Bear Mountain is one of the best-known peaks of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Hudson Highlands The Hudson Highlands are mountains on both sides of the Hudson River in New York (state), New York state lying primarily in Putnam County, New York, Putnam County on its east bank and Orange County, New York, Orange County on its west. They conti ...

. Located partially in Orange County in the town of

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

and partially in

Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state's ...

in the town of Stony Point, it lends its name to the nearby

Bear Mountain Bridge The Bear Mountain Bridge, ceremonially named the Purple Heart Veterans Memorial Bridge, is a toll suspension bridge in New York State. It carries U.S. Route 6 in New York, US 6 and U.S. Route 202 in New York, US 202 across the Hudso ...

and

Bear Mountain State Park Bear Mountain State Park is a state park located on the west bank of the Hudson River in Rockland County, New York, Rockland and Orange County, New York, Orange counties, New York (state), New York. The park offers biking, hiking, boating, pic ...

that contains it. Its summit, accessible by a paved road, has several roadside viewpoints, a

picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

area and an

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. Th ...

, the Perkins Memorial Tower. It is crossed by several

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

trails as well, including the oldest section of the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

(AT). As of 2021, the AT across Bear Mountain has been improved by the

New York–New Jersey Trail Conference The New York – New Jersey Trail Conference (NYNJTC) is a volunteer-based federation of approximately 10,000 individual members and about 100 member organizations (mostly hiking clubs and environmental organizations). The conference coordin ...

to minimize erosion and improve accessibility and sustainability as part of a project to rebuild and realign the trail that began in 2006. The Trailside Museum and Zoo located at the base of Bear Mountain is the lowest point on the Appalachian Trail ( above sea level). The steep eastern face of the mountain overlooks the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

. The eastern side of the mountain consists of a pile of massive boulders, often the size of houses, that culminate in a cliff face at approximately the level. A direct scramble from the shore of Hessian Lake to Perkins Memorial Drive on the summit requires a gain of about in roughly . From the summit, one can see as far as

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, and the monument on High Point in New Jersey.

History

*Bear Mountain was historically known as "Bear Hill" and "Bread Tray Mountain". *

Franklin D. Roosevelt's paralytic illness Franklin D. Roosevelt, later the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 to 1945, began experiencing symptoms of a paralytic illness in 1921 when he was 39 years old. His main symptoms were fevers; symmetric, ascending paralysis; facial pa ...

developed in the summer of 1921, two weeks after he visited a

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

camp at Hessian Lake on the eastern edge of Bear Mountain. It is possible the illness was related to exposure at the camp. *Bear Mountain was once the premier ski jumping site in the United States. Because of its reputation as a ski jumping location, Bear Mountain was considered as a possible site for the

1932 Winter Olympics The 1932 Winter Olympics, officially known as the III Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Lake Placid 1932, were a winter multi-sport event in the United States, held in Lake Placid, New York, United States. The games opened on February 4 ...

, which were held in Lake Placid,

. The ski jump run has not been used in decades, and its stone steps built into the eastern side of the mountain are now crumbling. *During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

held their spring training here.Baseball Goes to War, by William B. Mead, 1985, pg. 74, *In 1928, the

Palisades State Park Commission A palisade is a steel or wooden fence or wall of variable height, usually used as a defensive structure. Palisade, palisades or palisading also may refer to: Geology * Columnar basalt, a common extrusive igneous (volcanic) rock formed from the r ...

built a Aermotor LS40 steel fire lookout tower on the mountain. It was taken down seven years later to make room to build the Perkins Memorial Tower which was erected in honor of George W. Perkins Sr., who was the first president of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. The memorial tower was a gift of Perkins's widow and their son. The tower was used as a weather station and fire lookout until 1953. In 1990, the Perkins family agreed to donate $650,000 over a six-year period to maintain the tower. The tower was later completely renovated and re-opened to the public.

References

External links

*http://www.nynjtc.org/park/bear-mountain *http://www.nynjtc.org/park/harriman-bear-mountain-state-park {{Authority control Bear Mountain State Park Ramapos Mountains on the Appalachian Trail Mountains of Orange County, New York Mountains of New York (state) Hudson Highlands