A maximum of two pets are allowed in day use areas unless prohibited by sign or directive. Pets are to be supervised at all times and either be crated or on a leash not more than 6-feet in length. Proof of rabies inoculation shall be produced if requested by staff. Pets are not permitted in playgrounds, buildings, golf courses, boardwalks, pools and spray-grounds or guarded beaches (this does not apply to service animals).
From NYC by train: Metro North Hudson Line to the Tarrytown Station. From there you can take a short taxi ride from train station to the Preserve Office on Rt. 117 in Pleasantville. At the Preserve Office you can obtain a map and other important area information.
Don't miss these popular destinations and attractions within or near the park preserve:
Pet Policy: A maximum of two pets are allowed in day use areas unless prohibited by sign or directive. Pets are to be supervised at all times and either be crated or on a leash not more than 6-feet in length. Proof of rabies inoculation shall be produced if requested by staff. Pets are not permitted in playgrounds, buildings, golf courses, boardwalks, pools and spray-grounds or guarded beaches (this does not apply to service animals).
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.
Collected:
Daily, year round. 8:00am - 4:30pm
Simply use your NYS driver's license at the pay stations for free vehicle access Monday-Friday
*Collected via automated pay station.
Highlights of Rockefeller State Park Preserve:
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 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 fieldsEveryone 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 SwanLake, fishing season runs from the third Saturday in June to November 30. Fishing Guidelines
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 55 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:
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.
Rockefeller State Park Preserve boasts 1,775 acres of forests, fields, a lake, and wetlands, including nearly 260 acres of Oak-Tulip Tree Forest, a vulnerable habitat type in New York State.
Rockefeller is home to at least twelve endangered plant species. Many of these support endangered pollinators and threatened grassland wildlife.
The Big Tree Trail is part of the Old Growth Forest Network. The forest in this part of the park dates back to at least 1860 and is characterized by towering tulip trees as tall as 157 ft tall.
On Witch's Spring trail, look out for New York State's tallest Black Oak tree at 132.1 ft tall, and the state's tallest White Oak tree, at 130.2 ft tall. On Pocantico River trail, you can find the state's tallest Mockernut Hickory and Scarlet Oak trees, at 120.3 and 119.9 ft tall respectively. All trees measured by the Eastern Native Tree Society as of 2021.
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.
The Rockefeller State Park Preserve, opened in 1983, and was made possible through the farsighted and generous gifts of the Rockefeller Family and the John D. Rockefeller 3rd Fund. Originally designed by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the Preserve initially encompassed 743 acres. In 1998 the 80 acres of William Rockefeller's estate on the Hudson River, Rockwood Hall, as added to the Preserve. Over the years, more acres were added by the generous donations by the Rockefeller family bringing the Preserve to its current 1800 acres and nearly 55 miles of carriage roads (2022).
The property spans from the Hudson River on the West to the Saw Mill River Parkway in the East, including the hamlet of Pocantico Hills in the village of Sleepy Hollow, which is in the town of Mount Pleasant. It is operated by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation.
The visitor's center, opened in 1994, was designed by New York architect Lo Yi Chan. It contains changing art exhibitions of natural, cultural, and historic interest. It is also used for programmatic workshops and available for public rent to small interests.
The Preserve was fashioned after the public landscape ideals inherent in Central Park and British carriage trail parks, at the turn of the century. JDR, Jr's objective was to create a "civilizing" environment which would renew the individual's connection to nature by revealing a treasure store of beauty whose bounties were enhanced by the hand of man.
Accordingly, the Preserve is characterized by a variety of habitats—woodlands, meadows, wetlands, and a 22 acre lake. The carriage trails, which intersect with family land, lead visitors to shady river lanes, intimate wooded paths, and panoramic vistas.
Following the tragedy of September, 11th, a Town in Shimane Prefecture, Japan wanted to express a gesture of healing and solidarity towards the United States. They sent the Rockefeller State Park Preserve a gift of 500 peonies from Yatsuka Cho. The Peony is considered Japan's "most noble of flowers". The gift was intended to promote the healing process and to symbolize the blending of two cultures by placing the Japanese flowers on American soil. The Friends of the Rockefeller Preserve initiated a major landscaping project around the gateway to provide a worthy site for this generous gift. Mr. Yatsuka Cho graciously sent over Japanese gardeners to plant the flowers and to teach the Preserve Staff how to care for them. The cost of the Gateway Preserve Project was generously underwritten by the Friends Board of Directors, the Rockefeller Family, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York, and donors from surrounding communities. The result is an inviting entrance that serves as a gateway to our entire peaceful Preserve and exemplifies the beauty of people coming together in a time of need.
In July 2020, carriage roads in the Rockefeller State Park Preserve were officially listed to the National Register of Historic Places. The Preserve's carriage road system includes more than 55 miles of crushed stone carriage roads laid out by both John D. Rockefeller Sr. and Jr. during the first half of the 20th century. Built as a means by which the estate's scenery could be enjoyed by the Rockefeller family, much of the road system was also made available to the public at an early date. Today the public continues to enjoy access this system which are especially popular destinations for walking, jogging, horse-riding and other passive recreation.
In April 2022, a section of the Preserve's forest, Big Tree Trail, was formally inducted into the national Old-Growth Forest Network. Rockefeller State Park Preserve contains 1775 acres of preserved land, of which about 1450 acres are forest. Much of the mesic woodlands are oak-tulip, a forest community considered imperiled or vulnerable by the New York Natural Heritage Program. These successional forests contain 150-ft tall tulip poplars, the tallest black oak in New York State at 132 ft tall, and countless other over-100-ft trees. This area of the park has likely been regenerating to mature forest since William H. Aspinwall bought it as parcels of farmland in 1860. Since at least 1886, when John D. Rockefeller began acquiring these properties, this land has been preserved and maintained for passive recreation through its private and public ownership. The towering tulips of Big Tree Loop are likely to be untouched since Aspinwall's time.
Rockefeller State Park Preserve (RSPP) has a deer management program (DMP) that has been operational for approximately the past 20 years. This DMP employs a multi-faceted approach to reduce the impacts of excessive deer browse on native flora, with the broader intent to conserve the integrity of RSPP's ecosystems. In the absence of deer management, native herbaceous flora, forest understory, seedlings, saplings, and even mature trees can be severely damaged or depleted. Unfortunately, this excess herbivorous pressure not only results in losses to native floral demographics, but also has cascading impacts onto other wildlife which rely on this vegetation for food and habitat. For general context of deer impacts at RSPP, it was estimated in 2019 that there were approximately 50 deer per square mile in the preserve, which is roughly 5x the amount of deer that a typical ecosystem in the northeast can healthily sustain.
The primary component of our DMP is a strictly-managed bowhunting program of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). No other wildlife species aside from deer are allowed to be harvested on property.
Our bowhunting program is not open to all members of the public and participation is acquired through a stringent selection process. In compliance with Westchester County regulations (WMU 3S), only select bows are allowed to operate on the property. It is not legal to hunt with a crossbow or firearm within Westchester County, including the preserve's property. All hunting on the preserve must be conducted from a tree stand or saddle that first requires inspection from the program manager and hunting committee. Several other management controls have been implemented to ensure public safety, such as that hunting must take place in the deep forest at a specified distance from all trails and that an implement may never be fired across a trail.
The duration of our managed bowhunt abides to state and county regulations (WMU 3S), with permitted hunting activity being limited to the months of October through December (with some possible exceptions to early-season declarations in September). The extant location of the designated hunting area is limited to the easternmost side of the preserve. In 2022, we have opened a ‘pilot' location for the DMP west of the Gory Brook/Pocantico waterways & in the 13 Bridges area. This pilot area is under strict management by the preserve naturalist, who is working closely with a small team of professionals to safely harvest deer in this area. This location hosts one of the last stands of Eastern hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis) within the preserve and is currently under significant stress from deer browse and hemlock-wooly adelgid. Alleviating some deer pressure in this area might not only benefit some regeneration of hemlocks, but also the aquatic ecosystems they support as well (i.e. shading the Pocantico to reduce water temperatures which is critical species, such as our native Brook trout).
The trails within these DMP areas will be posted with signage to inform the public of approved hunting activities and to clearly denote boundary limits to approved participants within the DMP. No hunting activity is permitted outside of the aforementioned seasons or designated areas.
For more information on RSSP's DMP or its managed bow-hunting program, please contact the program director or review the supportive document, Bowhunting – General rules and guidelines.
Tue 10 SepStart your day with movement! Get energized in this virtual session with postural therapist, Joey Zimet, and learn exercises to improve posture and function. The class will incorporate unique standing, sitting, and floor exercises that are gentle and easily adapted to fit your needs. These methods are well-studied and based upon neuroscience, biomechanics, the myofascial system, and other variables. Treat yourself to some maintenance and self-care! Registered participants will receive a link to join.
Registration: Required Tue 10 SepRelieve stress and explore the connection between breath and movement with instructor, Shivani Singh, as the sun sets over the Hudson with views of the Tappan Zee Bridge and NYC in the distance. Appropriate for all levels of experience, ages 18+. Cost: $6. RockefellerStateParkPreserve.org/events.
Registration: Required Thu 12 SepJoin Melissa for a 2-mile hike and witness the spectacular view of the sun setting over the Hudson and the Tappan Zee Bridge. Leashed dogs are welcome. Max: 40 people. Cost: FREE,
Registration: Required Fri 13 SepOver time, humans have coevolved with the landscape, our path shaped by our environment and the natural resources available to us, as we in turn molded our environment to suit the growing needs of our society. In the wake of a rapidly changing climate, we are faced with the challenge of building and landscaping in ways that are adaptive and regenerative. Join us for this special event in partnership with the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, P.C. (MNLA) to learn about sustainable practices being implemented at The Pocantico Center. Preserve educator, Kim Fendrich, will provide geologic context for our area, followed by a presentation on climate-adaptive landscaping by Signe Nielsen, Founding Principal, MNLA. We'll finish with an optional walk to observe the landscape architecture and geological features throughout the grounds of The Pocantico Center. Refreshments will be served.
Registration: Required Sat 14 Sep Plein Air PaintingExperience nature through painting! Learn the watercolor technique under the guidance of award-winning artist, Anne Johann, as you absorb the beauty of the landscape before you. You may bring your own supplies if you have them; if not, supplies will be provided. Max: 10 people. Cost: $8
