KERHONKSON – Minnewaska State Park will be turned into a “gateway” park through Governor Cuomo’s Parks 2020 plan. He made the announcement at the park on Friday.
The state, along with the Alliance for New York State Parks and the Open Space Institute will invest $7.3 million for new amenities including a visitors’ center and warming hut, turning the park into a more modern, year round, destination.
The event included a “Ride the Catskills” motorcycle tour through spectacular fall scenery. That’s Gov. Cuomo on the lead bike.
Minnewaska is the oldest and second largest state park in New York consisting of approximately 23,000 acres and contributing $12.3 million in annual economic impact.
The governor said the state is hoping to make Minnewaska an example for other state parks, as a means for attracting the large tourist populations that visit other areas of the state.
“We get 50 million tourists per year to New York City and that’s actually a great opportunity for us,” said Cuomo. “What we want to say is, ‘Great, come to New York City; it’s beautiful, one of the greatest cities on the planet, I think the greatest city on the planet but, there’s actually more to see when you’re in New York and head north and come see the Catskills and come see the capital district region and come see the Finger Lakes,’ we have so much more than just great cities.”
Turning Minnewaska into the symbol of what state parks are and where they are heading is just part of the plan. Through the I Love New York campaign, international advertising will be used to promote the state’s tourism in what the governor said is “serious business.”
Cuomo called tourism “one of our growing industries.”
Kim Elliman, president of the Open Space Institute, who were responsible for $3 million of the $7.3 million of funding for the Minnewaska gateway initiative and will also oversee the construction for the new amenities said 2020 Initiative “is the visionary capital investment for a vibrant, welcoming and updated park system that will delight hundreds of millions of people who will visit the parks in the coming decades. We really are building a New York Parks system for the 21rst Century.”
The next part of this joint endeavor will be the Excelsior Conservation Corps that is due to be launched in January. The corps will be volunteer-based and contribute to the building of the new amenities. It will be one of many future actions to promote statewide tourism and make state parks appealing to a new generation of visitors.
