Numerous efforts were made at the turn of the century to turn much of the Hudson Highlands, the area along the Hudson River from about Peekskill to Newburgh, to a forest preserve. All of these, however, were unsuccessful until the state of New York tried to relocate Sing Sing Prison to Bear Mountain. It was then that some of the wealthy businessmen who had made homes in the area went to work.
Led by Union Pacific railroad president E.W. Harriman, a group of wealthy and influential businessman donated land as well as large sums of money for the purchase of other properties in the area. Bear Mountain-Harriman State Park became a reality in 1910. By 1914, estimates showed more than a million people a year coming to the park. Camping became popular here, with the average stay logged at eight days, and it was a favorite for Boy Scouts.
Bear Mountain remains popular today, welcoming more visitors every year than Yellowstone National Park. Hiking, boating, picnicking, swimming, cross-country skiing, sledding, ice skating as well as a zoo and trailside museums, continue to draw families to the park.
The Bear Mountain Inn, built in 1915, offers visitors all of the comforts of home with nature as a backdrop. Lakeside lodges also are available for those who seek a more rustic atmosphere and a little more privacy. And Overlook Lodge, a modern hotel obscured from sight by the trees but nestled above Hessian Lake, is also available for overnight stays.
And if being outdoors brings on an appetite, no problem. The Inn boasts a sit-down restaurant as well as a snack bar for quick burgers and sandwiches.
Picnic areas and playgrounds are scattered throughout the park. And various festivals and craft shows are held throughout the year. The zoo lets visitors get a glimpse of many of the animals indigenous to the area, such as the bald eagle, fox, black bear, river otter, owl, hawk, deer, bobcat, turkey and various types of fish. Trailside museums highlight the area's history -- especially its importance in the Revolutionary War -- local geology and nature, including mounted insects and bird species as well as live fish, reptiles and amphibians.
The first section of the Appalachian Trial was created at Bear Mountain, taking hikers south to the Delaware Water Gap. It opened on Oct. 7, 1923, and served as a pattern for the other sections of the trail, developed independently by local and regional organizations and then joined.
In the mid-1930s the federal government led by Franklin D. Roosevelt was embarking on its own plan to preserve the environment. The Depression-era public works programs, including the Civil Works Administration and then the Work Progress Administration, spent five years on projects at Bear Mountain State Park.
Pumphouses, reservoirs, sewer systems, vacation lodges, bathrooms, homes for park staff, storage buildings and an administration building were all created through these programs. A scenic drive to the top of the mountain, called Perkins Memorial Drive, was also contstructed -- almost totally by hand. And although construction equipment and newer easier-to-work-with building materials were available for use at the time, planners wanted these new buildings constructed with the same principles and designs used to build the lodge in 1915. Workers used stone, boulders and timber to construct the new buildings, a process which took them five years.