“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world;
indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead
Walk with me if you will in an “It’s a Wonderful Life” way to what Upper Westchester County could have been if some of our George Baileys had never lived. New York is a British colony. The Jersey Palisades and Hudson Highlands have been removed by quarry companies. A maximum-security prison is on top of Bear Mountain. There is no inn, no park, no bridge, no nothing.
Now let’s insert the heroes who circumvented these near disasters, changing the direction of history. Firstly and most obviously, General George Washington under whose command two forts were built on the west side of the Hudson in the shadow of Bear Mountain to protect an upward surge by river of the British forces during the Revolution. Forts Clinton and Montgomery were connected by footbridge across a small tributary creek, and can still be walked through today. Washington’s action saved our butts on October 6, 1777, when the British got tricky and came by land rather than by water in a “divide and conquer” tactic, rendering our ship-stopping chain across the river useless. Our 700 troops lost, but the battle detained the British troops just long enough for them to miss (and lose) the battle at Saratoga, a major turning point.
Secondly and less conspicuously, The Englewood Women’s Club of New Jersey, a small group of civic minded, environmentally concerned, tenacious ladies with deep-pocketed friends began a movement to save the Palisades from being blasted to Kingdom Come. Their action led to the creation of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) with a mission “to preserve land and to provide opportunities for outdoor recreation accessible to all.” The year was 1896.
Fast forward to 1908. New York State decides to move Sing Sing Prison from Ossining across the river to the Bear Mountain woods. 100 prisoners begin clearing land, laying sewer pipes and constructing buildings for a new maximum-security prison. Several escapes occur. Nearest neighbor Edward Henry Harriman, a railroad magnate who owns thousands of acres, hatches a “so crazy it just might work” plan. He will donate 10,000 acres and $1 million to the PIPC if the State will scrap the prison idea and turn Bear Mountain into a park. Thus Harriman is the third and final hero of our tale, unfortunately dying before he sealed the deal. Fortunately his wife and son carried out his wishes in October 1910.
Bear Mountain is as laden with history as it is with geologic layers. It is the
bedrock of our nation, from the American Revolution through the Industrial Revolution
to present day, the gateway of the Hudson. From its peaks in one weekday hour you can
see passenger trains on the east bank, huge freight trains on the west bank, load-pushing barges up the middle, West Point helicopters in training, and replicas of ships from the 1600s sailing upriver. It’s just showing off to also claim that the birthplace of the Appalachian Trail is another feather in Bear Mountain’s cap, but it’s true. The very first
completed section of the Appalachian Trail ran from Pennsylvania to Connecticut right
across the newly constructed Bear Mountain Bridge in the 1920s. Also the very first planned Nature Trail established in the U.S., brainchild of The American Museum of
Natural History and the PIPC, occurred right there on the new A.T. in 1925, literally covering and housing part of the trail for the purpose of education. The 57-acre outdoor area with trails, museums and an outdoor zoo of indigenous animals is still there today: Trailside Museum and Zoo, yours for the taking.
You really just gotta get over there and discover it for yourself. I wouldn’t wish a weekend visit on my worst enemy as its crowded and two-lane traffic on a mountain road can be brutal, but a weekday trip is a delight. There are many options for exploring it, ranging from an easy drive to a stringent hike. My favorite plan is to start with an overview hike of Anthony’s Nose, the Hudson Highland peak on the east side of the river directly across from Bear Mountain. Drive up Route 6 from Peekskill, the scenic route formerly called “The Goat Trail,” toward the Bear Mountain Bridge. Rather than stay on 6 to cross the bridge, stay right on 9D and park almost immediately on the right side of the road near the trailhead sign. This is part of the Appalachian Trail (section 9). Up and back down the same trail is the simplest route, although there are other trails if you’re adventurous. You can’t really get lost.
It’s a lovely hike with some interesting finds along the trail, homemade lean-to’s, cairns and a pond full of frogs. Pack a lunch for the top of Anthony’s Nose where the view is stunning and you get the Big Picture view, imagining the way it couldh’ve been as described above. You’ll know you’re there when you hit the American Flag atop a flagpole. Back down to walk across the Bear Mountain Bridge, past the Toll Booth and
across Route 6 on the marked pedestrian crossing (don’t trust the drivers to automatically stop). The entrance to the Trailside Museum and Zoo is a couple hundred yards back toward the river on the south side of 6. Since the A.T. runs straight through the museum, you’ll probably see (or smell) some Through Walkers catching a rest from their
2,100mile walk from Georgia to Maine. Be sure to visit the Bear Den, the lowest elevation (at 120 feet above sea level) on the entire A.T. If you still have time, stroll along Hessian Lake and check out the Inn. There’s a great gift shop, and you can grab a coffee at the cafeteria for the trip home, a perfect ending for your walk through Hudson Valley history.
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