Kingston, New York

Scenic Hudson is collaborating with the City of Kingston and community groups like the Kingston Land Trust, My Kingston Kids, Harambee, Wild Earth, Kingston YMCA Farm Project, and the Hudson River Maritime Museum to increase access to open space and the waterfront, reach and engage more city youth about environmental issues, and improve quality of life.

With New York State and local partners, we opened 520 acres of formerly industrial riverfront land to the public in 2022, now called Sojourner Truth State Park after the legendary abolitionist and women’s rights leader. It is located partially in the City of Kingston and the Town of Ulster and is adjacent to neighborhoods in both municipalities.

The park hosts a segment of the 750-mile Empire State Trail along with outstanding opportunities for recreation — including hiking, fishing, and enjoying spectacular river views. It also has promising educational potential, from firsthand nature studies to a learning laboratory focused on restoration of degraded landscapes. The State is investing more than $70 million in future amenities largely through the Environmental Bond Act, including event and activity space, an ADA-accessible trail, and a quarry lake swimming facility. 

Creation of the park builds upon Scenic Hudson’s ongoing work in the City of Kingston to enhance residents’ quality of life through nature-based experiences. In preparation for the park’s initial design, we engaged the public to create a vision for the transformation. The State is now continuing that engagement as it makes plans to expand what the park has to offer. 

On the other end of Kingston, along the Rondout Creek, Scenic Hudson has helped the City of Kingston acquire a 75-acre forest known as the Kingston Wilderness. This land will benefit the public by increasing climate resilience, public access to nature, and connections to adjacent wildlands outside the city.

Scenic Hudson also provided significant financial and technical support to the Kingston Land Trust in its acquisition of 54 acres adjacent to the Kingston Wilderness for the home base of their Land in Black Hands initiative. This is a land-based program focused on restoring Black and Indigenous relationships with land through cultural reclamation, ecological stewardship, and community empowerment.

Additionally, we are:

• Partnering in multiple arenas to study and connect residents with the city’s biodiversity (variety of plants and wildlife). We have set up wildlife cameras and are facilitating community science protocols to survey the many species that call Kingston home. This project, called Defining Urban Biodiversity, is a partnership with scientists, planners, and youth from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the City of Kingston, Ulster County, Wild Earth, and the Kingston YMCA Farm Project.
• Holding annual community AquaBlitz events to create opportunities for people of all ages to get their hands wet and discover what’s living in their creeks and watersheds.
• Managing an interpretive trail honoring Sojourner Truth. The trail is located on nearby Shaupeneak Ridge, close to the route Truth took to free herself from 29 years of enslavement. Along with informing people about Truth’s life and work, the trail encourages them to carry on her legacy of bravery and activism.

• Collaborating with the Hudson River Maritime Museum on local innovation, conservation, and resilience. With our support, the museum launched Solaris, the first solar-powered boat operating on the Hudson. This “floating classroom” teaches about the city’s river-based history and shares lessons in ecology, aquatic habitats, and rising sea levels. We also hold a permanent trail easement and conservation restriction along the Museum’s waterfront, ensuring that public access to the Rondout Creek edge will always be maintained. And through a grant, we supported the creation of a flood resilience plan for the museum’s campus.
• Connecting residents and youth to accessible open spaces through annual all-ages bike rides from Midtown Kingston to Sojourner Truth State Park via the city’s Kington Green Line bike trail and the Empire State Trail.

Want to get involved in Kingston? Discover upcoming events and volunteer opportunities, including the chance to be part of community science projects collecting data on urban biodiversity and local watersheds.