Spearheading a multi-partner effort to create a new linear park along one of the most dramatic and scenic stretches of the Hudson River.
Spanning from Cold Spring to Beacon, the 7.5-mile Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail will not only offer a thrilling new way to experience the Hudson River and Highlands, but will provide safer access to and reduce ecological stresses on some of the Hudson Valley’s most popular hiking trails.
The linear park will reconnect people to the river’s edge, restore a portion of the Hudson Highlands’ globally important ecosystem, enhance visitors’ enjoyment and choreograph that visitation to minimize impacts of heavy tourism on the local communities.
The park will offer an array of destinations and immersive opportunities for all ages and abilities to engage with the highlands and river. This will include a family-friendly beach, views to archaeological sites, outdoor classrooms for school groups and adult classes, spaces for quiet contemplation and enjoyment of the scenery and improved access to several trailheads within the Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve, including the famous Breakneck Ridge scramble—known as one of America’s top day hikes.
To carry out trail’s planning and overall design, the partners have chosen SCAPE, a landscape architecture firm that has earned an international reputation for connecting people to the land in creative and inspiring ways while improving the environment’s ecological functions and biodiversity. Gray Organschi Architecture, recognized for creating structures that interact with light and the landscape, will design bridges and build amenities within the park. In 2020, we successfully purchased 12 acres of land and acquired two separate trail easements critical for the successful completion of the trail. For more information on this exciting project please visit hhft.org.
“In the Highlands, the powerful forces of nature are ever-present. It is a place that affects you emotionally….”
Frances Dunwell
Success Stories
