National Park Service
A Study of the Park and Recreation Problem of the United States
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NEW YORK

BETTER THAN 80 PERCENT of this State's people live in congested metropolitan districts and trends indicate a still greater concentration of population in the future. Eight million people live in New York City and its environs alone. Other points of population congestion are the Buffalo-Niagara, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, and Albany-Troy-Schenectady districts, all of which lie within a central strip across the State from east to west, and Binghamton in the south-central section.

The State's principal recreation resources are its mountains, its lakes and ocean frontage, the Hudson River, and its numerous historic sites. The climate of its mountain sections is such as to make it exceptionally well adapted to both summer and winter sports.

The State has made tremendous strides in recreation during the past 15 years. Officially adopted in 1924, and largely carried out since then, is a unified State park regional program based upon population requirements and the need for preservation of scenic, scientific, and historic sites for their intrinsic values and accessibility by parkways and improved highways. The system (not including the Forest Preserve in the Adirondack and Catskill regions) is administered by regional State park commissions whose efforts are directed and coordinated by a Council of State Parks in the State Conservation Department. Further expansion will depend largely upon the growth of population and the increased mobility of the citizens. Some sections of the State will require comparatively little expansion of parks and parkway facilities; others will require considerably more.

map
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FEDERAL


National monuments:
11. Father Millet Cross
0.01
144. Statue of Liberty
10.38
     Total

10.39



National monument project:
88. Fort Stanwix




National battlefield site:
147. White Plains




National historic site:
145. Federal Hall Memorial
.49


National historical park project:
128. Saratoga




National wildlife areas:
42. Montezuma Migratory Bird Refuge
2,942.8
180. Shinnecock Migratory Bird Refuge
8.4
183. Fort Tyler Migratory Bird Refuge
14
     Total

2,965.2



Soil Conservation Service—New York Wildlife Development Projects:
1. Chautauqua County


20. Allegany County


23. Livingston County


32. Ontario and Yates County


61. Oswego County


76. Oswego and Jefferson County


81. Madison County


86. Delaware County


120. Albany County




Soil Conservation Service—New York Land Development Projects:
Forest areas:
34. Schuyler County


48. Tompkins County




INTERSTATE


Trailway:
153. Appalachian




Park:
Palisades Interstate Park
47,000
134. Storm King Section


136. Bear Mountain-Harriman Section


141. Hook Mountain Section


142. Blouvelt Section


143. Tollman Mountain Section




STATE


State parks:
3. Lake Erie
240
4. Beaver Island
550
7. Buckhorn Island
649
8. Niagara Reservation
420
9. Whirlpool
111
10. Lewiston Heights
9
12. Devil's Hole
42
14. Allegany
56,959
16. Cuba Lake Reservation
700
19. Letchworth
6,477
26. Hamlin Beach
600
29. Stony Brook
481
35. Watkins Glen
544
37. Newtown Battlefield Reservation
318
39. Cayuga Lake
188
41. Fair Haven Beach
798
43. Taughannock Falls
529
46. Robert H. Treman
832
47. Buttermilk Falls
595
49. Fillmore Glen
857
53. Battle Island Park
235
58. Clark Reservation
225
62. Selkirk Shores
631
65. Long Point
12
66. Burnham Point
7
67. Cedar Point
48
68. Canoe and Picnic Point
70
69. Watterson Point
6
70. De Wolf Point
10
71. Cedar Island
10
72. Kring Point
35
73. Mary Island
13
74. Grass Point
15
78. Green Lakes
774
79. Chittenango Falls
121
84. Chenango Valley
928
100. Gilbert Lake
1,569
123. Saratoga Reservation
1,314
130. John Boyd Thacher
920
150. Cornelia L. Nelson and
Rosalie Law Whitney Parcels

177
152. Clarence Fahnestock Memorial
3,400
155. Margaret Lewis Norrie
330
156. Ogden Mills and
Ruth Livingston Mills Memorial

190
157. Rudd Pond
200
158. Lake Taghkanic
750
159. Taconic
6,000
168. Valley Stream
107
169. Hempstead Lake
903
170. Bethpage
1,374
171. Jones Beach
2,413
172. Massapequa
595
173. Gilgo Beach
1,223
174. Captree
298
175. Belmont Lake
348
176. Sunken Meadow
520
177. Heckicher
1,518
178. Fire Island
800
179. Wildwood
395
181. Orient Beach
342
184. Hither Hills
1,755
185. Montauk Point
158
     Total

149,638



State monuments:
24. Boyd-Parker Shrine
4
25. Sullivan Monument
1
31. Squaw Island
.5
51. Montcalm Park
2
52. Spy Island
1
59. Fort Brewerton
1
64. Battle Ground Park (Sacketts Harbor)
6
88. Fort Stanwix-Oriskany
20
97. Baron Steuben Grave
50
104. Herkimer Home
143
114. Sir William Johnson Mansion
18
121. Guy Park House
1
124. Lester Park
3
125. Grant Cottage
1
126. Lake George Battlefield Park
35
127. Stark Knob
4
128. Saratoga Battlefield (same area as National Historical Park Project)
1,429
129. Schuyler Mansion
1
132. Senate House
1
133. Washington's Headquarters
Temple Hill and Knox's Headquarters

5.5
52

138. Stony Point Reservation
34
137. Saratoga Battle Monument
3
146. Philipse Manor Hall
1
154. Clinton House
1
162. Fort Cralo
7
164. Bennington Battlefield Park
171
167. Crown Point Reservation
113
     Total

2,109



State parkways:
5. South Parkway
125
6. West River Parkway
32
27. Lake Ontario Parkway
862
186. Eastern State Parkway
3,500
187. Bronx River Parkway Extension
1,025
188. Northern State
1,131
189. Bethpage
87
190. Southern State
1,225
191. Meadowbrook and Loop Parkway
2,543
192. Ocean
375
193. Wantogh and extension
2,064
194. Sunken Meadow
310
195. Captree Causeway
617
196. Sagtikos
355
197. Montauk Point State Boulevard
292
     Total

14,543



Proposed parkway extensions:
6. West River Parkway


27. Lake Ontario


186. Eastern State




State Forest Preserves:
113. Adirondack Park
2,164,528.7
118. Catskill Park
232,152.79
     Total

12,396,681.49



State reforestation areas:


CountyNumber
of areas

2. Chautauqua1311,431.91
15. Cattaraugus1715,956.83
21. Allegany1928,402.80
22. Livingston22,173.86
30. Steuben96,717.68
26. Cortland1319,869.51
33. Yates11,771.48
36. Schuyler48,330.16
38. Chemung1501.90
44. Tompkins33,182.50
50. Cayuga46,935.32
54. Onondaga12,146.46
55. Tioga32,871.85
60. Oswego1515,474.46
75. Jefferson67,876.51
80. Madison1316,633.86
82. Broome86,029.67
83. Chenango3450,195.26
87. Oneida1515,859.88
89. Lewis2537,146.60
90. St. Lawrence1618,103.36
99. Otsego1413,999.46
101. Delaware1011,613.65
106. Herkimer22,052.17
109. Franklin36,091.61
115. Montgomery45,965.13
116. Schoharie2225,535.45
119. Greene42,041.05
122. Saratoga1573.71
131. Albany43,206.20
135. Fulton

163. Rensselaer21,289.57
166. Washington21,021.06
     Total
289

351,000.92



State game refuges:
40. Howland's Island—Cayuga County


45. Connecticut Hill—Tompkins and
Schuyler Counties



82. Pharsalia—Chenango County


108. De Bar Mountain—Franklin County


161. Capital District—Rensselaer County


     Total

28,571.36



Public fishing easements:
Miles
17. Wiscoy Stream
6.75
18. East Coy Stream
8.78
63. Salmon River
28.47
77. Fish Creek
22.14
91. West Branch Oswegatchie River
7.56
92. Beaver River
25
93. Independence River
19.75
94. Otter Creek
16
95. Crystal Creek
7.68
96. Moose River
13.50
98. West Canada Creek
8.03
102. Beaverkill Stream
8.04
103. Willowemoc River
3.66
105. East Canada Creek
1.20
107. Deer River
3.63
110. Little Salmon River
5.87
111. Big Salmon River
27.63
112. St. Regis River
33.62
117. Schoharie Creek
6.98
160. Kinderhook Stream
11.69
165. Battenkill Stream
4.81
     Total

270.79



LOCAL


County park systems:
13. Erie County (8 areas)
24,079
28. Monroe County (5 areas)
3,500
57. Onondaga County (6 areas)
2,782
151. Westchester County (23 areas)
17,327
     Total

27,688



Municipal parks:2
198. Buffalo (2 areas)
102
199. East Aurora (3 areas)
50
200. Westfield (1 area)
13
201. Pen Yan (1 area)
5
202. Ithaca (1 area)
400
203. Syracuse (1 area)
202
204. Rome (1 area)
58
205. Amsterdam (1 area)
100
206. Newburgh (1 area)
19
207. Middleton (1 area)
34
208. Patchogue (2 areas)
6
     Total

989

1 September 30, 1938.

2 From municipal and county parks in the United States, 1935.



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Last Updated: 18-May-2016