This year, the New York State Parks System is celebrating its centennial year. With the vast growth in visitorship experienced since the pandemic — 84-plus million in 2023 alone — service to public lands is more important than ever.
Volunteer organizations and site managers are making final preparations for the 13th annual I Love My Park Day to be held Saturday. I Love My Park Day — organized by Parks & Trails New York and in partnership with the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation — is an annual event celebrating and enhancing New York’s parks, historic sites, greenway trails and other public lands. More than 150 events will take place on Saturday the 4th, providing opportunities for thousands of New Yorkers to clean up their favorite parks and shorelines, plant trees and gardens, restore trails and wildlife habitat, remove invasive species, and work on various site improvement projects—all to prepare our iconic State Park System and public lands for the start of the busy spring season.
“As we celebrate the cntennial of New York’s world-class State Parks System, we can’t help but marvel at how far we’ve come!” said Paul Steely White, executive director of Parks & Trails New York. “Since acquisition of the nation’s first state historic site — Washington’s Headquarters in Newburgh — our state parks system has consistently provided economic and wellbeing benefits, not to mention joy and awe, for New Yorkers. With over 200 State Parks and Historic Sites, NYS has been leading by example in our commitment to environmental stewardship, conservation, and preservation by investing in the natural treasures that enrich our lives. We are so grateful to have an outpouring of support this year from the already 3,500+ volunteers who’ve registered to roll up their sleeves and help make I Love My Park Day 2024 a huge success, and ensure our public lands are flourishing for generations to come.”
To learn more about I Love My Park Day, and to view a map of scheduled events, visit: www.ptnyfriends.org/i-love-my-park-day.