With record parks attendance, campgrounds expand to welcome more visitors

State parks visitation is growing and campgrounds may be on track to hit record attendance levels this year! This steady increase over the past few years comes in the wake of cultural shifts, astronomical events and parks centennial celebrations.

With current trends leading us to anticipate even higher numbers for the future, Park and Trail Partnership Grants allocate funding to grassroots groups to help accommodate more visitors and provide better accessibility for all.

One recipient, The Mohonk Preserve Inc., is at the beginning of the creation of a capital improvement plan for the Samuel F. Pryor III Shawangunk Gateway Campground. The 50+ site campground is in critical need of improvements to the water system, drainage, septic, trash & recycling, staff housing, parking, and accessibility. Realizing this need, the non-profit organization applied for a grant through the Park and Trail Partnership Grants program and was awarded $41,000 to develop a capital improvement plan.

Last year, Green Lakes State Park in Onondaga County completed an expansion of its overnight cabins. Improvements to these family-friendly accommodations will provide more opportunity for children from underserved communities to become experience the outdoors. The new cabin area will be designated for visiting groups through “Ladders to the Outdoors”–a successful program that removes barriers to our state parks and historic sites by providing programs, transportation, equipment, and skills for visitors without easy access.

These needed improvements aren’t all recent. For the past decade, State Parks has identified an increased need for camping sites. In 2015 OPRHP announced that new campgrounds will be created within the park system for the first time in 35 years. Schodack Island State Park along the majestic Hudson just south of Albany now hosts over 60 camp and RV sites. The volunteer Friends group of the park worked in partnership with the state agency and identified the need for a welcome kiosk for the new location. They sought out funding from PTNY’s Park and Trail Partnership Grants and were awarded $3,400 to install the signage, which has provided guidance to visitors now for nearly a decade.

Park and Trail Partnership Grants—administered by Parks & Trails New York in partnership with the NY Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) and funded through the Environmental Protection Fund—support a range of initiatives, from raising private funds for capital projects and performing maintenance and beautification tasks, to providing innovative educational programming and hosting special events.

It warms our hearts to see so many state parks and historic sites being embraced by New Yorkers-new and old. We support the groups working to expand these spaces and make state parks more accessible to a wider audience.