Accessible Recreation Along the Hudson River Estuary

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation sent this bulletin on 08/04/2020 10:43 AM EDT
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Hudson RiverNet
News from the Hudson River Estuary Program

DEC Helps Improve Accessibility for Hudson River Recreation

A woman fishes from a wheelchair on a fishing pier using a leather fishing rod holder.Last week marked the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the first comprehensive law guaranteeing equal rights to people with disabilities. DEC is committed to improving access to lands and waters across the state and is increasing the range of accessible opportunities available for people to fish, boat, hunt, canoe, picnic, horseback ride, hike and camp.

Over the past several years, DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program has been helping communities along the tidal Hudson River improve accessibility at waterfront sites through grants for planning, equipment purchases, and physical improvements. Here are a few of these funded projects:

  • Adaptive fishing equipment for use during free I Fish NY events at sites all along the estuary. The equipment includes right and left-handed “Strong Arm” rod holders and fishing pole holders for anglers who use wheelchairs.
  • Beach wheelchairs, a beach access mat, and improvements to the bathrooms and changing stalls at Kingston Point Beach, one of only three public swimming beaches on the tidal Hudson.
  • A man in a wheel chair sits near a woman in a yellow kayak who is pushing herself into the river from a rolling kayak launch.Accessible docks and an adaptive kayak launch at Haverstraw Bay County Park. Staff at the nearby Helen Hayes Hospital Adapted Sports & Recreation Program assisted in the design of the accessible features.
  • Hands-on Hudson River estuary curriculum designed by South Street Seaport for second through seventh-grade students who have visual impairment or are blind. The students participate in a marine ecology program aboard the historic schooner, the Pioneer. 

You can find information about DEC campgrounds, boat launches, and public areas across the state with accessible features including picnic areas, developed and primitive campsites, fishing platforms, boating boarding piers, cartop launches, wildlife viewing platforms, and beach access points on DEC's website.