Welcome to Taconic State Park

Welcome to Taconic State Park. Explore New York State Parks. , The Taconic Mountain range is a part of the Appalachian Mountains that runs along the eastern border of New York. The range extends into western Connecticut and Massachusetts, terminating in Vermont. Taconic, translated from the Native American word Taghkanic, means in the trees.", Bash Bish Brook, a pristine mountain stream that flows through a picturesque gorge, begins in Massachusetts before cascading over Bash Bish Falls and through Taconic State Park. The brook empties into the Roeliff Jansen Kill, a major tributary of the Hudson River. After 1850, Bash Bish Falls became a popular tourist destination for adventurous travelers., In 1927, Taconic State Park opened to the public as the first state park in New York's Taconic Region. Driving the creation of Taconic State Park were conservationist's concerns about the overdevelopment of the area. It led local resident Francis R. Masters and his wife Ella R.K. Masters to purchase the Bash Bish Falls area in 1924. They transferred ownership to Massachusetts on the condition that the falls and surrounding acreage forever be preserved for public use. That same year they donated land to New York State as the first parcel of what was to become Taconic State Park., Encompassing over 7,500 acres of land known for its scenic beauty and natural resources, the park offers a wide variety of recreational activities at Copake Falls and Rudd Pond. The Copake Iron Works Nationally Registered Historic District has been preserved in partnership with the Friends of Taconic State Park. The Harlem Valley Rail Trail passes through the park and will eventuality extend 46 miles from Wassaic to Chatham