About Bear Mountain State Park

Bear Mountain State Park is a park of about 5,000 acres in the Hudson Highlands, on the west bank of the Hudson River 45 miles north of New York City. The Palisades Interstate Park Commission runs it with NYS Parks; NYS Parks dates it to 1908, making it one of New York's oldest state parks, and it draws some 2 million visitors a year to its 42 miles of trails, the Bear Mountain Inn, Trailside Museums & Zoo and the 1,305-foot summit of Bear Mountain.

The Land Before the Park: Fort Clinton, 1777

The narrow Hudson below Bear Mountain was a key point in the American Revolution. In 1776 American forces built Fort Clinton on the south side of Popolopen Creek, where the park is today, to guard the river alongside Fort Montgomery to the north. On October 6, 1777, British forces under Sir Henry Clinton stormed both forts. The British destroyed them and removed the iron chain the Patriots had stretched across the river, but did not go on to join General Burgoyne. Some remains of Fort Clinton survive at Trailside Museums & Zoo, though most were destroyed in 1920s construction. Read the full story on our Fort Montgomery page.

The Palisades Interstate Park Commission

The Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) was formed in 1900, the nation's first bi-state body set up to protect natural land. NYS Parks credits its early work with helping inspire environmental education, children's group camps and the growth of the national park system. Today PIPC manages 21 parks and 9 historic sites in New York and New Jersey, over 125,000 acres, including Bear Mountain and neighbouring Harriman State Park. George W. Perkins, the visionary behind the Palisades park system, is honored by Perkins Memorial Tower on the summit; the Major Welch Trail is named for PIPC's first General Manager.

Building the Park, 1908 to 1934

• 1908: NYS Parks gives this as the year Bear Mountain was established.
• 1910s: the park opened, and crowds soon outgrew the Hudson ferries (New York State Bridge Authority).
• 1915: the Bear Mountain Inn was built of local stone and timber above Hessian Lake. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• 1924: the Bear Mountain Bridge opened on Thanksgiving Day, then the longest suspension bridge in the world.
• The first AT section: Bear Mountain's stretch of the Appalachian Trail was the first section of the AT ever built; NYS Parks marked its 100th year in 2025.
• 1934: Perkins Memorial Tower was dedicated on the summit.

Doodletown and the Ski Jump

South of the Inn, the 1777 trails pass through a quiet valley holding the remains of the hamlet of Doodletown. The trail down from the summit to the Inn passes under the park's old ski jump.

The 2023 Storm

On July 9, 2023, about 10 inches of rain fell on Bear Mountain. The storm damaged roads, bridges, the water supply and nearly every trail, and the park closed for two months that summer. NYS Parks, PIPC and the state's Office of General Services spent about $40 million on repairs before the 2024 season; with the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference and volunteer labor from West Point, they reopened the Appalachian Trail from the summit to the Inn for Memorial Day weekend 2024. Some trails, including those in Doodletown, still need rebuilding; check the closure map before you hike. See hiking.

Bear Mountain Today

NYS Parks describes the park as rugged mountains rising from the west bank of the Hudson, with a large play field, shaded picnic groves, lake and river fishing, a swimming pool, Trailside Museums & Zoo, hiking, biking and cross-country ski trails, an outdoor ice rink, the merry-go-round, and Perkins Memorial Drive to the summit. It is a day-use park, open dawn to dusk year round, and so popular that on peak days it fills and closes to cars. See plan your visit.

Not to Be Confused With

Bear Brook State Park in New Hampshire, and the other peaks called Bear Mountain elsewhere, are different places. This site covers only Bear Mountain State Park in Bear Mountain, New York.