Rockefeller State Park Preserve offers quiet countryside walks of all lengths through forested hills and valleys surrounding sunlit pastoral fields. Thirty miles north of New York City, the property is the former Pocantico Hills and Rockwood Hall country estates of John D. Rockefeller family and William Rockefeller. Since 1983, the Rockefeller Family has generously donated over 1771 acres to the State of New York to safeguard these lands for present and future generations. Managed by New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation, the Preserve is open to the public year-round, sunrise to sunset.
The trails of the Preserve are crushed stone carriage roads laid out by John D. Rockefeller Sr. and Jr. in the first half of the 20th century. Designed to complement the landscape, the 45 miles of scenic carriage roads are wide and easy to walk. Popular for walking, riding, jogging, and carriage driving, combinations of trails lead through varied landscapes and past natural and historical features, such as Swan Lake, the Pocantico River with its wood and stone bridges, gurgling streams, colonial stone walls and rock outcroppings. Trail maps of the carriage roads are available at the Preserve Office.
The Preserve is primarily hardwood forest dominated by huge oak, tulip poplar, maple, and beech trees. The forests, fields, streams, and wetlands support a high diversity of native species of resident and migratory birds, mammals, insects, amphibians, reptiles, fish and aquatic species, some of which are in decline and now uncommon in Westchester County. With 202 recorded species of birds and its Important Bird Area designation by the National Audubon Society, the Preserve is a must-visit area for birders. Over 100 species of native wild bees frequent spring and summer wildflowers. In the fall, Monarch butterflies stop to feed and lay eggs during their southward migration. An on-going environmental stewardship is underway to favor native biological diversity.
Geocache series info:
RSPPBERRY, A premium cache series wIll focus on unlocking berry delicious secrets of park preserve as well as places/ sites that exist near them. All sites are easy to cache and are near trails within the park. All geocaches are family friendly, however the individual sites maybe difficult to cache in the months where the berries are ripe, because the berries are delicious.
I would advise against wearing sandals, as most trails are gravel paths, and various thorny plants may be around the berries.
Please enjoy the series.
The park does not allow picnics, sunbathing, bicycles, motorized scooters, or ATVs.
The park is for everyone’s enjoyment. Please be respectful to all wildlife, and visitors alike.
PARKING:
The parking is (year of publication 2021) 6$ per car , is subject to restrictions and capacity limits imposed by state, park, and local guidelines. There are several off site parking, roadside parking areas, that are free, but can get filled up quickly. The park open dawn to dusk, except in specific events led by park staff. Visitors/ geocachers are strongly encouraged to abide by those rules,applicable laws and ordinances.
Specific geocache info:
Turtles:
It's a turtle party! Snapping turtles and other species have been spotted around Rockefeller State Park Preserve this week. Come say hi... but only from a safe distance. Snapping turtles, which tend to get quite big and might be seen on land, don't get their name for nothing.
The geocache is a tube, placed in hole in back of a tree with large hole opposite of area of lake where I have observed on occasion many turtles sitting on logs in Swan lake. Additionally waypoints are provided where else one can observe or read about these turtles in the vicinity of lake.
Help yourself to the berries.
After 10/16/21 If you forgot pen, (seems to happen frequently), email me either copy of log or the container, so that I can confirm the find actually happened, and see the condition of log or container.
Thank you all who find my cache, but don’t either sign physical log or email me photo your digital log will be deleted without further notification.
permit RSPP 10025