Sam Pryor Campground, Minnewaska State Park
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The Open Space Institute in New Paltz

Image Credit: Steve Aaron

New York, NY—October 30, 2013— The Open Space Institute enriches quality of life in New Paltz. We protect pristine land, clean water, fresh food, family farms, scenic vistas, public access, and rail trails for hiking and biking.

We are proud, non-profit partners who have helped create and preserve resources like these in this special community.

And we’re a responsible partner. Over 85 percent of the 30,000 acres we have protected in the region are taxed on their full assessed value, even though OSI requires no municipal or school services. It’s a fact.

For more than 25 years, OSI has helped preserve open space and community character in the New Paltz area. Here is just a partial list:

  • Protected over 27,000 acres of land on the Shawangunk Ridge, the scenic backdrop of New Paltz, providing outdoor recreation for residents and non-residents alike.
  • Protected over 2,600 acres of farmland in the Wallkill Valley alone (20 separate farms), including two historic Huguenot farms and two CSAs at Phillies Bridge and Huguenot Street.
  • Built regional rail trails, including adding 11.5 miles to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail and restoring the historic Rosendale trestle as a public walkway.
  • Creating a public trail across the Wallkill agricultural flats, with the Town of New Paltz and Mohonk Preserve, while saving 500 acres of the flats, including the aquifer for the town and Village of New Paltz, and 6 miles of river frontage.
  • Saved and donated 117 acres in the Trapps Gateway for the Mohonk Preserve Visitor’s Center and Samuel F. Pryor III Campground, and protected the 55-acre Nyquist/Harcourt Wildlife Sanctuary downtown.


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