Beaverkill Covered Bridge

Restoring an iconic structure

The Beaverkill Covered Bridge is one of the Catskills' most beloved historic destinations. Over the years, the bridge and the culturally significant land that surrounds it had become rundown. 

OSI stepped in and working with local partners, developed a 10-year restoration plan to restore the bridge and rejuvenate the nearby picnic area popular with anglers and young families.

Preserving history

Despite the bridge’s 2007 entry onto the state historic register, by 2013 it was in desperate need of repairs.

So, we partnered with the state Environmental Conservation and Parks departments, the Department of Transportation, and with local municipalities to renovate this iconic structure.

Careful restoration of the historic Beaverkill Covered Bridge—including its wooden peg engineering and stone-clad ramps and piers—is helping to improve public access to the Beaverkill River. 

The public can now access the Beaverkill river from the Beaverkill Covered Bridge Campsite, which we protected in 2006. The river runs through the campground, now operated by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. 

An angler’s paradise 

The Beaverkill River and its largest tributary, the Willowemoc Creek, are among the most famous fly-fishing waters in the country. 

The bridge, built in 1865, spans Theodore Gordon's prized fishing pool. Gordon, the legendary “father of American fly-fishing,” considered the Beaverkill River a treasured natural resource. 

“Public fishing and public camping are the iconic Catskill experience.”- Ramsay Adams, executive director of Catskill Mountainkeeper

The world-famous Beaverkill is stocked with wild brown and native brooke trout attracting fly-fishermen from near and far.