I grew up, at least from 8th grade on, living next to Minnewaska State Nature Preserve. Our land was right next to it. My friends and I would hike from my house to Lake Minnewaska the back way, meaning up over the mountain and down to the lake. That was the good part about living near there. Then, though, it was not owned by New York state, but the Phillips family. This is a tale of intrigue, mystery and bankruptcy. Eventually, the Phillips had to bail. (See article about history)
Generally, though, as an 8th grader and high schooler, living next to Minnewaska was like living next to Siberia. I’d pay friends money to drive me home since it was 10 miles out of New Paltz (13 from the high school) and I didn’t have a driver’s license until after I graduated. (How would you have felt if when you were learning to drive your mother grabbed the rearview mirror and made noises like, “Oh! Oh! Oh! At least that’s my version of the story.) The last four miles on SR 55 involved an extremely windy road and a hairpin turn (scroll down for picture.) Perhaps this turn had something to do with my mom’s reactions. I went through adolescence pining for a life in town.
Now, though, when I go home to visit, I rarely go to New Paltz and always head to Lake Minnewaska, usually walking along the trail that leads from my father’s road, past the waterfalls and on up to the lake. The trails once served for horse drawn tourist carriages that went from Mohonk Mountain House to Lake Minnewaka back in the 1920s. They are a mountain biker’s dream.
These memories of Minnewaska just came about because my best friend from high school just sent me a travel article on Lake Minnewaska published in The New York Times. “Spring in Your Steps” is a current Escapes feature. Ironically, the place that I always wanted to escape from is written up as a place to escape to. Who knew? Here’s more on Minnewaska, including other people’s memories.