Walks In The Woods Near The River Towns

RIVERTOWNS, NY—Walking in the woods is a great way to get in shape, reduce stress and improve your mood. If you live in the Hudson Valley, you are lucky enough to be close to many scenic state parks and take advantage of these wonderful health benefits.

Here's a list of some of our favorite state parks broken down by county. Be sure to check them out while the weather is still suited to a walk in the leafy shade. If we missed your favorite state park, let us know in the comments below. If you visit any of these parks, let us know how you liked the experience.

Westchester

Rockefeller State Park, 125 Phelps Way, Sleepy Hollow

Rockefeller State Park Preserve is ideal for walking, jogging, horse-riding, bird watching, and fishing.

Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park, 2957 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights

The 960-acre state park has picnic areas, a pool and a playground.

Croton Point Park, 1 Croton Point, Croton-on-Hudson

This park offers year-round events and activities and has facilities for camping, hiking and swimming.

Blue Mountain Park, 435 Welcher Avenue, Peekskill

The 1,500-plus acre park offers trails for biking and hiking, as well as fishing.

Ward Pound Ridge Park, 6 Reservation Road, Pound Ridge

The county park offers a museum and gallery, plus activities such as hiking, fishing and horseback riding.

Rockland

Hook Mountain State Park, N Rte 9W, Nyack

The 676-acre undeveloped state park includes a portion of the Hudson River Palisades on the western shore of the Hudson River.

Tor Mountain, 415 S Mountain Rd, New City

The 691-acre state park is known for its scenic hiking paths.

Tallman Mountain State Park, Route 9W, Sparkill

The park is great for hiking and cross-country skiing.

Bear Mountain State Park, Route 9W North, Bear Mountain

Situated in rugged mountains rising from the west bank of the Hudson River, the park features a large play field, shaded picnic groves, lake and river fishing access, a swimming pool.

Putnam

Clarence Fahnestock State Park, 1498 Route 301, Carmel Hamlet

Also known as Fahnestock State Park, this 14,337-acre state park located in Putnam and Dutchess
counties.

Wonder Lake State Park,380 Ludingtonville Road, Holmes

The rugged, scenic park has lakes and ponds and features nine miles of trails for hiking and horseback riding.

Dutchess County

Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve, NY-9D, Beacon

This park has some of the region’s most spectacular and popular trails. A wide variety of trail length and
difficulty includes hikes from the very gentle to the extremely strenuous.

Mills Norrie State Park, 9 Old Post Rd, Staatsburg

The 1,000 acre-park includes hiking trails, campgrounds, a public golf course and a river marina.

Tivoli Bays, Cruger Island Road, Tivoli

Located along the Hudson River with extensive hiking trails, a canoe launch & views of the Catskills.

Ulster County

Minnewaska State Park, 5281 Route 44-55, Kerhonkson

Waterfalls, three sky lakes and 25 miles of footpaths for hiking and biking, plus rock climbing.

Bluestone Wild Forest, Kingston

Remote 3,000-acre preserve featuring hiking, skiing, camping and a lake known for ice fishing.

Fanny Reese State Park, Highland

The 251-acre state park is managed by Scenic Hudson and is part of the Palisades Interstate Park system.

Black Creek Preserve, Winding Brook Road, Esopus

Trails lead to the Hudson River and spectacular views.

Enjoy your walk!

Photo via Wikipedia