page_title: Rockland Lake State Park
section_title: Recreational history
hierarchical_section_title: Rockland Lake State Park / History / Recreational history
caption_attribution_description: English: View of Hook Mountain from the Hudson River in November 2015.
context_page_description: Rockland Lake State Park is a 1,133-acre state park located in the hamlets of Congers and Valley Cottage in the eastern part of the Town of Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York. The park is located on a ridge of Hook Mountain above the west bank of the Hudson River. Included within the park is the 256-acre Rockland Lake.
  Development of the park as part of the Palisades Interstate Park system began in 1958. Rockland Lake State Park is functionally part of a continuous complex of parks that also includes Hook Mountain State Park, Nyack Beach State Park, and Haverstraw Beach State Park.
context_section_description: Rockland Lake has been formally used for recreation since 1873, when a picnic area known as "The Grove" was established near the north end of the lake. This was followed by the installation of a second recreation area near the south end of the lake known as the "Quaspeck Park Beach Club and Casino". At the turn of the 20th century, special trains delivered visitors to the lake's recreation areas.
  The Palisades Interstate Park Commission purchased its first parcel of what was to become Rockland Lake State Park in 1958, which consisted of the lake and 225 acres (0.91 km²) of land. By 1964, a total of 1,035 acres (4.19 km²) had been purchased to form the park. During the intervening years, additional land acquisitions increased the park's size to its current total of 1,133 acres (4.59 km²).
caption: Hook Mountain, as viewed from the Hudson River
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