[sick4surf]

Help Open Singletrack at Minnewaska State Park

Minnewaska State Park's scenic vistas have made it a destination for New York mountain bikers, but bicycles have always been confined to wide carriage roads. As New York State Parks solicits comments on its draft master trails plan, your input is needed to create new singletrack experiences.

This is your opportunity to help shape the future of mountain biking at this wonderful park. Please write a brief letter in your own words using the following talking points to respectfully request access to singletrack trails.

Take Action!

Request singletrack open to mountain biking at Minnewaska State Park. Create your own letter from the talking points below and send the park an email: Mark.hohengasser@oprhp.state.ny.us

The deadline for comments is August 11.

Talking Points

Please provide singletrack trail opportunities for mountain bicyclists in Minnewaska State Park, including the recently acquired Awosting property.

Narrow, singletrack trails provide a high-quality experience desired by most mountain bikers. They bring us closer to nature and also help reduce speeds.

Mountain biking is a quiet, human-powered activity and scientific research has shown its environmental impacts are similar to those of hiking and far less than other uses.

Getting more people out to appreciate nature creates a broader volunteer base to draw upon when help is needed to maintain trails or preserve habitats from invasive plants or other threats.

If you are willing to volunteer for trailwork events, bike patrol, or other services at Minnewaska, please mention that in your letter.

Additional Information

Check out a slideshow from the Concerned Long Island Mountain Bicyclists' (CLIMB) group ride at Minnewaska. http://www.climbonline.org/new_paltz_2004_01.html

The Minnewaska State Park website:

http://nysparks.state.ny.us/parks/info.asp?parkId=78

If your from out of state, please mention the tourism benefits that many miles of singletrack trails will provide. A few days of riding, hotel, camping and restaurants etc.

Thanx!

Mike Vitti
NY IMBA Rep

 

[iandude94]

email sent, i love Minnewaska

 

[mtbikerbob]

Mike,

I am from upstate NY and while we have riding available at some state parks, much of it locally is 2 lane hiking/ cross country skiing trails. Certainly not dedicated single track. You mention "As New York State Parks solicits comments on its draft master trails plan, your input is needed to create new singletrack experiences." is this for Minnewaska or all New York State Parks?

Also, who is the email like to and what is his capacity in this?

Thanks,
Bob

 

[sick4surf]

This is only for Minnewaska State Park.

Mark Honengasser works in the planning dept and he will help create the master plan for new and current activities in the park. This is a public scoping session, where they accept public input and see what the public wants. They will collate the responses, currently the most responses were received by hikers, followed by climbers, followed by mountain bikers...we need more responses from mountain bikers.

In the coming years there will be master plans created for each park (about 5-6 per year) and will be directed by the State Parks Planning Dept.

However, each individual park manager has some discretion about whether or not to consider adding mountain biking as an activity.

The new park's commissioner is somewhat dedicated to reducing the current trend towards obesity and they are going to try and encourage more positive recreational activities such as mountain biking.

Future plans are for an IMBA Trail Care Crew visit to Sterling Forest State Park on October 18th & 19th (save the date) and later on there will be master plans for Allegany State Park as well as Fahnstock State Park.

I am on the NY State Trails Council and we meet a few times per year with NY State Parks, NY State DEC and other land managers to discuss new projects, plans, grants and laws relating to trails...we also have a chance to add input and shape the future of trails in NY.