CARMEL – The Hubbard Perkins Loop Trail at Fahnestock State Park in Carmel has been reopened.
The two-year, $1.5 million project overhauled 9.5 miles of multi-use trails in the park to better accommodate walkers, hikers, runners, bikers, snowshoers, cross-country skiers, and equestrian users.
“Fahnestock State Park is a remarkable destination, offering incredible vistas and vast open spaces – and quality park trails are key to park experience,” State Parks Commissioner Erik Kulleseid said. “I am grateful to the Open Space Institute, the U.S Military Academy, and the project supporters for these improvements to the Hubbard Perkins Loop Trail, which will help visitors to explore what Fahnestock has to offer.”
“OSI’s work in the northwestern section of Fahnestock is making a largely inaccessible section of this amazing park a true centerpiece,” said OSI’s president and CEO, Kim Elliman. “As we build on our legacy of more than doubling the size of Fahnestock, we are proud that our park improvement work here ensures the land OSI protected is open and welcoming to the public.”
This trail project caps a public-private partnership between New York State Parks and OSI to increase public access and improve accessibility to an underutilized area of the park. Over the past eight years, OSI has raised more than $9 million, with lead support from Lucy Waletzky for trail improvements, signage upgrades, safety enhancements, and new public amenities at the park’s Canopus Lake.
“The Hubbard-Perkins Loop Trail is another beautiful reminder of how important public-private partnerships are to the success of our state parks,” said Waletzky long-time supporter of OSI’s work at Fahnestock and former chair of both Taconic Regional Commission and the New York State Council of Parks. “The substantial renovations OSI has completed in this area of Fahnestock State Park will be enjoyed and appreciated by park visitors for decades to come.”
Components of the park improvement project included the restoration and realignment of existing trails and the construction of 14 new pedestrian bridges and trail crossings, four of which were completed through an ongoing partnership with the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The project also created new trail sections, redirected sections of the trail to avoid sensitive wildlife habitat areas and included the installation of new wayfinding signs and an informational kiosk near Hubbard Lodge.
Over four years, OSI has partnered with New York State Parks and the cadets from the United States Military Academy at West Point to replace four trail bridges at Fahnestock as part of the larger, Hubbard Perkins Loop Trail project.
