Come celebrate the Hudson River Valley Ramble this year at Minnewaska State Park Preserve. If you enjoy volunteering and you love the outdoors, we have a great opportunity for you! You’ll have the chance to build and maintain a trail loved by our community, as well as an opportunity to learn new skills and meet new people.
Sunday, September 18, 10:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.: 7th Annual Hudson River Valley Ramble Volunteer Trail Day on Millbrook Mountain Footpath
Join volunteer members of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference’s Hudson Nor’Westers trail crew and Minnewaska State Park Preserve Staff for this exciting trail project. We’ll be repairing the well-loved, and much used, Millbrook Mountain Footpath. This footpath has gained increasing popularity over the past few years, and sections of it have become widened and worn down, exposing roots and loose rocks. There are also wet spots that become dangerously icy in winter conditions, which we will fix up to make safer. We intend to keep the rugged character of this footpath, but make it safer for hikers.
Starting at the southern end of Lake Minnewaska, volunteers will hike on the trail to access repair spots. The Minnewaska State Park Preserve portion of Millbrook Mountain Footpath is about a half mile long, so the maximum hiking distance is two miles. You will be learning the skills needed for these projects in the field, from trained volunteers and staff. Trail work will include clipping overgrown edges, brushing in widened trails, filling in low areas using crushed rock, creating stepping stones, building water bars and more. Some jobs will involve lifting and bending as well as using hand tools, such as loppers, shovels, rock bars and sledge hammers.
The site will provide tools, safety equipment, snacks, water and gloves. However, volunteers may want to bring their own gloves to ensure a good fit. It is recommended that participants bring plenty of water, lunch, snacks, sunglasses, insect repellent and sunscreen. And, it is required that participants wear work shoes, preferably hiking boots, and long pants. The $10 fee for parking will be waived for registered for all volunteers. Volunteers will meet at the Wildmere parking area. We encourage volunteers to arrive 15 minutes early, so we have as much time on the trail as possible. Pre-registration is required by calling the Park Preserve Office at 845-255-0752.
Minnewaska is the largest of only six New York State parks having the distinction of being classified and protected as a Park Preserve. Visited as a natural place of great beauty for over 130 years, the landscape includes numerous majestic waterfalls, four pristine sky lakes, and approximately 85 miles of carriage roads, footpaths and wood roads. Minnewaska State Park Preserve consists of over 23,000 acres of wild and scenic land located on Route 44/55, five miles west of the intersection with Route 299 in Gardiner, New York and also includes the Sam’s Point Area, located in the hamlet of Cragsmoor, south of Route 52.
For more information and to register for programs at Minnewaska, please call the Park Preserve Office at 845-255-0752. For information and to register for programs at Sam’s Point, please call the Visitor Center at 845-647-7989. Minnewaska State Park Preserve is open from 9:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.
The Palisades Interstate Park Commission administers 30 parks, parkways and historic sites for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in New York as well as the Palisades Interstate Park and parkway in New Jersey. For more information about New York State Parks, please visit www.nysparks.com
10 spaces available
Registration is closed for this event.
