Sam's Point Preserve, or Sam's Point Dwarf Pine Ridge Preserve, is a preserve in
Ulster County
Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster.
History
...
on the highest point () of the
Shawangunk Ridge
The Shawangunk Ridge , also known as the Shawangunk Mountains or The Gunks, is a ridge of bedrock in Ulster County, Sullivan County and Orange County in the state of New York, extending from the northernmost point of the border with New Jerse ...
in
New York, on the
Wawarsing, New York
Wawarsing is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 12,771 at the 2020 census. The name Wawarsing was once believed to mean "a place where the streams wind" in the Lenape language, referring to the geography in the h ...
-
Shawangunk town line. It is owned and managed by the
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation after having previously been managed by
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in 1951, The Nat ...
. Its unique
environment features dwarf
pitch pine trees along the ridgetop. Located within the park is
Lake Maratanza, the highest lake on the ridge, and the Ellenville Fault Ice Caves.
History
The name derives from a folktale in which a noted Spanish settler named Samuel Gonzales, pursued by Indians, jumped off the cliff to avoid capture and miraculously survived the drop with the trees breaking his fall, around the time of the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
. Roads throughout the preserve were built as fire roads in the 1930s by the
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
.
The land was once owned by the nearby
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
of Ellenville to protect its
watershed and partly by a company which offered tours of the ice caves. The Open Space Institute, working with The Nature Conservancy bought it with assistance from the Lila Acheson and Dewitt Wallace Fund for the Hudson Highlands, after the village considered selling the land to developers.
In 2005, the Preserve opened the Sam’s Point Conservation Center with education facilities, exhibits and a gift shop. A parking fee of $10 per vehicle is charged.
Management of the preserve was transferred to the
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and 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 ...
in April 2015, after having been managed by The Nature Conservancy since 1996. The preserve is currently managed as part of
Minnewaska State Park Preserve.
April 2016 fire
In late April 2016, a fire of unknown origin burned of the park and nearby woodlands. Emanating from the Verkeederkill Falls trail the fire quickly spread northwest across the plateau as well as adjacent terrains. Containing the fire required nearly a week of effort from over 300 responders from local and state agencies; no structural damage and only minor injuries were reported.
Although much of Minnewaska State Park reopened soon after the blaze,
the Sam's Point section remained completely closed until Memorial Day weekend; at that time, only selected trails at Sam's Point were re-opened to the public to prevent the introduction of invasive species to the recovering landscape.
As a historically
fire-adapted ecosystem, much of the vegetation at Sam's Point responded positively in the wake of the fire. However, an abundance of fuel due to reduced fire frequency in recent years led to an intense, fast-moving blaze that did not completely burn through accumulated debris, which may inhibit the regeneration of the park's
pitch pine.
Ellenville Fault Ice Caves
The Ellenville Fault Ice Caves is the largest known open fault in the United States with corresponding ice caves
An ice cave is any type of natural cave (most commonly lava tubes or limestone caves) that contains significant amounts of perennial (year-round) ice. At least a portion of the cave must have a temperature below 0 °C (32 °F) all ye ...
. As a result of the cool microclimate, ice is present throughout the year and more northern plants such as black spruce, hemlock, mountain ash Mountain ash may refer to:
* ''Eucalyptus regnans'', the tallest of all flowering plants, native to Australia
* Mountain-ashes or rowans, varieties of trees and shrubs in the genus ''Sorbus''
See also
* Mountain Ash, Rhondda Cynon Taf
Mounta ...
, and creeping snowberry, and bryophytes such as '' Isopterygium distichaceum'' are able to survive. It was designated a National Natural Landmark
The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...
in November 1967.
There are hiking trails to the ice caves which are open in the summer, but a permit is required to visit the area.
Trails
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 ...
long-distance hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
trail
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...
crosses it, eventually reaching VerKeerderkill Falls. A branch leads to Sam's Point (with a view of land for many miles, sometimes as far as High Point in New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
), and another to the ice caves, with solar powered lights. Visitors who want to get to Sam's Point have to go through Cragsmoor. Sam's Point Preserve is near the Mohonk Preserve.
Gallery
Image:SamsAccessRoad.JPG, Looking down the access road, just under the Point
Image:SamsFireRoad.JPG, A portion of the CCC fire road
Image:Hiking_to_Ice_Caves.jpg, Hiking to the Ice Caves
Image:SamsViewSE.JPG, View from the Point, looking to the southeast
Image:SamsIceCavesTrail.JPG, Along the trail to the Ice Caves
File:Inside the Sam's Point Ice Caves.jpg, Ice inside the Ice Caves as seen in June 2018
File:Verkeerderkill Falls.jpg, Verkeerderkill Falls
File:Abandoned cabin at Sam's Point Preserve.jpg, Abandoned berry picker cabin
See also
*List of National Natural Landmarks in New York
__NOTOC__
The National Natural Landmarks in New York include 28 of the almost 600 National Natural Landmarks (NNLs) in the United States. Twenty-six landmarks are contained entirely within New York; the two exceptions are the Palisades of the Huds ...
References
External links
Nature Conservancy page
Open Space Institute page
Point Preserve - Sam's Point Dwarf Pine Ridge Preserve Trail Details and Info
Trail Map to Ice Caves
Sam's Point Ice Caves Re-opened to the Public
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Protected areas of Ulster County, New York
Shawangunks
Wawarsing, New York
Nature reserves in New York (state)
Nature centers in New York (state)
Nature Conservancy preserves in New York (state)
National Natural Landmarks in New York (state)
Show caves in the United States
Ice caves
Civilian Conservation Corps in New York (state)
Caves of New York (state)
Landforms of Ulster County, New York