Gilbert Lake State Park

Gilbert Lake State Park
Location of Gilbert Lake State Park within New York State
Type	State park
Location	18 CCC Road Laurens, New York[1]
Nearest city	Laurens, New York
Coordinates	42°35′12″N 75°07′57″W
Area	1,584 acres (6.41 km^2)[2]
Created	1926 (1926)[3]
Operated by	New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Visitors	77,959 (in 2014)[4]
Open	All year
Website	Gilbert Lake State Park

Gilbert Lake State Park is a 1,584-acre (6.41 km²) state park in Otsego County, New York, United States.^[2] Most of the park is in the Town of New Lisbon, in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains east of the community of New Lisbon and north of Oneonta. Gilbert Lake and Lake of the Twin Fawns are located within the park.

History

Gilbert Lake State Park was among the first parks developed by New York State in Central New York. Acquisition of land for Gilbert Lake State Park, which sits upon lands previously used for timber production, began in October 1926. Development of the park began soon afterward, and was accelerated by the presence of a Civilian Conservation Corps camp between 1933 and 1941. The CCC undertook various improvement tasks, including building numerous cabins, constructing dams, establishing a wildlife refuge, enacting erosion control, and building a network of roads and trails.^[3]

Park description

The park offers a beach, kayak and paddleboard rentals, cabins, a campground, disc golf, hunting and fishing, hiking and biking, picnic tables and pavilions, a museum, a nature trail, playgrounds, recreation programs, snowmobiling and cross-country skiing, ice-fishing, and a food concession.^[5]

The park includes the New York State Civilian Conservation Corps Museum,^[6] which features memorabilia, photographs, printed materials and exhibits about the works of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the park and in other parks in New York and the United States.

See also

• List of New York state parks

References

1. "Gilbert Lake State Park - Getting There". NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
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. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 16, 2015. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
3. "New York's Heartland: The development of the state parks program in central New York 1925-1950" (PDF). The Preservationist. 8 (1). NYS Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation: 14–19. Spring–Summer 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 23, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
4. "State Park Annual Attendance Figures by Facility: Beginning 2003". Data.ny.gov. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
5. "Gilbert Lake State Park Amenities and Activities". NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
6. "Gilbert Lake State Park". NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation. Retrieved February 15, 2016.

External links

• New York State Parks: Gilbert Lake State Park