Park Improvements

We strive to make the outdoors more welcoming and enjoyable for long-time visitors and new explorers alike.

Conserving land and creating parks is in our DNA — after all, we’ve been doing it for 40 years. But buying the land is only one part of the equation; we also make parks better.

Land for parks

Great parks and trails offer sanctuary in our busy lives, are vital recreational, cultural and economic destinations, and help foster the next generation of environmental stewards.   

Through our Alliance for New York State Parks program we work to make parks and trails more appealing and welcoming, we champion increased public investment, raise private dollars to leverage that investment, and bring know-how to make park improvement projects more engaging for visitors.

Our impact

Through our work we are:

• Restoring the inviting and beloved carriage roads at Minnewaska State Park Preserve — a park we have more than doubled in size.
• Raising funds and providing added insight and ingenuity to develop exhibits for the Humphrey Nature Center at Letchworth State Park and Thacher Park Center at John Boyd Thacher State Park.
• Creating the new River-to-Ridge Trail, a highly-anticipated, scenic and recreational off-road, multi-use trail leading directly from downtown New Paltz to the Shawangunk Ridge.
• Supporting Hudson Valley rail trail projects through acquisition, engineering work and the conversion of the Rosendale Trestle from an abandoned bridge to a recreational destination.
• Advocating strongly for increased public investment in public parks--securing a $1 billion commitment to state park restoration in New York State.