Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

Hours of Operation

• Grounds open dawn to dusk, year-round, weather permitting.
• Visitor Center: 
  
  May 2-Oct 31
  Wednesdays-Saturdays, 10 am - 5 pm; Sundays 1 pm - 5 pm.
  Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
• Site includes Schoharie Creek Aqueduct & Boat Launch, Putman Canal Store, Yankee Hill Locks, as well as miles of towpath trails. See Trail Map for details. 

Fees & Rates

Most New York State Parks charge a vehicle use fee to enter the facility. Fees vary by location and season. A list of entry fees and other park use fees is available below. For fees not listed or to verify information, please contact the park directly.

The easy-to-use Empire Pass card is $80- and your key to all-season enjoyment with unlimited day-use entry at most facilities operated by State Parks and the State Dept. of Environmental Conservation including forests, beaches, trails and more. Purchase online or contact your favorite park for more information. Learn more about our Admission Programs including the Empire Pass.

• Admission

• There is no admission fee however some fees apply for special events, educational services, tours and the use of picnic areas.
  
  

  $3/person school groups
  $3/person for tours

  Please contact the site for outreach program rates.

Maps

New! Download this park's digital map to your iOS Apple and Android device.

• Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site Trail Map

• Trail Map (pdf)

Our new exhibit, "Pathway to Empire: How the Erie Canal Helped Build America" will be open in 2018 and helps us mark the Bicentennial of the Erie Canal. This new exhibit highlights the major themes associated with the history of the canal and illustrates them with interesting artifacts and interactive displays. A major focal point of the exhibit is a scale model of the Schoharie Creek Aqueduct and Lock 30, along with the Browns Cash Store that once stood along the canal here in Fort Hunter, NY. By using artifacts and primary documents, this exhibit delves into the geology, social and economic impacts, political motivations, and engineering of the nationally significant and historic waterway we know as the Erie Canal. With its rich history, the canal continues to play a critical role in the lives of all New Yorkers and Americans to this day.

Inside of our Visitor Center you can also view panels on the pre-canal history of the site. This portion of our exhibit highlights the Mohawk Village as well as the British Colonial fort that once existed along the banks of the Schoharie Creek. Witness artifacts that were excavated onsite that help tell the story of this era of New York and American History.

In partnership with the United States Geological Survey, there are panels that illustrate the historic water conditions of the Schoharie Creek and Mohawk River. This exhibit demonstrates the immense power of water and the destructive nature of flooding in the valleys.

Ongoing permanent exhibit: Little Short of Madness – the Story of the Erie Canal
Thomas Jefferson, like many others, thought the idea of a canal across New York was a “little short of madness.”  But with determination the state and thousands of hard working individuals created what Jesse Hawley summed up as “…the longest canal, in the least time, with the least experience, with the least amount of money, of the greatest public utility in the world.”

The exhibit also features 3D video imaging of the Schoharie Creek Aqueduct remains.

Come explore the exhibit and discover the marvels of New York’s earliest engineering feats. 

In The Wake
Although it has been long known that the physical location of the 18th century Fort Hunter existed here within the space of the Visitor Center grounds, it took the flooding caused by Hurricane Irene in 2011 to give the first real look at its footprints. Two new panels are now installed at the visitor center featuring information on the flood, the damage, recovery and archeological finds. Artifacts from the excavation of a Fort Hunter Blockhouse that was revealed when flood waters removed the asphalt from the parking lot are now on display.