Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park

Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park
Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park
	Location of Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park within New York State
Type	State park
Location	2957 Crompond Road ; Yorktown Heights, New York
Nearest city	Yorktown Heights, New York
Coordinates	41°16′59″N 73°48′32″W / 41.283°N 73.809°W
Area	960 acres (3.9 km2)
Created	1957
Operated by	New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Visitors	490,546 (in 2014)
Open	All year
Website	Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park

Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park is a 960-acre (3.9 km²) state park in Westchester County, New York.^[2] Formerly known as Mohansic (State) Park, it is situated in Yorktown, approximately 40 miles (64 km) from New York City. It was created in 1922 on the former site of the Mohansic State Hospital and contains two bodies of water: Mohansic Lake and Crom Pond.^[4]

History

The state first acquired the park land between 1909 and 1922. The land south of Crom Pond and Mohansic Lake was acquired in 1908 for the New York State Training School for Boys. North of Crom Pond and Mohansic Lake was acquired in 1909 by the State Hospital Commission. There was concern that having a hospital so close to the New Croton Reservoir would pollute the watershed. This helped Westchester County acquire the entire park in 1922.^[5]

In 1923, Westchester County grew over 20,000 specimens of pine, spruce and evergreen trees on the park grounds for transplantation to other Westchester parks. During the Great Depression, a Civilian Conservation Corps camp was placed in the park, several buildings from which remain today. New York State acquired the property in 1957. It was renamed Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park in 1982.^[5]

Facilities

Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park prominently features a large swimming pool with the capacity to hold 3,500 bathers at one time. The park also offers biking, a boat launch and rentals, disc golf, fishing, ice skating, picnic tables and pavilions, a playground and playing fields, recreation programs, trails for hiking, jogging, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing, and a food concession. Fishing and boating is available on both Crom Pond and Mohansic Lake.^[4]

References

^ "Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park - Getting There". NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
^ ^a ^b "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. 672. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 16, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
^ "State Park Annual Attendance Figures by Facility: Beginning 2003". Data.ny.gov. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park". NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Hiking FDR State Park". NY-NJ-CT Botany Online. Retrieved July 22, 2015.