A new visitor center is under construction at Minnewaska State Park Preserve in Ulster County. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday that the project is a public-private partnership with the Open Space Institute.
The $6.1 million visitor center on the Shawangunk Ridge will be a 5,000 square-foot facility that features public amenities and classroom space, exhibits and programming to educate visitors on the park's natural and recreational features. There will be restrooms and public drinking water, items that topped a 2014 Open Space Institute survey of visitor concerns. The visitor center is being funded by $3.1 million from the NY Parks 2020 Initiative; and OSI has raised $2.5 million and is launching a public campaign to raise the final $500,000 toward the project. Minnewaska State Park draws nearly 500,000 visitors annually.
