This park is a wonderful choice in Pawling, considering there's quite a bit to do here. There is a…read moreroad/pathway that's called Holiday Hills Ln, only accessed by authorized vehicles, which follows alongside Green Mountain Lake, and additional trails along it. There are even abandoned barns and buildings along the way, highlighting that. Towards the main parking lot, there is a bathroom house, a mini beach, a tennis court, and even a playground as an alternative. Definitely a must-stop while in Pawling.

Even in the middle of a pandemic and extremely brisk temperatures in Nov, this was the perfect spot…read morefor me to elope! I got married by the sand overlooking the water on a Sunday afternoon, with 5 of our closest friends, and its was spectacular!! This park is beautiful, great place to just go for a walk, or have a wedding

This was a very nice spot for a pleasant hike. We spent 2 hours on the trails. It has some easy and…read moretougher hikes, so something for everyone. The parking lot was fine, small but enough for several cars. The trails were fun, lots of rock hopping, many fallen trees that you have to jump over lol. Please note, I found a tick crawling on me hours later, so yeah be careful, use bug spray here! That was the only bummer, everything else was pretty good.

Wonder Lake State Park offers some good hiking with well-marked trails…read more Parking: small gravel parking lot Trails: Several well-marked trails. Lots of elevation on the trails. So plan accordingly. On the trail map, it appears to be an easy 1.5 miles to the.lake (following the teal trail). But there's a ton of elevation and in the spring lots of mud. The yellow trail was basically so muddy at one point we gave up and double-backed to the teal trail. The mud made sections impassible. Misc: Lots of insects, especially annoying gnats in the spring. Recommend using bug repellant. Also, recommend taking water. Why 3 stars? Lots of road noise from I-84 across much of the park. Doesn't feel like nature with the highway noise in the background. The lake itself is not exactly pretty. Just a mucky lake. The trails were very muddy. And the scenery was overall average, just not exceptional in any way. But it's free and provides a nice place to hike.

Since my wife and I became parents, I feel like we've both become playground connoisseurs. We've…read moremade quite a list of good playgrounds in the tri-state area, but one of our absolute favorites is Julie's Jungle in Hopewell Junction, New York. Inceptioned in 2012, the playground was named after Julie Keating. Young Julie was afflicted with both physical and cognitive disabilities and was often unable to join in on the fun at her local park. She tragically passed away in 2007 at the age of 15. Her younger sister Natalie later wrote a letter to the East Fishkill recreation committee asking them to build a handicapped-accessible playground. The town accepted the proposal. Phase I of the playground opened in 2016 and Phase II was completed in 2018. Julie's Jungle was the first fully accessible playground built in Dutchess County. It was built for children of all abilities to play and learn together. It's equipped with accessible routes and paths throughout, ramps, spacious decks, short stair heights, Braille play panels, and even a sensory garden. Whenever my family and I are passing through the area, we always make a point to stop at Julie's Jungle. Both of my sons love playing here. They have so much fun that our visits seem to end in the blink of an eye. We wish that more playgrounds were like this. FUN FACT: For those parents like me who enjoy good craft beer and wood-fired pizza, Sloop Brewing Company is just a three-minute drive away!

An amazing playground with something for everyone! My 2,3 and 4 year old grandchildren were…read morethrilled. The only hard part is getting them to leave!

This park is decent. I see there is a summer camp here which…read moreis lovely, however one problem is the disgusting lake!! I will go ahead and say the lake is still 100% safe because it had chlorine in it, however because of that, you can find dead fish and dead creatures in the water, and the sand is very, very mushy under water, if you dig your feet it you can feel more dead fish... Other than the lake, the park is decent, there's a baseball field, mini-gulf, a pavilion, and I think a tennis court!

The Beekman Recreation Center and the Park have it all, covering events, sports, swimming,…read moreplayground, mini golf, and a trail. As this park is open to the public, there's a lot involved when it comes to the town of Beekman, as they put events and even programs and memberships that bring the community together. The website has a lot more info on it. The property is fairly big with plenty of walking to explore and to take in the wonderful nature. It does a loop starting in the parking lot and going around the baseball field, lake, the mini golf course, and then leading back to the beginning. There is also a trail, which isn't marked at all. It starts at the northern end of the park running parallel to Recreation Road, ending at Beekman-Poughquag Road. Another path turns running parallel with the driveway, going into the main lot, following all the way to the dirt trail meeting up with the main trail once again. The trail does a complete loop. Definitely a great discovery in the Beekman area.

The Appalachian Trail is one of the longest trails in the US, covering the area from Maine to…read moreGeorgia. This review will focus on the Pawling Nature Reserve and beyond north of it. The AT covers 2.8 miles inside the park, which I traveled most of the time, from the red trail intersection until the AT meets with the yellow (traveling north). Some fallen trees are located along the way. It overlaps the Yellow and Red Trail further north until the Red and AT branches off from the Yellow to the left. At this point, the AT and RED overlap. There are decent views along the way looking east towards Connecticut. Eventually, the red branches to the right and the AT continues straight, exiting PNR. The views are still visible. This section covers many hills, thankfully not too steep. I still found trees knocked over. The furthest I made it was past Leather Hill Road, and I turned around. I enjoyed this section, and there's a lot more to explore. It would be nice to see some maintenance done.

Amazing hidden gem right in the town of Pawling!…read more Can't believe this place even exists. So much hiking, connects with other states. You can hike and hike and hike for days. Sadly, not being much of a hiker myself, I only lasted like 20 minutes because it decided to snowstorm in the middle of May. Yep, pure craziness! Also, I got distracted with the milk cows that just hang out. I mean, I see an animal and I MUST approach animal. She wanted to social distance but I refused! She said "mooooov-it" and I ended up having to go before I upset this cute friendly cow. Awesome trail that you can go either for an easy walk or get more deep in there. Can't wait to actually explore more and enjoy these views. It's even a great spot for photos on your phone or camera. Just a great spot in general to come to for a little walk. You can climb over the electric fences with the little stairs they have, just be careful. Oh, and if you're scared of cows, don't worry, they won't bother you if you don't bother them. Parking situation: you can pull over on the side carefully and park there!

One of the best water falls in NE! Mid-week afternoon visit…read more There was a park? officer at the entrance sitting in the car waving as people's left. There was also a table at the entrance to the trails with a person who didn't have much knowledge of the trails nor falls?? Spent 75 minutes and was able to hike upper, mid and lower falls. The trail to the viewpoint is very short and easy to find. There was little water when I visited in mid- September and leaves hadn't to change colors yet. The trail to the falls is NOT marked very well after the initial 2 signs. Many on the trail said they continued on stairs (straight) that didn't go to the falls! If you want to just hike without the Falls as the end goal, then this park works for you. Lucky for me I received an advice from returning hikers who knew the park and advised me well :). The KF hikes are not long but are pretty steep... scrambling maybe required especially to get to the cove behind the upper falls. The trail split, to the bottom of the falls and to the mid- falls, is pretty close. So the view to the entire falls was worth hiking down to. The trail near the bottom of the falls is red rock stairs and well maintained. Parking was a gravel lot and was about 2/3 full. Enjoy!

A very mild and easy hike with a beautiful payoff! Definitely bring your bathing suits because you…read morecan take a dip in the water--it's cool, refreshing, and perfect for cooling off after the walk. The waterfall and surrounding scenery are absolutely beautiful, and you can easily spend some time relaxing on the rocks and taking in the view. You don't have to get in the water if that's not your thing; there are plenty of rocks around the area where you can sit and enjoy the scenery. There are both upper and lower sections of the waterfall, so depending on how much walking you want to do, you can choose which area to explore. We walked to the lookout point first, which gives you a view of the waterfall from above. From up there, everyone below looks like little ants! Before reaching the bridge, there are stairs that lead down to the actual waterfall, which I definitely recommend checking out. Overall, it's a beautiful spot, and the hike is very manageable!

Tymor is one of the greatest parks I'd say in the eastern Dutchess County area, with a large…read moreproperty with a lot to do. Getting directions to Tymor is no issue, with a small parking lot on Tymor Park Road. There is a huge field that is not hard to miss with a baseball field along with tennis and a soccer field. There is a pavilion and also another building that has a bathroom. A playground is provided for a lot to do. Since the property is big, there are also trails to explore, which are very scenic in the woods for the most part, and a nice view of the pond called Furnace Pond. This section is very enjoyable and a pleasure to look at. Definitely got to check out the other trails. Worth the visit in the 845 and Hudson Valley, trust me.

Beautiful place to find peace and tranquility. No matter what time you visit Dover stone Churchread more

Beautiful, short and easy hike to an incredible natural wonder. It tends to be crowded in Spring,…read moreSummer and early Fall. It's icy in the Winter, but you will avoid the crowds during this season.

There is a lot to take in if this is your first time here. This facility is used for all sports…read more(mainly used for school teams), also providing a playground, skating park, beach volleyball, and a trail for the alternatives. A bathroom also provided as a plus. The trail was our main focus. It all starts in the lower lot toward Fishkill Creek. Going to the left, you'll find a sign indicating keeping your dog on a leash, making it the starting point. You'll see signs on the tree marking the color of the trail you're on. A very nice walk to follow along the creek, making it the highlight. It's mainly a flat trail with a very little up and down hills, but nothing too complicating. The ending is a bit strange, coming out to a football field. This is a great place to have get-togethers, along with having many physical activities to make it even more entertaining.

This is a review of just the skatepark…read more The ramps are metal but the surfaces are ok and the transitions aren't so bad. The quarter pipes are little too far apart to get a half-pipe rhythm going but they're fine as quarter pipes. It's a DIY vibe. To whoever got it built - thanks. The pavement is that coarse pebbly stuff the parks department uses all over NY, so you can't do flat ground stuff. Most likely this was here before the skaters. It is what it is. There isn't a lot to skate around here, so I'll probably go back eventually.