Ward Pound Ridge Park offers different landscapes and scenic views throughout its 4,315 acres. You'll find open terrain, woods, meadows of open fields sprinkled with wild flowers, fallen trees, old barns, and open space.

Click to enlarge picture of the main road in Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.

The park offers different landscapes during the seasons. Whether you visit the park in spring, summer, fall, or winter, you will experience the natural landscape and beauty of Ward Pound Ridge with its wetlands, wooded areas, places to cross-country ski, and fabulous fishing spots. Park attractions also include camping sites, playgrounds for younger kids, the Trailside Nature Museum and more.

Click to enlarge picture of "Kimberly Bridge Picnic Area".

Kimberly Bridge Picnic Area is the perfect spot to go bird watching, fishing, hiking, or relax with a picnic as you enjoy the serenity of the brook.

Ward Pound Ridge is also home to the Trailside Nature Museum that hosts weekend nature interpretive programs and the Art in Parks program. Art in Parks offers exhibitions of work by accomplished regional artists. Exhibitions are held throughout the year.

Ward Pound Ridge offers hiking trails, fishing spots (catch & release), birding, nature trails, and vistas for the photographer, painter, and nature lover. Depending on where you are in the park, given the large size of Ward Pound Ridge, you can experience the park in many different ways.

With its varied terrain, landscapes and miles of wooded trails, the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation provides a variety of activities in all seasons. There are areas for picnicking, lean-to camping, fishing, cross-country skiing, and two playgrounds for younger children. The park is also home to the Trailside Nature Museum, which hosts weekend nature interpretive programs year-round.

Hiking Trails
Ward Pound Ridge offers approximately 35 miles of hiking trails among meadows, woods, wetlands, and cross-country ski areas. Hiking trails are available for beginners, intermediate, or advanced hikers.

"You could easily while away a couple of days on the trails here and still not see the entire park. Its sublime scenery is a marvelous medley of hardwood forests, glacial ridges, lowland bogs, granite outcroppings and high-rising bluffs, with a couple of ravines, a river, and a far-reaching viewpoint as added attractions. The main trails are wide and very popular with family groups, while many narrower routes provide a more rugged experience. Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is the largest preserve in the Westchester County Parks system . . . It is also the most beautiful of the county's parks, where litter on the ground is as rare as candy in a dentist's office, and the camping shelters (stone lean-tos constructed by the CCC more than 60 years ago) are raked clean by park personnel. Scenery: Swamps, hemlock, laurel, and hardwood forests, impressive rock outcroppings, scenic overlook of Cross River Reservoir, and historic cave." Visit www.trails.com for more about the Ward Pound Ridge Main Loop.

Audubon Society of Westchester
"Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is a mixture of streams, woodland and open fields. Bluebirds can be common here and the park offers good birding even in the middle of summer due to large list of breeding birds. They include: Cooper's and Goshawks, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Belted Kingfisher, Yellow-throated , Warbling and Red-eyed Vireos, Brown Creeper, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, 14 species of warblers including Black-throated Green, Worm-eating and Pine Warblers." Ward Pound Ridge is also the best park to watch butterflies in New York. Visit Hudson River Audubon Society of Westchester for more about bird watching at Ward Pound Ridge.

Please remember:
"Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is a Biodiversity Reserve Area. Help to take care of this unique and beautiful space by following our simple stewardship rules."

Press blue button for location of Ward Pound Ridge, map (or pick-up a map at the tool booth park office) and reservation trails and facilities, parking, restrooms, and more about Westchester County's largest park.

Things To Do at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation
Art Gallery (Located in historic Benedict Homestead near park entrance.)
Biking is only allowed on roads. Biking is not allowed on WPR hiking trails.
Bird watching in Ward Pound Ridge.
Butterfly watching in Ward Pound Ridge.
Camping (Lean-to and Tent sites) in designated areas in WPR.
Equestrian Trails & Horseback Riding in WPR.
Fishing (Catch & Release - Artificial lures only) in designated fishing areas.
Hiking Trails - Beginners to advanced hikers - select hikes from 35 miles of hiking trails.
Nature programs (Family oriented nature programs at Trailside Museum).
Map Available at entrance booth.
Picnicking - Picnic near babbling brooks and beautiful wooded areas at WPR.
Playgrounds in two areas of the park.
Restrooms and Porta-toilets.
Trailside Nature Museum at Ward Pound Ridge.
Wildflower Garden at WPR.

Winter Activities at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation
Cross-Country Skiing
Skiing on open fields at WPR.
Sledding on Pell Hill
Snow-Shoeing

Location: Cross River

Categories
Audubon | Birding | Bird Watching
Biking Trails | Bike Paths
Camping Grounds | Campsites
Cross-Country Skiing | Snowshoeing
Equestrian Facilities | Horseback Riding
Fishing
Hiking Trails | Places To Hike
Historic Sites | Historic Hudson Valley
Historic Sites for Kids
Kid's Birthday Party Ideas
Museums - Hudson River Valley
Nature Hikes | Outings for Kids
Parks | Local and State
Picnicking | Picnic
Playgrounds
Preserves
Sledding | Snowshoeing | Winter Activities