Thousand Island State Parks Offer Brand New Beachfront and Camping Facilities

State Parks recently completed $3.6 million in projects to improve the beachfront and campgrounds at Wellesley Island and Grass Point State Parks in the Thousand Islands, making the parks more attractive to visitors of these popular destinations on the St. Lawrence River.

At Wellesley Island State Park in Fineview, State Parks replaced the bathhouse at the park's swimming beach. The new facility includes new bathrooms, changing areas, concession area and adjoining open-air covered pavilion. The park's campground recreation and games area, now located in a barn across a park road and away from the beach, will be relocated to the new facility. State Parks also upgraded Wellesley Island's popular RV camping loop, including improved electric service at 83 sites.

At Grass Point State Park in the town of Orleans, State Parks replaced the deteriorated beach bathhouse with a modern facility, including new bathrooms, changing areas and lifeguard station. The project included installation of a new walkway to an adjacent playground, which was  constructed in 2014.

The projects are among State Park improvements taking place across New York under Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's NY Parks 2020 program, a multi-year commitment to leverage $900 million in private and public funding for State Parks from 2011 to 2020. Read More.
 

Entrance to Largest State Park Pool Gets Makeover

State Parks recently celebrated the grand opening of a new $3.6 million entrance plaza to Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park's acre-size pool.

The massive pool in Westchester County can hold up to 3,500 swimmers at a time and is one of the major attractions of FDR State Park. The adjacent bathhouse facility, with restrooms, showers, and changing areas, had not been modernized since its construction in 1965. The renovation, part of the Governor's NY Parks 2020 initiative to modernize the state park system, features:
* Completely renovated bathhouse interior and new heavy timber roof to help provide a more comfortable experience for park visitors;
* Solar thermal hot water supply, water-saving fixtures and energy-efficient lights make the facility more environmentally sustainable; and
* Tall masonry walls around the pool were demolished to open attractive vistas of Mohansic Lake.

Outside the bathhouse, the garden-like entrance plaza features a welcome station, complete with new site furnishings and native plants and trees, and a filtering rain garden to facilitate cleaner water.  Read More.