Bristol Beach State Park

State park in Ulster County, New York

42°06′32″N 73°55′55″W / 42.109°N 73.932°W / 42.109; -73.932Area242 acres (0.98 km²)^[1]Created1967 (1967)^[2]Operated by

Visitors11,610 (in 2020)^[3]OpenAll year

Bristol Beach State Park is a 242-acre (0.98 km²)^[1] undeveloped state park located on the Hudson River in the town of Saugerties in Ulster County, New York.^[4] The park was initially formed in 1967, and is managed by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission.^[2]

History

The core of Bristol Beach State Park occupies land formerly used as a brickyard during the 19th century. It was acquired by the town of Saugerties by deed; the town eventually transferred ownership to New York State.^[5] In 1967, the then-53-acre (21 ha) property was transferred from the New York State Conservation Department to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. The park was expanded in the 1990s to protect adjacent parcels that were being considered for development.^[2]

In 2013, the town of Saugerties proposed re-acquiring the park to promote its development, which they felt was being under-utilized by the state.^[5]

Description

Bristol Beach State Park covers 242 acres (0.98 km²)^[1] adjacent to the Hudson River and is largely undeveloped, with the exception of a small parking lot. Although there are no formal trails, a landing on the river is a popular spot for launching kayaks and fishing.^[6] The northern portion of the park, known as Eve's Point, does include some basic amenities such as a gazebo and portable toilets.^[7]

Despite its name, the park does not include a developed beach and swimming is not permitted.^[6] Steep banks, undesirable substrate, and shallow off-shore water depths were noted as barriers preventing future development of a beach at the property.^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Section O: Environmental Conservation and Recreation, Table O-9". 2014 New York State Statistical Yearbook (PDF). The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. 2014. p. 671. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 16, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Bristol Beach State Park, NY". The Palisades Parks Conservancy. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
^ "State Park Annual Attendance Figures by Facility: Beginning 2003". Data.ny.gov. Retrieved March 23, 2021.
^ "Bristol Beach State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
^ ^a ^b Zangla, Riel (January 27, 2013). "Saugerties may try to reacquire Bristol Beach Park on Hudson River". The Daily Freeman. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
^ ^a ^b Kott, Crispin (August 26, 2012). "Paddlers, check out Bristol Beach State Park in Saugerties". Hudson Valley One. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Swimming in the Hudson River Estuary, Section 6" (PDF). NYS Department of Environmental Conservation. pp. 77–78. Retrieved October 30, 2016.

External links

Botany at Bristol Beach State Park

Protected areas of New York

Federal

National Historic Sites and Historical Parks	Eleanor Roosevelt Harriet Tubman Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt Martin Van Buren Sagamore Hill Saint Paul's Church Saratoga Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Women's Rights Kate Mullany House affiliated Thomas Cole affiliated
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National Forests	Finger Lakes
Wilderness Areas	Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune

State parks
Allen H. Treman Allegany Amherst Amsterdam Beach Battle Island Bayard Cutting Arboretum Bayswater Point Bear Mountain Beaver Island Beechwood Belmont Lake Bethpage Betty & Wilbur Davis Big Six Mile Creek Blauvelt Bonavista Bowman Lake Braddock Bay Brentwood Bristol Beach Brookhaven Buckhorn Island Buffalo Harbor Burnham Point Buttermilk Falls Caleb Smith Camp Hero Canandaigua Lake Canoe-Picnic Point Captree Catharine Valley Trail Caumsett Cayuga Lake Cedar Island Cedar Point Chenango Valley Cherry Plain Chimney Bluffs Chittenango Falls Clarence Fahnestock Clark Reservation Clay Pit Ponds Cold Spring Harbor Coles Creek Conesus Lake Connetquot River Crab Island Croil Island Cumberland Bay Darien Lakes De Veaux Woods Deans Cove Delta Lake Devil's Hole Dewolf Point Donald J. Trump Earl W. Brydges Artpark Eel Weir Empire – Fulton Ferry Evangola Fair Haven Beach Fillmore Glen Fort Niagara Four Mile Creek Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Franny Reese Frenchman Island Galop Island Gantry Plaza Genesee Valley Greenway Gilbert Lake Gilgo Glimmerglass Golden Hill Goosepond Mountain Grafton Lakes Grass Point Green Lakes Hallock Hamlin Beach Harriet Hollister Spencer Harriman Hart's Brook Haverstraw Beach Heckscher Helen L. McNitt Hempstead Lake High Tor Highland Lakes Higley Flow Hither Hills Honeoye Hook Mountain Hudson Highlands Hudson River Hudson River Islands Hunts Pond Iona Island Irondequoit Bay Jacques Cartier James Baird John Boyd Thacher Jones Beach Joseph Davis Keewaydin Keuka Lake Knox Farm Kring Point Lake Erie Lake Lauderdale Lake Superior Lake Taghkanic Lakeside Beach Letchworth Lock 32 Lodi Point Long Point – Finger Lakes Long Point – Thousand Islands Long Point on Lake Chautauqua Macomb Reservation Margaret Lewis Norrie Mark Twain Marsha P. Johnson Mary Island Max V. Shaul Mexico Point Midway Mine Kill Minnewaska Mohawk River Montauk Downs Montauk Point Moreau Lake Napeague Newtown Battlefield Niagara Falls Nissequogue River Nyack Beach Oak Orchard Ogden Mills & Ruth Livingston Mills Old Croton Aqueduct Old Erie Canal Oquaga Creek Orient Beach Peebles Island Pinnacle Pixley Falls Point Au Roche Reservoir Riverbank Robert G. Wehle Robert H. Treman Robert Moses – Long Island Robert Moses – Thousand Islands Robert V. Riddell Roberto Clemente Rock Island Lighthouse Rockefeller Rockland Lake Sampson Sandy Island Beach Saratoga Lake Saratoga Spa Schodack Island Schunemunk Mountain Selkirk Shores Seneca Lake Shadmoor Shirley Chisholm Silver Lake Sonnenberg Gardens Southwick Beach St. Lawrence State Park at the Fair Sterling Forest Steuben Memorial Stony Brook Storm King Strawberry Island Sunken Meadow Taconic Tallman Mountain Taughannock Falls Thompson's Lake Trail View Two Rivers Valley Stream Verona Beach Walkway over the Hudson Waterson Point Watkins Glen Wellesley Island Westcott Beach Whetstone Gulf Whirlpool Wildwood Wilson-Tuscarora Wonder Lake Woodlawn Beach

State parks

State historic sites
Bennington Battlefield Caumsett Clermont Clinton House Crown Point Darwin D. Martin House Fort Crailo Fort Montgomery Fort Ontario Ganondagan Grant Cottage Herkimer Home Hyde Hall John Brown Farm John Burroughs Memorial (Woodchuck Lodge) John Hay Homestead Johnson Hall Knox's Headquarters Lorenzo New Windsor Cantonment Olana Old Croton Aqueduct Old Erie Canal Old Fort Niagara Oriskany Battlefield Philipse Manor Hall Plantings Fields Arboretum Sackets Harbor Battlefield Schoharie Crossing Schuyler Mansion Senate House Sonnenberg Gardens & Mansion Staatsburgh Steuben Memorial Stony Point Battlefield Walt Whitman Birthplace Washington's Headquarters

State historic sites

Preserves and sanctuaries

Public preserves	Albany Pine Bush Forest Preserve Adirondack Park Saint Regis Canoe Area Santanoni Preserve wilderness areas Catskill Park Hudson River Estuary Long Island Pine Barrens Reinstein Woods Rome Sand Plains Tahawus Vischer Ferry Welwyn
The Nature Conservacy	Accabonac Harbor Andy Warhol Visual Arts Arthur W. Butler Memorial Atlantic Double Dunes Bear Swamp Calverton Ponds Chaumont Barrens Clintonville Pine Barrens Coon Mountain Deer Lick Denton El Dorado Beach Eugene and Agnes Meyer Everton Falls Freund Gadway Sandstone Pavement Barrens Hannacroix Ravine Henry Morgenthau Indian Brook Assemblage Ironsides Island Kenrose Limestone Rise Lisha Kill Long Island Center for Conservation Long Pond Lordsland Lower Poultney River and Saddles Marrion Yarrow Mashomack Mianus River Gorge Mildred E. Grierson Memorial Moccasin Kill Montauk Mountain Moss Lake Mount Holly Nellie Hill Neversink O.D. von Engeln Otter Creek Pawling Peconic Estuary Big Woods Pine Neck Roger Perry Memorial Ruth Wales Schunemunk Mountain Shadmoor Silver Lake Bog Spring Pond Bog Stewart Lewis A. Swyer Thompson Pond and Stissing Mountain Uplands Farm West Branch Whitbeck Memorial Grove
Other preserves	Angle Fly Baxter Bergen-Byron Swamp Black Rock Forest Brandreth Park Cornell Botanic Gardens Ferncliff Forest Great Camp Sagamore James Lime Hollow Louis Calder Center Louis C. Clark Sanctuary Mohonk Peabody Plotter Kill Sam's Point Svend O. Heiberg Memorial Forest Teatown Lake Reservation Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center Turkey Mountain Turner Brook Wallkill Valley Rail Trail Woodlawn Zurich Bog

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National Historic Landmarks National Natural Landmarks Botanical gardens and arboretums Nature centers New York City parks POPS WWI New York state forests wild historic sites parks wildlife management areas Trails rail trails