Bear Mountain State Park - Trail Map
On November, 26th, 2024, students from all of the 7th grade had a trip to the Bear Mountain State Park to explore the landscape and mountains of the park. The day’s forecast was for a light rain and slightly hazy weather, and the rain was expected to stop right before students left the building. But the rain didn’t stop and got heavier. Students rushed to their buses. Eventually, the rain stopped and the drive took about 2-3 hours in total.
Arriving, students waited and sheltered below a rooftop since light rain was still falling. Finally, one of the park staff came and asked students to select one of 3 activities available which were, walk around the lake, hike the mountain, or visit the famous Fort Montgomery site. The mountain hike was the most popular out of all.
People then settled with other activities except for mountain hiking. After that, during the activities one of the staff said that one of the groups wasn’t responding on their radio; they called repeatedly but it was just silence. I remember my group running around the lake to find the group but we managed to find them all ok. Turns out the staff’s radio batteries died. We then changed activities and our group went mountain hiking. Now I don’t know what happened since I didn’t go, but when the group came back they said they saw a mountain bear with its cub midway through the hike. Finally we ate lunch and went back to school.
General History/ Military History
Bear Mountain State Park had military engagements during the fight with the United States against the British. The colonials viewed this massive area as a very important and vital area, because most trades from their allies come from here. If the British ever had controlled this area, the colonials would be cut from supplies and valuables. They started to build fortifications on this area and soon got the action they were made for, but British loyalists captured this fort during the war and at the end it was given back to the US. Two centuries later after the war, Bear Mountain State Park was established in 1913 and opened to the public in 1915; it quickly gained popularity. So much so that the local ferry that ran in the Bear Mountain River began to strain the maximum capacities of the ferry. Soon other attractions were built, from a Bear Mountain ski resort to a little merry-go- round that’s built in the front of Bear Mountain entrance which is still there today.
