Storm King State Park
WEATHER
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TRAILHEAD
SUGGESTED TRAIL
This is an INTERMEDIATE trail (see below for ratings) with some of the most epic views of the Hudson Valley, plus Cold Spring and Breakneck Ridge views across the river.
PRO-TIP
Approach the trailhead from the north side - it's safer. Consider Newburgh Brewing Company after.
HISTORY
New York physician Ernest Stillman donated the park's initial 800 acres (today 1,972 acres) to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission in 1922, hoping to protect land surrounding the Storm King Highway.
The park was the focus of preservation efforts in the early 1960s after a proposal by Consolidated Edison to build a hydro-electric power plant on the property. The Scenic Hudson Preservation Conference was formed by citizens opposed to the project, and the proposal was eventually dropped following a 17-year battle to preserve the park's natural state.
A 1999 forest fire at the park caused the detonation of unexploded ordnance that had been fired over 100 years prior by a cannon manufacturer across the river. Additional unexploded shells were also discovered that likely originated from a nearby West Point artillery range.