Why is it called "Hudson Crossing Park"?
Because of all the crossings, of course! The area in and around Hudson Crossing Park has been an important site for millions - yes millions - of years! From Native Americans crossing the Hudson long before the first explorer set foot in North America, to those who live and play on the island today, the land that is now Hudson Crossing Park has been an important part of our area’s history for longer than most would imagine.
History of the Area
Saratoga Trail Tales is a unique Hudson Crossing Park program that blends facts, legends, and folklore to explore the evolution of a Mahican trail through the Lake Champlain and Hudson River Valleys. This video presentation offers a timeline of images and compressed narratives designed to inspire you to explore the modern version of the trail and its historic locations.
The video begins with an overview of the Saratoga Trail, originally used by the Mahicans to bypass the ninety-foot-high Cohoes Falls. It then details how the trail was pivotal during 17th and 18th-century conflicts between world powers, and how it contributed to regional growth through the advent of water power and the Champlain Canal. You'll also learn about the Dewitt Clinton, New York State’s first train, which, like the Saratoga Trail, provided an alternative route to crossing the Erie Canal’s twenty-seven locks. Additionally, the video shares compelling accounts of the Underground Railroad, revealing how the Saratoga region’s trail became a crucial route to freedom.
Starks Knob
Stark's Knob is believed to have originated in the Connecticut River Valley 400 million years ago as lava "bubbled up" out of a crack in the earth's crust under a shallow sea. The momentum of plate-tectonics "delivered" it to the town of Northumberland just outside of Schuylerville. Being one of the few places in the United States where "pillow basalt" can be easily seen, this volcanic formation is internationally known and often visited by students and professional geologists from throughout North America.
The site is not only an important scientific resource, but a site of historic significance as well, serving as a major vantage point during the Revolutionary War in the fall of 1777.
The summit vantage point is still breathtaking; visitors to Hudson Crossing Park enjoy scenic views of the Hudson River and the Green Mountains of Vermont.
Bridge of Boats
The Dix Bridge formally joins Saratoga and Washington Counties bridging communities and inviting bicyclists, pedestrians, snowmobilers, and skiers to cross the Hudson River.
The site has great historic significance. If you were to stand in the center of the bridge and look to the north you would see the cuts in the river-bank where, in 1777 British General John Burgoyne's troops came and crossed the Hudson on "Bateaux" 30' long flat-bottomed, flat-sided, double-ended crafts. More than 6000 people traversed this area in the fall of 1777 and the crossing came to be known as Burgoyne's "Bridge of Boats".
Knox Trail Pocket Park
In what remains one of the most dramatic strategic moves of the Revolutionary War, General Henry Knox dragged an assemblage of cannons overland from Fort Ticonderoga to the heights overlooking the British-occupied city of Boston. Delivery of this artillery to General Washington forced the British evacuation of the city the next spring, resulting in one of the early victories for the American Army.
The Knox Trail Pocket Park, with convenient parking and just a short walk from Stark's Knob, provides picnic tables and interpretive signs. The Turning Point at Olde Saratoga Rotary Club has adopted this Hudson Crossing Pocket Park, helping to care for flower beds and landscaping.
The Northumberland Dam
Riding along US Route 4 from Schuylerville towards at Northumberland, a road designated as a National Scenic Byway, you will find the Hudson River’s flow is interrupted by a massive “L” shaped structure. To take a closer look at it, stop at Saratoga Falls Park, located approximately one mile north of the entrance of Hudson Crossing Park (HCP), or hike to the end of HCP’s Eagle Point Trail. From either vantage point, the predominance of the Champlain Barge Canal, completed in 1918, provides a hint for the reason the dam was originally built back in 1822.
Today the dam remains a popular attraction for those visiting Hudson Crossing Park and as well as those enjoying a scenic drive through the Northumberland countryside, although most are unaware of the history, tragedy, ingenuity, and mystery, that it has been a part of.
Heritage Waysides
Working in partnership with the Lakes to Locks Passage, the park has a collection of waysides that tell regional stories of key events and players that have had significant historical and/or commercial impacts on our region. This “Virtual Tour’s” project goal is to produce and make available audio files of the stories that were collected and shared with these waysides.
Through financial assistance from the Greenwich Lion’s Club, this project will begin to deliver our goal for a portion of the park’s collection of waysides. During the implementation of this project and having successfully met our goal for this group, the park will seek further funding to continue this project to expand the availability of our regional heritage stories to a widening audience.
Hudson Crossing Park “Tour Mates”
The interpretive signs located along the Riverwalk Sensory Trail were made possible through funding from: Hudson River Foundation, Lakes to Locks Passage Scenic Byway, a Federal Highway Administration’s National Scenic Byway Program. There are 16 stories available that were compiled with the help from National Park staff from the Saratoga National Historical Park.
These stories are accessible via QR code while on the trail or virtually through this webpage.
Sixteen scripts were written for these signs. Hudson Crossing Park held a contest to discover "the voices" for the recordings. In addition to local media we employed "Voices for All" to help send our message across the nation. As a result we had 28 entrants from 14 different states.
Voices of the Park: Coralie Davis, Tej Singh, Sam Aldrich, Anthony Cardenas, and Thomas Robinson.
Where Hudson Crossing Park is Today
Hudson Crossing Park is a celebration of the area's past with an eye toward the future.
Hudson Crossing Park continues to grow with the help of many volunteers and organizations.
