Jul 16, 2007
Bear Mountain Park
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Bear Mountain State Park attracts half a million visitors a year with its beautiful setting and abundant recreational opportunities. The drive from Peekskill along the Bear Mountain Parkway and across the Bear Mountain Bridge is spectacular. Bear Mountain was named because its ridgeline resembled a sleeping bear; it was on the mountain that the first section of the Apppalachian Trail was created in 1923. The Trailside Museum ($1/adults, 50 cents/children) features a half-mile of nature trails and several small museums and animal exhibits. Artifacts from early American Indian camp sites and rock shelters are on display and there is also a room devoted to Dan Beard, a founder of the Boy Scouts of America. There is a pool at the park, open from Memorial Day to Labor Day; the park’s Hessian Lake offers paddleboats and rowboats for rent beginning in late June. The park’s rustic Bear Mountain Inn has a restaurant and there are picnic areas scattered throughout the park.
Details
Take Route 35 west from Connecticut to Bear Mountain Parkway, entered on the right before Peekskill, N.Y. After crossing the bridge turn south to the park entrance. 845-786-2701 or www.bearmountainzoo.org. Parking is $8.
© Copyright 2008 by Hersam Acorn Newspapers
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