Seven More Miles of the Long Path Permanently Protected

Thanks to a recent land acquisition, the Trail Conference has now preserved more than 1,000 acres in total in this area of the Catskills.

A forested, 50.4-acre parcel in the Town of Durham, Greene County, N.Y., was the last piece of the puzzle in the Trail Conference’s 30-year effort to completely protect this stretch of the Long Path. When this parcel was acquired in February of 2020, we permanently preserved the last privately owned land along this stretch of the Long Path in the Northern Catskills.

The Trail Conference's conservation effort of the Long Path in this area began in 1990. This most recent acquisition includes Ginseng Mountain, which the Long Path crosses over. The parcel is adjacent to Mount Hayden State Forest, located north of the Catskill Park. Future plans are to transfer this parcel to New York State as an addition to the attached state forest. (Find a larger map of the newly protected parcel here.)

The Trail Conference has been actively purchasing land for the protection of trails for 80 years, since 1939. In this area of the Long Path, we assisted the state in preserving 424 acres and have directly purchased 454 acres. These lands are now part of three state forests that protect 14.3 miles of the Long Path. In total with this latest acquisition, the Trail Conference has now preserved 1,017 acres in this area of the Catskills. These efforts were instrumental in the creation of Mount Hayden State Forest and connected the Mount Pisgah State Forest to the Ashland Pinnacle State Forest.

The Trail Conference’s commitment to both building and protecting the Long Path and our other long-distance trails has always been at the core of what we do.

Our long-distance trails are increasingly pressured with development and, unfortunately, it’s a race to preserve them. We would like to get even more vigorous with permanently protecting these trails—and you can help. These days, we purchase trail lands with funds from the Trail Conference’s Land Acquisition and Stewardship Fund (LASF). It’s a revolving, donor-supported fund. When we sell land we have purchased to the state for permanent protection, the proceeds are returned to the fund, so your donation is always being put to work to protect the land you love. We work with other land conservation partners whenever possible, allowing us to stretch our funds and preserve more trail miles.

Be a part of this conservation legacy by making a donation to the Trail Conference's Resilience Fund. Help protect the land you love today! To support the Land Acquisition and Stewardship Fund directly, write "LASF" in the special instructions box or email Don Weise, Director of Donor Advising, for more information.

Special thanks to Robert C. Ross for donating his legal services, expertise, and closing costs to making this land acquisition possible.