Park Overview:

Watershed lands are on two sides of Cranberry Lake Preserve. This quiet oasis in suburban Westchester County is also the site of the quarry operations to supply stone to build the Kensico Dam, completed in 1917.

Park Description:

Cranberry Lake Preserve

Cranberry Lake Preserve's tranquil environment includes a glacial lake, wetlands, and abandoned quarrying operations. The portions of the preserve that are sparsely used offer a chance for solitude. All seasons here have their high notes: in early spring, an overture to the opening season erupts from the chorus of spring peepers emerging from the many vernal pools. Hot summer days are tempered in the shade under a canopy of trees. When fall colors are at their peak, a stroll around Cranberry Lake is a feast for the eyes. After a winter snowfall, a clean white stillness is an enticement to intrepid hikers and snowshoers.

Most of the stone used to construct the dam was quarried in what is now the preserve. Quarry operations are an industrial process so significant space was required for machinery and equipment such as an electric plant, sand pit, stone crushing plant, and railroad tracks to transport materiel. All this left a lasting mark on the landscape and can still be viewed today. To the south, are the former homes and schools of Italian laborers who were the primary builders of the dam> these resident and their families, helped shape the character of Valhalla and surrounding communities.    

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