10, 2023.

New York State Parks trail crews, with support from the Rockland Conservation and Service Corps and the non-profit Jolly Rovers Trail Crew, also hand-constructed a new stone staircase to reopen the one-mile Cornell Mine Trail, which provides access to Doodletown from the Iona Island area and connects to the Appalachian Trail.

“It’s exciting to see trails at Bear Mountain State Park that were badly damaged by the July 2023 storms reopening just in time for fall hikes in the breathtaking Hudson Valley,” said NYS Parks Acting Commissioner Kathy Moser.

The next phase of work will focus on repairing approximately five miles of pathways in the Doodletown Trail Area. The $3 million improvement project to reopen the 1777 Trail, restore portions of the Bridle Path, and replace two undersized drainage culverts with a new, more resilient bridge. When complete in late 2026, the project will allow hikers, trail runners, and birders to access the most popular areas of Doodletown, while also restoring connections to the June and Herbert Cemeteries and access for first responders in the event of an emergency.

The restoration of the Doodletown Trails became necessary after the July 9, 2023, storm swept through the area, dumping more than 10 inches of rain in a few short hours. The rush of water over the landscape overwhelmed drainage structures, causing mud and rockslides that damaged large areas of Bear Mountain State Park. In addition to Doodletown, park roads, parking lots, bridges, buildings, and the park’s water treatment plant all received extensive damage. Bear Mountain remained closed for over a month until it was safe to re-open.

With funding made available by Governor Hochul, the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the PIPC have spent the past two years addressing the extensive storm damage. The NYS Office of Emergency Management and the Office of General Services have also supported this effort. Since 2023, over $40 million has been expended to rebuild stormwater management systems, repair Bear Mountain’s water treatment plant, and replace damaged bridges. The park’s carpentry and plumbing shops, which support the entire Palisades Region of State Parks, are also being relocated to a more resilient location.

Approximately 35 miles of trails have been restored out of over 50 miles that were damaged during the 2023 storm. This includes repairs to the Appalachian Trail, and an ongoing effort by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference to repair the Brooks Lake Trail Loop in the Village of Fort Montgomery.

In addition to the State’s investment in storm recovery and improved resiliency, Bear Mountain is benefiting from a recently announced $25 million project to expand Bear Mountain’s picnic grounds, construct a new destination playground, and add additional public restrooms. That work is currently underway.

For an updated map showing all open and closed trails in the Bear Mountain State Park area, please visit: parks.ny.gov/parks/bearmountain. This map will be updated further as trails reopen.

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