Robert V. Riddell State Park

Robert V. Riddell State Park

Location of Robert V. Riddell State Park within New York State

Type State park
Location Riddell Road
Davenport, New York[1]
Nearest city Cooperstown
Coordinates 42°28′33″N 74°56′44″W / 42.4758°N 74.9456°W / 42.4758; -74.9456Coordinates: 42°28′33″N 74°56′44″W / 42.4758°N 74.9456°W / 42.4758; -74.9456
Area 2,163 acres (8.75 km2)[2]
Created 2005 (2005)[3]
Operated by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Open All year
Website Robert V. Riddell State Park

Robert V. Riddell State Park is a 2,163-acre (8.75 km2) state park[2] in Otsego and Delaware counties, New York.[4] The park is located approximately 20 miles (32 km) from Cooperstown.[1]

History

Robert V. Riddell State Park began as a 1,036-acre (4.19 km2) gift to the state by Patricia Riddell Kent and Steven Kent in 2005, who intended for the land to be preserved as open space.[5] Prior to the donation, the land had been held by Patricia's family since 1871, and the park is named after her father, Robert V. Riddell.[3]

The park was expanded in 2008 when Hartwick College sold 840 acres (3.4 km2) of its Pine Lake Environmental Campus to the state. Since 2010, a collaborative agreement between the college and the state allows for the park to be used for outdoor education, with the college undertaking research to study the effects of recreational impacts on public lands.[6]

Description

Robert V. Riddell State Park allows for passive recreation such as hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and fishing.[1] Interstate 88 separates the northern section of the park, which consists of former agricultural land, from the park's forested southern section. Schenevus Creek, a trout stream that is a tributary of the Susquehanna River, is located in the northern portion of the park.[3] Park facilities are concentrated in the northern section of the park, with the southern section consisting primarily of trails and access roads.[7]

The park includes Mud Lake, a spring-fed pond that features a dwarf shrub bog at its edges. The bog includes floating mats of sphagnum moss, carnivorous plants, and peat deposits greater that 27 feet (8.2 m) deep in places.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Robert V. Riddell State Park". NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Section O: Environmental Conservation and Recreation, Table O-9". 2014 New York State Statistical Yearbook (PDF). The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government. 2014. pp. 671–674. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Governor Announces Protection of 2,500 acres in Otsego County". NYS Office of the Governor. July 30, 2005. Archived from the original on October 17, 2005. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Robert V. Riddell State Park Trail Map" (PDF). NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  5. ↑ Richardson, Denise (August 26, 2016). "Barn at Riddell Park subject of petition". The Daily Star. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Riddell State Park Collaborative". Hartwick College. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  7. ↑ Bowers, Bill; McNulty-Bowers, Eileen (2010). "Robert V. Riddell State Park". Explorer's Guide 50 Hikes in Central New York's Leatherstocking Country. The Countryman Press. pp. 145–147. ISBN 9780881508178. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Protecting Mud Lake". Nature Times. NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. September 16, 2014. Retrieved September 27, 2016.


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