West Point Foundry Preserve

Once home to a bustling ironworks, a pacesetter in America's Industrial Revolution, West Point Foundry Preserve now provides a great opportunity to explore history and nature.

West Point Foundry Preserve is an important archaeological site and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Photo: Robert Rodriguez, Jr.

Cold Spring, Putnam County (87 acres)—Hikers at West Point Foundry Preserve enjoy a fittingly tranquil soundtrack — the gentle murmur of Foundry Brook. That's a far cry from the clangor greeting 19th-century visitors to the sprawling West Point Foundry that filled this ravine. Established in 1818 to supply the U.S. government with artillery, the ironworks employed hundreds of workers who produced some of America's first steam engines, locomotives and ironclad ships, as well as pipes for New York City's water system and Parrott guns, cannon that turned the tide of the Civil War. The foundry's owners also were business pioneers, among the first to control every aspect of manufacturing, from raw material to product distribution. NOTE: Since the West Point Foundry Preserve is a sensitive archeological area, park visitors must stay on marked trails.

Park Features

Access via train

Bird watching/nature study

Dog walking (on leash)

Food nearby

Hiking

Featured Atlantic Kayak Tours destination

Picnicking

After foundry operations ceased in 1911, nature gradually reclaimed the land. Today woodland trails follow old rail beds and pass extensive ruins of the casting house, boring mill and other essential foundry buildings that led to the preserve's inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. While Scenic Hudson works to create a heritage park telling the story of the site's past and the cleanup that led to its ecological renewal, West Point Foundry Preserve remains a marvelous place to escape today's bustle and connect with the Hudson Highlands' astonishingly diverse wildlife.