Hawk Rock – Worth the Hike

The Kent Conservation Advisory Committee (CAC) will be launching its springtime activities with a  hike to Hawk Rock and  the Mead Farm ruins  in Kent, New York. Mark your calendar for Sunday May 2 at 10:30 AM. Everyone should meet at the DEP parking area at the end of Whangtown Road. If you’re not sure where it is, you can use this map to get driving directions to the parking area and preview the hike.

This is a moderate hike that takes about three hours round trip including stops for lunch and a look around the farm site. If weather forces the Kent CAC to cancel the hike, they will post it on their website. Subscribers will be sent a notice via e-mail.

Dave Ehnebuske, of the Kent CAC wants us to know that if you haven’t been to Hawk Rock, we are in for a treat.  When the glaciers retreated northward at the end of the last ice age, they were carrying some really big rocks that sometimes ended up in odd positions when the ice melted.

One of these so called “erratics” is Hawk Rock. Local lore has it that long ago the Native Americans named it and used the site as a meeting place. It is certainly a believable story; the setting is beautiful and it’s one impressive rock. 

I had the privilege of hiking to Hawk Rock last summer with a wonderful group led by Walt Thompson, Program Manager of Keep Putnam Beautiful. See pictures below.   Another treat you will discover during your hike are a few mysterious stone chambers.  Please help Keep Putnam  Beautiful and don’t leave your garbage in the woods or in these beautiful stone chambers.

It is important to note that Hawk Rock is on protected land by NYS DEP.  Hikers MUST have a DEP Access Permit in order to hike to Hawk Rock.  Hank Rock, like many New York City Water Supply reservoirs and lands, are open to the public for low-impact recreational activities when compatible with Water Supply protection.  Click here for a list of 
Recreation Areas and Use Designations (PDF)

 Access Permit applications may also be submitted via the Internet for those 18 years of age and older. Approved online applicants can print their Access Permits immediately and avoid mailing delays.  Click Here for the link to the application. 

The Mead Farm, like the rest of this hike, is on land that was originally part of the hunting grounds for the Nochpeem tribe of Native Americans, a part of the Wappinger Confederacy. After passing through various people’s hands, sometime in the 1860s Moses F. Mead purchased the eastern part of the farm where the ruins are today. The site includes a number of interesting features, including the foundations of the house, the stone portions of a cow barn and a beautiful corbelled stone chamber.

For further information contact Dave Ehnebuske of the Kent CAC

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Category: Community News, Featured, Kent, Parks & Recreation, Places of Interest