Lake Welch Parkway, sometimes labeled Lake Welch Drive, is a parkway located within Harriman State Park in southern New York in the United States. It extends for on a southwest–northeast alignment from an intersection with

Seven Lakes Drive Seven Lakes Drive is a north–south parkway located in the Hudson Valley region of New York in the United States. It extends for just under on a northeast–southwest alignment from an intersection with New York State Route 17 (NY 17) i ...

to a partial interchange with the

Palisades Interstate Parkway The Palisades Interstate Parkway (PIP) is a limited-access highway in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. The parkway is a major commuter route into New York City from Rockland and Orange counties in New York and Bergen County in New ...

. The parkway is located entirely 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. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

, although it runs close to the border with

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

. It is inventoried by the New York State Department of Transportation as New York State Route 987A (NY 987A), an unsigned reference route; however, it is owned by the

Palisades Interstate Park Commission The Palisades Interstate Park Commission (PIPC) was formed in 1900 by Governors Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Foster Voorhees of New Jersey in response to the quarrying operations along the Palisades Cliffs of New Jersey. The Palisades, a Na ...

. The portion of Lake Welch Parkway that lies south of Tiorati Brook Road is closed during the winter. The parkway is the main route to access all beaches in Harriman State Park: Lake Welch, Lake Tiorati, and Lake Sebago (closed as of 2011).

Route description

Lake Welch Parkway approaching Lake Welch Beach

Lake Welch Parkway begins, heading north, on the northbound side of

. Although there is no direct connection with southbound Seven Lakes Drive, the section containing the interchange is widened to form a modified traffic circle, allowing

U-turn A U-turn in driving refers to performing a 180° rotation to reverse the direction of travel. It is called a "U-turn" because the maneuver looks like the letter U. In some areas, the maneuver is illegal, while in others, it is treated as a ...

s on either side of this divider to permit access from both sides. The next intersection north is with Johnsontown Road, a dirt road which parallels Lake Welch Parkway, and used to run uninterrupted to Lake Welch, partially along the current parkway's right of way. It is now interrupted after ¾ mile at Pine Meadow Rd, a service road for camp activities, at the next intersection with Lake Welch Parkway. A ½ mile later, the parkway intersects with the St. John's Rd, which is paved; at the same point, the

Long Path The Long Path is a long-distance hiking trail beginning in New York City, at the West 175th Street subway station near the George Washington Bridge and ending at Altamont, New York, in the Albany area. While not yet a continuous trail, relyin ...

then crosses the parkway on its way up Nat House Mountain. There is a bridge ⅔ mile later over County Route 106 (CR-106, Gate Hill Road and Kanawauke Rd, formerly NY 210,). There is no interchange between the Parkway and CR-106, but St. John's Rd provides access to CR-106, Lake Welch, and St. John's-in-the-Wilderness Church. About northeast of the bridge, the parkway becomes divides, forming a modified traffic circle with the access road to the Lake Welch recreation area (Beach and Picnic Area). The access road continues south to CR-106, forming another path between the two roads.Lake Welch Site Map (New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation)
/ref> Lake Welch Parkway continues as a two-lane undivided road for another mile to the vicinity of Tiorati Brook Road, where it widens into a divided roadway once again. The parkway connects to the road by way of a Y-interchange with a northbound-to-southbound U-turn. North of Tiorati Brook Road (also known as Cedar Pond Road), the parkway is only open seasonally. The median ends just east of the interchange with the

(exit 16 of the Palisades). The first connection encountered of this interchange is the Palisades southbound exit ramp, which merges into Lake Welch Parkway southbound. This is followed by ramps to the Palisades southbound and from the Palisades northbound, where Lake Welch Parkway ends. It is only a partial interchange, lacking a connection between Lake Welch Parkway northbound and Palisades Interstate Parkway northbound. To access the Palisades northbound requires a 3-mile detour via Gate Hill Road.

History

Lake Welch Parkway was conceived in the early 1960s as a new roadway through Harriman State Park. The new road would connect Lake Welch Beach (which opened in 1962) to the

via Tiorati Brook Road. The new roadway would be constructed by the

with a bridge over Tiorati Creek and two other smaller bridges along the right-of-way. The new parkway would temporarily terminate at Lake Welch Beach, where an extension down to

would be constructed. Engineers estimated the first section of the Lake Welch Parkway to cost $4.13 million (1962 USD) to build, and contracts would be let in Albany on November 16, 1962. Construction of the second segment between Seven Lakes Drive and Lake Welch Beach was announced in November 1967 with the letting of a contract to County Asphalt Incorporated, a firm based in

Tarrytown Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-North Hu ...

. The contract was for $2,275,744 (1967 USD) and would construct the final of Lake Welch Parkway. The firm won the contract as the lowest of four bidders. The extension would also be wide beginning at the Sebago Circle along Seven Lakes Drive. In addition to the new right-of-way, an additional of right-of-way would be used to access the extension with Lake Welch Beach. Also included a project was a bridge over then- NY 210 (now CR 106). The slated completion date of the project was December 3, 1969 and would be supervised by the New York State Department of Transportation and its engineer out of

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...

. Construction was completed nearly four years later, with the new Lake Welch Parkway opening to traffic on June 27, 1971, a little more than 9 years after the opening of Lake Welch Beach. The new parkway, long, intended to relieve congestion along NY 210 in access to Lake Welch Beach, and would connect to the Palisades Interstate Parkway at exit 14A (current exit 16).

Major intersections

The entire route is in Harriman State Park,

References

External links

{{commons category, Lake Welch Parkway Harriman State Park (New York) Transportation in Rockland County, New York Parkways in New York (state)