Friends of the Shawangunks

01/09/2020

The Open Space Institute (OSI) has partnered with the Shawangunk Nordic Ski Association (SNSA), to groom cross country skiing trails on its River-to-Ridge Trail. Grooming will improve access to the land during winter months, conditions permitting.
OSI will provide the grooming engine and snow tracks, while SNSA will provide the grooming drag and experience, and will groom the trails as needed.
“This is a terrific opportunity for area residents and visitors to grab their cross-country skis and explore the beautiful winter landscape of the Shawangunk Ridge,” said OSI President Kim Elliman.
Ski trails on the River-to-Ridge Trail will run from the Carmine Liberta Bridge at the Wallkill River in New Paltz to Butterville Road, weather permitting. The River-to-Ridge Trail is open year-round from dawn to dusk and admission is free to all trail users. Motorized vehicles are not permitted.

08/24/2019

UPDATE FROM MOHONK PRESERVE
Testimonial Gateway Trailhead: Work on this area will continue through May 2020.This will include off-road parking, entry booths, restrooms, landscaping and signage. Stabilization work on the Testimonial Gateway Tower roof, windows and selected masonry will also begin soon. PLEASE NOTE that the Testimonial Gateway Tower area is closed from Route 299 and Gate House Road to the beginning of the Pin Oak Allee. Access to the Pin Oak Allee area will be intermittent as this portion of the Lenape Lane Carriage Road is restored. Please avoid all active work areas, construction vehicles and equipment and respect all posted closures.

02/02/2019

Tillson Lake Dam Update
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation has approved moving ahead to engage an engineering consultant to update the design concepts and repair estimates that would bring the dam into compliance. Staff is using the funding OPRHP has already provided for removal of the dam. This engineering work will likely take about six months and will result in more definitive and updated cost estimates for repair. In the meantime, Staff continues to monitor the dam and remains prepared to drain the lake if weather events require.
As a result, the process of revising the Minnewaska State Park Preserve Master Plan as it pertains to Tillson Lake, as well as the State Environmental Quality Review process for removal of the dam, are currently on hold.

02/02/2019

With the completion of the Minnewaska State Park Preserve entrance reconfiguration project, the connecting pedestrian trail project that connects the Awosting parking lot to the Awosting Falls Trail is 80% complete and will be finished in late spring 2019, when the winter weather ends. The construction cost is $193,500.

01/27/2019

Secrets of the Shawangunks Shawangunk Ridge Free Public Lecture Series
From February 7-28, 2019, the Shawangunk Ridge Biodiversity Partnership (SRBP) will present a free public lecture series, Secrets of the Shawangunks, providing information on conservation topics and biodiversity on the Shawangunk Ridge. The lectures, which will take place at SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Ulster, are open to the public and free of charge. Cancellations due to winter weather will be announced at www.mohonkpreserve.org/events. These lectures are co-sponsored by SUNY Ulster and the SUNY New Paltz Biology Department. The lecture on Thursday, February 28th will be held at SUNY Ulster Stone Ridge Campus, Vanderlyn Hall, College Lounge, Room 203, and all other lectures will take place on Thursday evenings at the SUNY New Paltz Lecture Center Room 102.

12/13/2018

Visitors to Minnewaska State Park Preserve should be aware that Phase One of construction in and around the upper parking area is underway. Parking is still available there but may be somewhat reduced. The planned completion date for the current construction is Summer 2019, at which time the following changes and improvements should be in place.
• new parking areas and underground utilities.
• new walkways, railings, and signage.
• new stonework and landscaping.
• new sewer system to serve the new Visitor Center (yet to be built)
• new storm-water management infrastructure.
Phases Two and Three of construction are scheduled to begin in 2019 for completion in 2020. For further information and a map, go to:

08/29/2018

The Open Space Institute (OSI) has announced the Grand Opening of the River-to-Ridge Trail on Saturday, September 8, 2018 at 10:00 AM. This will take place at the Trailhead at 41 Springtown Road, New Paltz, NY. Parking is limited so please consider car pooling. The event will celebrate the opening of the trail to Butterville Road and will take place rain or shine.

06/02/2018

The Open Space Institute (OSI) has announced the opening of the first section of the River-to-Ridge Trail in New Paltz. This section runs along the Wallkill River from the Carmine Liberta Bridge at Route 299 to Springtown Road and is three-quarters of a mile long. The section west of Springtown Road to Butterville Road is still under construction with completion expected later this year. Ultimately, the trail will be 6 miles long and will connect the Village of New Paltz to the protected lands on the Shawangunk Ridge.

04/13/2018

The Open Space Institute (OSI) has conserved an additional 117 critical acres along the scenic Shawangunk Ridge for wildlife habitat and recreation.

At OSI, we protect land for people, for habitat, forever.

04/03/2018

The Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) will discuss at its meeting on April 16 the safety of Tillson Lake Dam. The lake is now part of Minnewaska State Park Preserve. It has been determined that the dam has several issues that require corrective action to ensure the long-term stability and safety of the structure, most particularly under significant rain events. Since projected costs to bring this dam into compliance with safety requirements could be as high as seven to nine million dollars, park staff will be revising the Minnewaska State Park Preserve Master Plan as it pertains to Tillson Lake and proceed with the permit process for the dam removal, so as to ensure the long-term safety of those properties and improvements that would be impacted in the event the dam is compromised, and to provide for the reestablishment of a natural stream corridor that is environmentally sound.

04/03/2018

The PIPC agenda for its next meeting gives the following update on plans for the “Top of Hill” area of the Preserve (adjacent to Lake Minnewaska), which will be transformed to construct a new visitor center and sewer treatment system and develop and reconfigure the parking areas to accommodate 350 vehicles. The project is being developed in conjunction with Open Space Institute, Inc. and NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and will be performed under three phases: Phase One, parking lots and sewer treatment plant, which is expected to go out to bid this month; Phase Two, design of the visitor center, which is 75% complete, and Phase Three, design of the remaining parking lots, which is 15% complete.

03/27/2018

The Open Space Institute and Mohonk Preserve have unveiled the new logo and trail marker for the highly anticipated River-to-Ridge Trail. Once completed, the trail, which traverses land protected by OSI and the Preserve, will connect the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail in the Village of New Paltz to the carriage roads and footpaths of the Shawangunk Ridge.

At OSI, we protect land for people, for habitat, forever.