Park Overview:

The Nature Park, which is located adjacent to the southwest border of Harriman - Bear Mountain State Park, is heavily wooded with steep inclines and rocky slopes and consists of a number of mountaintops and valleys, crossed by several small streams.

Park Description:

Dater Mountain Nature Park

A view of the Village of Tuxedo, The New York State Thruway, and Orange County may be seen from the high elevations, some rising 940 feet above sea level. Dater Mountain Nature Park contains eight federally designated wetlands and provides habitat for two NYS endangered species (the Northern Cricket Frog and the Allegheny Woodrat) and one threatened species (the Timber Rattlesnake).

Dater Mountain Nature Park has many local tribal and family histories. The Munsee Indians once inhabited the property. It is the westerly part of the Spence Patent, one of four grants given to officers of the British Army by George III in 1775. Dater crossing brought the locality into contact with Route 17 and Tuxedo. The area was extensively logged in the later 1700's and into the 1800's; trees were burned in pits to produce charcoal for the smelting of iron ore. Many of these pits can be found throughout the property.

Trails Overview:

An orange-blazed trail leaves from a small roadside parking area (on Johnsontown Road) to the crest of a hill where it connects with a blue-blazed trail. This trail heads left to a viewpoint at Sleater Hill, where it turns right to end at the orange-blazed trail. Here, one can either turn right to loop back to the parking area, or turn left to join the white-blazed Kakiat Trail into Harriman - Bear Mountain State Park.

See "Directions to Trailhead" on this site.  Johnsontown Road continues into Harriman-Bear Mountain State park to a cul-du-sac and parking area.  A blue-blazed trail (different from the aforementioned one) leads to the Kakiat (white), turning left will head towards Dater Mountain Nature County Park.  Staying on this trail in Harriman leads to a viewpoint with the name "Almost Perpendicular." 

All this will become clearer using the Web Map link on this website.  

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