North-South Lake Campground in Haines Falls, a state-run campground that's about to get a $400,000 upgrade. Photo by Flickr user Iain Hinchcliffe; published under Creative Commons license.
This week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced $17 million in new spending on New York's state parks and public lands. The Catskills region is getting its fair share, with upgrades planned at some of the region's popular state-run campgrounds.
Most of the planned upgrades for Catskills-area state parks aren't flashy: They're boilerplate items like roof repair, water and sewer upgrades, road repaving and parking lot improvements. But all told, they add up to over $1.3 million in new spending on public campgrounds and parks in Delaware, Greene, Sullivan and Ulster counties.
Funding for the projects comes from two programs: About $12 million statewide from NY Works II and $5 million from the Environmental Protection Fund.
A few of the upgrades in store for Catskills parks:
- $400,000 for repaving and sealing roads at North-South Lake Campground in Haines Falls
- $168,000 for paving, foundation and roof work, and handicap accessibility upgrades at Kenneth L. Wilson Campground in Mount Tremper
- $140,000 for upgrades to the recycling building, roof repairs and a backup generator at Mongaup Pond Campground in Livingston Manor
- $100,000 for sewer upgrades at Bear Spring Mountain Campground in Downsville
Also included in the project list: $420,000 for the long-stalled Maurice D. Hinchey Catskill Interpretive Center in Mount Tremper, currently little more than a kiosk and a dream on 60 acres off Route 28. The center also got about $1 million in funding from the state budget earlier this year. Supporters hope that groundbreaking on a new visitor's center on the site will begin soon.
Along with the new spending, the DEC also announced the completion of a new Catskill Park Preserve map and visitor's guide, available from the agency or at local county tourism offices. A PDF of the new map can also be downloaded from the DEC's website.
Below: Detail from a new Catskill Park map from the DEC.
