Many Hiking Trails in Storm King State Park Open Again

For more information contact:

Ed Goodell, 201-512-9348

Neil Woodworth
518-449-3870

After a three-year closure due to the discovery of unexploded artillery shells, a substantial number of hiking trails in designated sections of Storm King State Park overlooking the Hudson River near Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York can again be used by the public as the result of the collaborative efforts of Federal, State and private agencies.

Carol Ash, Executive Director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, announced that hiking trails in the northern half of the Park, as well as the portion of the Park west of Route 9W, would be officially open to the public on Friday, October 25, 2002. The reopened sections of the Park are accessible from parking areas on Route 218 and Route 9W north of West Point Military Academy. A remaining section of the Park that abuts West Point to the south and 9W to the west will remain posted and closed until additional trail clearing and blazing is completed.

This incredibly beautiful state park has been a favorite of hikers since the 1900s. Its principal feature, Storm King Mountain, with its network of hiking trails and scenic overlooks, dominates the Hudson River. The 1,900-acre Storm King State Park is located within an hour drive of New York City and within several hours drive of 30 million Americans.

Edward Goodell, Executive Director of the New York – New Jersey Trail Conference, the organization that maintains the hiking trails in Storm King State Park, commended the timeliness of this announcement by saying, "This is great news for everyone who enjoys the scenic beauty of the Hudson Valley during this special time of year. I would like to thank Congresswoman Sue Kelly, the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Adirondack Mountain Club, Scenic Hudson and, of course, the many Trail Conference volunteers who have worked very hard to provide the public with safe access to this immensely popular Park. Trail Conference volunteers will continue to work with PIPC staff to repair the fire-related damage to trails in the remaining closed section of the park. We hope to see the entire park opened as soon as this work is completed."

Neil Woodworth, Deputy Director of the Adirondack Mountain Club, which in partnership with the Trail Conference, has been a leading advocate for the clearing and reopening of the park, commented, "The battle to preserve Storm King Mountain and create Storm King State Park resulted in a U.S Supreme Court decision that is the basis for much of the environmental law in the nation. It is entirely fitting that the public can again hike the spectacular trails of the mountain that they helped protect nearly forty years ago and again this year."

Woodworth emphasized that "hikers should not hike on trails in that portion of Storm King State Park that remains posted as closed and that they should stay on hiking trails and should not, under any circumstances bushwhack off the trail."

In 1999, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) was forced to close Storm King to the public after the intense heat of forest fires detonated artillery shells buried in the Park’s soils. A subsequent investigation revealed that the U.S. Army had used the Crow’s Nest, a mountain on the border between the West Point Military Reservation and Storm King as a target between the 1880s and the 1960s. Artillery shells that overshot Crow’s Nest Mountain landed in the southern part of the Park.

The Army Corps of Engineers performed a removal action on 36 acres with sophisticated scanning devices to clear the marked trails, trailheads, firebreaks and highway shoulder areas. The Corps has cleared the hiking trails and 25 feet to either side of unexploded shells to a depth of one foot.

Subsequently, the Corps performed a thorough assessment the unexploded ordnance and risk management alternatives. Based on the Corps assessment, an additional surface clearance of ordnance beyond the trail corridors to a depth of 6" below grade is recommended in the property adjacent to West Point with institutional controls (signage) once the removal action is complete. The cost of this alternative is expected to amount to approximately $5-7 million and is expected to be implemented as federal funds are appropriated.

The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference and Adirondack Mountain Club Partnership is dedicated to conservation, trail stewardship and protection of New York’s state parks and trails. The Partnership represents 85 hiking clubs and over 100,000 hikers in the region.

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