Dutchess County Unveils New Parks and Trails Website
Mobile Resource Provides Info on nearly 200 Parks and 400 Miles of Trails in Dutchess County
In celebration of National Park Week (April 20th – 28th), Dutchess County Executive Marcus J. Molinaro announced the launch of Dutchess County’s new Parks & Trails website feature today at Quiet Cove Riverfront Park in Poughkeepsie. The new interactive website,www.DutchessNY.gov/ParksTrails
County Executive Molinaro said, “We have made it easier than ever for park enthusiasts to plan their next outdoor adventure here in Dutchess County! This new, mobile friendly website is a powerful tool with thousands of photos and interactive maps of the hundreds of parks, trails, and other public spaces throughout the county, including our own award-winning Parks system. Whether you’re looking for a trail for biking or hiking, or searching for an accessible playground, the Parks & Trails website is a great way to find out what the parks throughout our county have to offer or maybe find a new favorite place to explore nature and take in the beauty of our region.”
The new Parks & Trails website enables people of all ages and abilities to easily search through a vast array of park and trail options and find destinations based on desired activities, fitness goals, or physical abilities. Among the Parks & Trails website features:
- Explore almost 200 parks throughout Dutchess County, including county, national, state, and town parks, and other public recreation areas
- Discover nearly 400 miles of trails based on length, difficulty, or surface type
- Choose a destination using keyword searches and up to 50 filter options including desired activities, fitness goals, or available accessibility features.
- Take a virtual tour of each park through 360-degree panoramic, immersive photographs
- Easily locate park entrances, parking lots, and trailheads with interactive maps (also downloadable and print-ready as PDFs).
- Find nearby parks with the site’s built-in GPS location feature
- Navigate trails and locate park features from a mobile device while in the park.
- Follow quick-links to individual park websites for seasonal hours, special events and programs.
The new Parks & Trails website—developed by the Dutchess County Office of Central & Information Services (OCIS) in collaboration with the Departments of Planning & Development and Behavioral & Community Health—replaces and expands the Dutchess County Healthy Communities Trail Map Series webpage, which had more than 100,000 unique visitors in 2017. Hundreds of hours were spent taking photos and collecting GPS data to map various park and trail assets by OCIS and Department of Planning staff members. In particular, student interns in the Department of Planning were an invaluable resource for all of the data behind this powerful new web resource.
OCIS Commissioner Glenn Marchi, PhD., said, “This is another great example of our commitment to improving experiences for residents and visitors through technological innovation. We are grateful for our GIS team, who worked closely with the Department of Planning & Development, to create a resource that make it easier than ever for people to find and explore the wonderful park and trail resources available here in Dutchess County.”
Dutchess Tourism, Inc. President & CEO Mary Kay Vrba said, “The vast array of trail networks and spectacular parks located throughout the county are such an important part of what makes us ‘Distinctly Dutchess.’ Visitors come from near and far to enjoy these wonderful natural assets, whether it is Dover Stone Church, Peach Hill Park, Mt. Beacon or Harlem Valley Rail Trail, just to name a few. This new website is a tremendous asset to help people discover and access all we have to offer. Kudos to the entire team at Dutchess County Government who made this wonderful new resource a reality!”
