Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

Hours of Operation

• The Preserve is open year round, from 7am to sunset. The office hours are from 9:00 AM- 4:30 PM, closed Christmas Day.
• Day Use Activities: Hiking, recreational running, bird watching, snowshoeing, XC skiing, sledding, snowboarding, photography, painting, geocaching (with permit), all allowed in season.

• Picnicking: Extremely limited. No picnic pavilions on premesis.
  
  There is no picnicking allowed in the area of the carriage trails--the area that begins at the visitors' center and spreads both east and west. There are, however, several picnic tables opposite the equestrian parking lot which is just before you enter the general parking area. The public may use those tables. There is also a table opposite the VUF booth, and in the back of the paved parking lot, in the woods.
  
  At Rockwood Hall the public may picnic on the grounds, however BBQs are not permitted. There are no restroom facilities available at Rockwood Hall.

• Equestrian use and carriage driving is allowed by permit only. Please contact the Preserve Office for details.
• Freshwater fishing is permitted in season with a free Preserve fishing permit available at the office and a NYS Fishing license available from town halls and most sporting good stores.

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 Empire Pass -- whether a card for $80 or a vehicle-affixed decal for $65 -- is 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. Apply online or contact your favorite park for more information. Learn more about our Admission Programs including the Empire Pass.

• Vehicle Entry Fee (VUF)
• $6.00 per vehicle 
  Bus permits: $35 for non-profit orgs, $75 for commercial - per visit
  
  Collected:
  April - October, daily
  November - March, weekends & holidays
  
  

  *Collected via automated pay station.

• Equestrian Permits
• Annual Equestrian Permit: $40 plus empire passport for vanning horses
  One Day Pass Equestrian Use Permit: $15 plus vehicle entry fee
  
  Trailer & horse: $65 season/empire passport; $6/visit

Maps

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

• Rockefeller State Park Preserve Trail Map

• Trail Map - Satellite View (pdf)
• Trail Map (pdf)
• Landscapes and Gardens in the Hudson River Valley Map (pdf)

Highlights of Rockefeller State Park Preserve:

• Despite being less than an hour from Manhattan, the park’s wooded valleys still offer the peace and quiet described two hundred years ago by Washington Irving in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. He wrote, “Not far from (Tarrytown), perhaps about two miles, there is a little valley, or rather lap of land, among high hills, which is one of the quietest places in the whole world. A small brook glides through it, with just murmur enough to lull one to repose; and the occasional whistle of a quail, or tapping of a woodpecker, is almost the only sound that ever breaks in upon the uniform tranquility.”
• RSPP encompasses forested hills and valleys cut by the Pocantico River and several streams along with a pastoral landscape of hayfields and pastures. The beech-maple, oak-hickory, and mixed hardwood forests contain towering trees, some over 150- 200 years old. Hemlocks can be found at the base of the cool slopes along the 13 Bridges and Witches Spring Trails. These forests are rich in wildlife that nest and feed in old trees with snags and hollows, such as bluebirds, owls, woodpeckers, wood ducks, and flying squirrels.
• To highlight its value as natural area, Rockefeller is designated by the State as a “Park-Preserve.” Park preservation areas identify and conserve and protect portions of state parks that possess outstanding ecological values, including assemblages of flora and fauna that are unique or rare in the state. A park preserve allows passive recreation use within the park.
• Mixed flocks of warblers pass through in waves during the spring and fall, leading one birder to call the park “warbler heaven.” Over 34 species of warblers have been recoded here, including two uncommon species for the Hudson Valley, the Kentucky and worm-eating warblers; the latter nests on the ground in the deep forests of the park.
• Swan Lake, in addition to being extremely scenic, has a fragrant diversity of shoreline wildflowers, such as swamp azalea, tall meadow rue, sweet pepperbush, and swamp milkweed, and rafts of fragrant water lilies. The lake attracts diverse waterfowl including migrating buffleheads, hooded mergansers, and diverse waterfowl, including the occasional loon.

What will you see? Plan your trip today!

Look and listen for these birds at our Park:

• Bald Eagle - winter; over Hudson River from Rockwood Hall
• Bufflehead Duck - fall; on the lake
• Cedar Waxwing - fall; feeds on fruits and berries
• Eastern Bluebird - nest in the park throughout most of the year \
• Pilated Woodpecker - year-round; often heard near visitor center
• Veery - common spring migrant; breeds in the preserve
• White-throated Sparrow - fall, winter and spring
• Yellow Warbler – spring and summer; nests near streams
• Kentucky Warbler - annual visitors
• Hairy Woodpecker - year round
• Red-eyed Vireo - summer
• Louisiana Water Thrush – summer; requires fast-moving streams in forests
• Worm-eating warbler – summer; nests on the ground
• Wood Thrush - spring and summer – haunting call, nesting
• Indigo Bunting –summer; nests near parking lot and fields

Everyone is a Steward: Be a Rockefeller State Park Preserve Hero!

• Know the rules and concerns for the area you’ll be visiting.
• Preserve the past: examine, but do not touch, cultural or historic structures and artifacts.
• Respect other visitors and their experience. Avoid excessive noise.
• Share the trail. Keep to the right except to pass. When in doubt, give the other user the right of way. Warn people when you are planning to pass.
• Respect wildlife and observe from a distance
• Use extra caution when using headphones. You may not be able to hear warnings.
• Don't litter.
• Hike on established, durable trails.

For more information, please read our Trail Tips!

Ask a Naturalist!

Q: What is the black bird with the long neck sitting on the log in the lake?

A: That is a cormorant, a fish eating bird species. Cormorants stop to dive for the fish in Swan Lake during their annual migration. They spread their wings to dry out after swimming, because they do not have oil on their wings like ducks do.

Q: Can you see the Hudson River from the Park?

A: Yes, there are spectacular views of the Hudson River and Palisades from the hilltop at Rockwood Hall. This is also a good place to view bald eagles in the winter.

Q: Are there fish in the lake and rivers?

A: The warm waters of Swan Lake support large-mouth bass, crappie, pumpkinseeds, bluegills, and bullhead catfish. Pocantico River is habitat for caddis fly larvae, which are the favorite food of the stocked brown trout. Trout fishing season is from April 1 to October 15. In Bass Lake, fishing season runs from the third Saturday in June to November 30. Anglers 16 years and older must have a Rockefeller State Park Preserve fishing permit, obtained for no charge at the Preserve office, and a valid NYS fishing license.

Q: Do I have to worry about ticks?

A: RSPP carriage roads serve as wide trails so visitors do not brush against tall grass and brush, the habitat of ticks. Over 40 miles of carriage roads enable visitors to safely and easily access most parts of the park-preserve. However, you should still check your skin and clothing for ticks after being outdoors. Showering soon after being outdoors gives you an opportunity for a full body tick check and can help wash off unattached ticks. If you find a tick, you should remove it and speak with you doctor if any signs of illness occur.

Q: What is the vine with the mottled turquoise blue berries?

A: It is Porcelainberry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata), an ornamental vine with grape-like leaves that was introduced to the US from northeast Asia in 1870. Spread by birds, it is now very abundant and forms thick walls of vines draped on trees in the park and along Westchester parkways. It is considered to be an invasive species that outcompetes many native wildflowers, trees and shrubs.

More Interesting Facts about Rockefeller State Park Preserve:

Folklore:

• Buttermilk Hill, a high rocky ridge at the northeastern part of the preserve, is said to get its name from the turbulent period of the American Revolutionary War, when local farmers hid their dairy cattle on the ridge to protect them from marauding soldiers. The hill is referred to in an adapted Irish song:

   Here I sit on Buttermilk Hill,

Who should blame me cry my fill?

And every tear would work a mill,

Johnny has gone for a soldier.

Flora:

• Rockefeller State Park Preserve boasts 1,400-acres of forests, fields, a lake, and wetlands, including nearly 260 acres of Oak-Tulip Tree Forest.
• Ferns are a conspicuous part of the flora in RSPP. Most ferns prefer moist shaded areas, but a few, such as hay-scented fern, grow in open sunny areas on relatively dry soil, and the marginal woodfern is found in crevices on dry rocks. To date, 22 species of ferns and fern allies, fern-like seedless plants, have been found in the Preserve. Pocantico River Trail, Brothers’ Path, 13 Bridges, and Eagle Hill Trails support the greatest diversity of ferns in the preserve.

In 1886, William Rockefeller bought the 200-acre estate and castle, Rockwood, from the heirs of William Henry Aspinwall. Seven years later, John D. Rockefeller bought land in 1893 at Pocantico Hills.

Since 1983, over 1,000 acres of their estate at Pocantico Hills have been deeded to the State of New York. Laurance S. Rockefeller donated the property to New York State in 1999, as part of the Rockefeller State Park Preserve.

Rockwood Hall History

Rockefeller State Park Preserve will conduct a controlled bow hunt this fall. To participate, hunters must commit to a minimum of five days of effort. Applications and conditions of the hunt may be obtained in person at the Preserve Office, on the park website (below), or via email to laurence.gill@parks.ny.gov. Questions can be directed to the Preserve Office at 914-631-1470, ext. 120.