WOODSTOCK – Officials from the state Department of Environmental Conservation opened a new parking lot and trailhead spur at McDaniel Road in Woodstock on Friday, improving public access to the popular Overlook Mountain Wild Forest. The area has been hampered for years by parking problems.
The Friday dedication also served as an early Earth Day celebration. Earth Day is Sunday.
The Meads Meadow Trailhead parking lot comes at a cost of $102,000, provided by state senators through the Catskill Watershed Corporation, said DEC Regional Director Kellie Tuturro.
“We have a lot of acres to access and this parking lot actually
leads us up to the Overlook Mountain hiking trail, which leads to the
Overlook Fire Tower, Devil’s Path and Devil’s Tombstone,”
Tuturro said.
The breathtaking views are made more easily available by the improvements.
A half-mile spur trail now connects easily to the pre-existing Overlook Mountain Trail, providing convenient hikes up towards the summit and fire tower. Two family friendly shorter loops have also been built. Sanitation and information kiosks are added to the 30-spot tourist destination.
Mysterious castle-like ruins located nearby are actually a failed restoration attempt from an old 19th-Century resort, aborted during the 1920s. Further down the mountain are ancient aboriginal cliff dwellings, for which Rock City Road is named. In recent decades, hippies from town have been gathering on Overlook Mountain each month under the full moon, to play drums.
Buddhist monks from a nearby monastery, dressed in maroon robes, mingled among park rangers, state officials, and local hikers to watch the ribbon cutting on Friday morning, timed in commemoration of Earth Day.
Turturro thanked partners who helped finalize the project.
“We had a lot of support from the Town of Woodstock, and our partners in the Catskill Watershed Corporation, the Catskill Center, and the funding assistance came from State Senators Amedore and Seward,” Turturro said.
